HR Green has been honored with the Missouri Chapter APWA Public Works Project of the Year Award – Environmental, $1 Million to $3 Million category for the Cedarhurst Drive Creek Bank Stabilization Project, completed for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) with Keeley Construction Group as the construction contractor. The award recognizes excellence in public works projects that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, and lasting community benefits.
Located behind the 10,000 block of Cedarhurst Drive in unincorporated north St. Louis County, the project addressed decades of severe streambank erosion along Black Jack Creek. What began as a single 40-foot slump in 1989 had expanded to two massive 280-foot failures by 2016, threatening homes, fences, and utility poles. Increased stormwater runoff from suburban development had deepened and narrowed the creek, transforming it into a confined, erosive channel that jeopardized both property and public safety.
MSD selected HR Green to lead a comprehensive stabilization effort that would deliver a long-term solution rather than isolated repairs. Following detailed geomorphological and hydraulic analyses, HR Green developed and evaluated multiple alternatives before implementing a long-reach stabilization design spanning 1,300 feet of Black Jack Creek.
The selected solution combined structural protection with ecological restoration. The creek was realigned away from vulnerable properties, banks were regraded to stable slopes, and heavy stone toe protection was installed to resist erosion during high-flow events. HR Green incorporated native vegetation, floodplain benches, and grade control structures to reconnect the stream with its natural floodplain, reducing future erosion while enhancing habitat and water quality.
Throughout design and construction, HR Green worked closely with MSD and residents to maintain access, protect utilities, and keep neighbors informed. This proactive communication turned a long-standing neighborhood concern into a collaborative success story.
The project has transformed an unstable, hazardous waterway into a resilient, sustainable community asset. It now safeguards adjacent homes and infrastructure, restores ecological balance, and provides a model for nature-based stream stabilization.
