Overview
This project was initiated by the City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities to investigate damage to the existing cobblestone ramp and the southwestern bank of Lower Young’s Pond in Joseph Bryan Park. Young’s Pond was created by damming a portion of Upham Creek. Cobblestone walls run throughout the park and border the banks of Upper and Lower Young’s Pond, but in a lot of places the walls are deteriorating. The existing wall on the southwester bank of the pond had deteriorated so much that chunks had fallen into the pond and the banks were eroding with each storm. Additionally, the cobblestone ramp of the upper dam has suffered damage and significant erosion of the supporting foundation likely due to scour from heavy storm events or high flow volumes passing through and over the dam. Standing water has accumulated in several areas behind the existing wall resulting in an increase in hydrostatic pressure. Additionally, the wall appears to have been constructed as a continuous entity with no consideration for drainage of overflow resulting from high flow volumes. Scour resulting from increased water velocities through the pond may have also contributed to the degradation and displacement of the wall.
Improvements in the stability and aesthetics of the existing wall at Young’s Pond included complete removal and replacement of the wall for approximately 750 feet. Conceptual design, typical sections, and details of the proposed alternatives were presented to the client before they ultimately chose a cast-in-place concrete wall. Formliners were used to mimic the existing cobblestones to create an aesthetically pleasing, yet functional wall design as an economic alternative to recovering individual cobbles from the existing wall.
