The City of Jacksonville and Groundwork Jacksonville took another step toward restoring McCoys Creek to the free-flowing waterway it once was with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 4, for the McCoys Creek Branches restoration project.
City officials and community stakeholders gathered at Hollybrook Plaza to officially launch this project, marking a critical step toward returning the waterway to a healthier, more natural state. However, Groundwork Jacksonville CEO Kay Ehas said the ceremony meant so much more than simply the beginning of construction.
“Breaking ground on the McCoys Creek Branches is more than a construction milestone – it represents the beginning of a healthier, more resilient future for this community,” said Ehas. “Restoring the headwaters is essential to healing the entire creek system, improving water quality, reducing flooding and creating access to nature for generations to come. This is what environmental equity looks like in action, and we’re proud to lead this effort and work hand-in-hand with the City and our neighborhood partners to bring it to life.”
Once complete, the project will restore 4,752 linear feet of the McCoys Creek headwaters – including nearly 15 acres of stream and wetlands and 3.9 acres of open space for future recreation. It will eliminate polluted and eroding ditches, restore natural areas within the neighborhood and bring more than 10,000 new trees and tens of thousands of native plants.
Thanks to a grant from the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board, Groundwork Jacksonville will be able to study potential nutrient-reduction strategies and estimate that this restoration project will remove 3,600 pounds of nitrogen and 570 pounds of phosphorus from the creek annually.
WSP is the design engineering firm for this $12.65 million project; Kiewitt is the construction contractor and C&ES is the construction engineering inspection firm. Funding is supported by a $5.18 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Resilient Florida program grant, awarded to the City of Jacksonville in collaboration with Groundwork Jacksonville, and a $2.6 million grant awarded to Groundwork Jacksonville from the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation’s Community-based Restoration program. Remaining project costs, including remediation of contaminated soils from a former ash-dumping site, will be funded by the City of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan shared remarks about the impact that public-private partnerships can have on a community.
“This project reflects what is possible when government, nonprofits and residents work together toward a shared vision,” Deegan said. “For decades, neighbors here have lived with the impacts of pollution, flooding and disinvestment. Today marks the beginning of repair – not just of the creek, but of the relationship between people and the natural environment that surrounds them. We’re honored to partner with Groundwork Jacksonville to return McCoys Creek to the community as a beautiful asset along the Emerald Trail.”
McCoys Creek Restoration Project – An Update
With the first phase of the McCoys Creek Restoration project complete, residents can expect ongoing work for subsequent phases.
The Stockton Street Bridge, which was closed last summer during Phase I construction, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed later this spring.
Phase II – “Brooklyn Myrtle Avenue to May Street” is currently in design by the City, while site work and utilities improvements are ongoing for the Outfall segment of the project, which stretches from May Street to the St. Johns River.
Future work for this segment also includes replacing the section of the Northbank Riverwalk that had to be removed to allow for the construction of the new channel.
