Cross Vane Repair

Riverbend Engineering teamed with another consulting firm on the design and construction oversight of this project for the City of Santa Fe.  Recent flood events had torn apart a cross vane structure at a sharp bend in the river, and lateral riverbank erosion had begun.  Riverbend’s design solution included armoring the outside bank of the river at the bend, widening the active channel to match the river upstream and downstream, and constructing several grade control structures to limit further channel bed erosion.  Riverbend’s design sought to fix the erosion and grade control problems with a natural looking approach, and limited the hardscape to only those areas where it was necessary.  The design palette utilized large boulders where needed, concrete grout for the largest grade control, willow and cottonwood transplants, and selected grading to shape the channel’s width and profile.  The photo below shows the largest of the grade control structures during the construction process.  As the vegetation matures, a mix of rocks and willows along the river bank looks much more natural than a continuous lining of concrete or riprap rock.