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Encyclopedia Dubuque

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BEE BRANCH

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BEE BRANCH. Early maps of Dubuque indicated a creek following the present route of Kaufmann Avenue running easterly to the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Concern about the Bee Branch occurred as early as 1864. A petition from Horatio W. SANFORD and other to change it course was received and filed by the city council. (1) In 1877 a proposal was made to force the creek to flow north into the Maquoketa River. (2) In 1893 an appropriation of not more than $200 was made by the city council to the Committee on Streets for "improvements" to the creek. (3)

As the city grew, the creek was buried in a storm sewer. As more of the land was covered by impermeable materials such as concrete, less and less water could be absorbed into the ground. Runoff increased leading to "ponding" on roadways and flooded basements. From 2001 through 2013 flooding along the buried Bee Line occurred six times affecting thousands of properties. (4) In 2010 the watershed of this creek included all the land north of Kaufmann Avenue to the area of EISENHOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

Following a major storm in 1999, the city of Dubuque spent $275,000 for an engineering study called the Drainage Basin Master Plan (DBMP). Completed in the fall of 2001, the DBMP determined that approximately 1,150 homes and businesses were at risk of flood damage during heavy rains. Engineering studies indicated that to adequately confine the amount of runoff being experienced, culverts five times the size of those in use would need to be installed. (5)

The City of Dubuque’s Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project involved the phased construction of a 4,500-foot long open waterway from the 16th Street Detention Basin along the Mississippi River to COMISKEY PARK. The project's final design included an amphitheater, bike/hike trails, benches, bridges, lighting, and landscaping. To "daylight" the Bee Branch Creek to a form of its original condition would enhance neighborhoods, build on TOURISM, and improve the quality of life. This nearly $60 million project would reduce the risk of storm water flood damage to 1,155 properties in one of Dubuque’s oldest and most-challenged neighborhoods. Some water would always be present in the lowest level of the new waterway. When rains occurred, the water would rise to fill a flood zone that was planned to be large enough to reduce the chance of damage to property. (6)

Construction of the first phase, the Lower Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project, started in September of 2010. (7) Sustainability considerations were encouraged as homes were deconstructed rather than demolished and materials salvaged.

In March 2012 residents of Dubuque's North End were informed they would need to wait another year before the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project would be complete. The estimated cost of $17.1 million in 2001 with 70 properties needing to be purchased had risen to $57 million with an estimated 100 properties likely to be acquired. (8)

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the City of Dubuque a Land Use and Water Quality Workshop through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The workshop was intended to provide technical assistance to the city in identifying land use strategies to protect water quality and manage storm-water and land use in the Bee Line watershed.(9)

In 2014 one portion of the Bee Line Restoration Project under budget was the creation of "green alleys." As part of the 20-year Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project the City planned reconstructing all 240 alleys in the Bee Branch Watershed with permeable pavement. (10) This was expected to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff in the watershed by up to 80% and help protect 1,373 homes and businesses from flood damages. Green alleys would also replenish the groundwater and lessen the amount of pollutants entering the storm sewer system and ultimately the Mississippi River. Twenty-three green alley conversions were completed in 2014 with approximately 53 planned for 2015. (11) An estimated 15% of the project funding came from homeowner assessments. In 2014 the average assessment for all alley projects was $848.76.

Complications in acquiring railroad property under which the storm water channel would flow and the hope of a longer construction cycle would lead to lower bids led the City to revise its completion schedule. Part of the complications arose due to dealing with changing railroad ownership. In 2007 when the negotiations began, the City was negotiating with the IC & E. The DM & E took over in 2008. In 2010 the City had to restart the process with the Canadian Pacific.

Work on the upper Bee Branch Creek restoration was scheduled to begin in the spring of 2015. In the first phase, crews were to "daylight" a 2,300-foot-portion of the underground storm sewer. They were also to construct vehicular bridges at Rhomberg Avenue and East 22nd Street, relocated underground utilities, install a multi-use trail and an amphitheater and build a new park and community orchard. The second phase of the project would involve the installation of pipes under property owned by Canadian Pacific Railroad near Garfield Avenue. The work was part of the 20-year, $200 million Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project. (12)

Construction expected to begin in the spring of 2015 would lead to the removal of an estimated 22,000 dump trucks and the long-term closing of two downtown streets. (13) A portion of Rhomberg Avenue would be closed for the installation of a bridge in mid-2015 and remain closed until the spring of 2016. East 24th wold be closed for about six months for the installation of culverts. The project dating back to 2005 was given needed financial support in 2014 when the city obtained $98.5 million in state tax incentives. (14)

In May 2015 it was announced that the North End flood-mitigation project would likely be significantly changed after the low bid for reconstruction came in at $9.3 million above the engineer's estimate. Work had been completed on the lower Bee Branch. The construction from Garfield Avenue to East 24th was set to begin in June. City officials had estimated the Upper Bee Branch would cost about $18.5 million. Only two bids were received. Portzen Construction offered the low bid of $27.8 million. (15)

On May 18, 2015 the council voted 6-1 to award the contract to Portzen Construction. Before the vote, City Manager Van Milligen unveiled a plan to award the bid without increased debt or raising storm water rates. The plan called for delaying several components of the multi-phased Bee Branch project including work on 50-70 of the 240 alleys planned for reconstruction. Van Milligen stated that delaying the timetable could result in the loss of $5.3 million in grant funding because of mandatory scheduling requirements. (16)

Work on the long-anticipated flood-mitigation project was scheduled to begin during the first week of June 2015. Children from six schools within a mile of the project received activity books and met with project leaders during assemblies to discuss safety. A video was prepared to share safety tips with JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL students. (17)

Although work actually began in early June, city and state officials held a ground-breaking ceremony on July 1, 2015. The area affected experienced six presidential disaster declarations since 1999 due to flooding. In 2015 over half of the city's residents lived to worked within the 6.5-square mile watershed. (18)

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Sources:

1. "Common Council," Dubuque Democratic Herald, June 4, 1864, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18640604&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, July 11, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770711&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "Common Council," Dubuque Democratic Herald, November 6, 1893, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18631106&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

4. Carstens, Laura. "Building a Watershed Ethic Through the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project," Julien's Journal, April 2013, p. 42

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid., p. 43

10. Hesson, Ted. "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," National Journal, November 27, 2015, Online: http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-economy/solutions-bank/hard-rains-gonna-fall?mref=scroll

11. "Dubuque Receives 1000 Friends of Iowa 2014 Best Development Award," News Release. City of Dubuque, January 8, 2015, Online: http://www.cityofdubuque.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2625

12. "Work on Upper Bee Branch Restoration Project to Begin," Telegraph Herald, January 3, 2015, p. 5A

13. Jacobson, Ben. "Bee Branch A Huge Excavation Effort," Telegraph Herald, February 12, 2015, p. 1

14. Ibid., p. 10

15. Jacobson, Ben. "Bee Branch Bids Busting Budget," Telegraph Herald, May 16, 2015, p. 1

16. Montgomery, Jeff. "Council Approves Bee Branch Contract," Telegraph Herald, May 19, 2015, p. 1

17. Jacobson, Ben. "Bee Branch Construction Set to Begin." Telegraph Herald, June 1, 2015, p. 3A

18. Barton, Thomas J. and Kelly, Stephanie, "'Long Time Coming' for the North End Project," Telegraph Herald, July 2, 2015, p. 1

Televised interview with Deron Muehring, Engineering Department.