Route 202 Recreational Facility, Mahwah, NJ
Description:
Boswell Engineering provided the engineering design and construction management services for the construction of a recreational facility consisting of two (2) baseball/softball fields, a football field, soccer field, tot lot, bocce court, gazebo, parking lot, concession and comfort station, underground drainage system including a detention basin and two (2) stormwater outfalls. In addition to the aforementioned facilities, a four (4) foot mulch trail was designed and installed around the perimeter of an existing lake with two (2) footbridge crossings and educational stations along the way informing the public of the value of New Jersey Wetlands, habitat and wildlife.
Boswell, on behalf of the Township of Mahwah, also applied to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for a minor Stream Encroachment Permit and Freshwater Wetlands General Permit (G.P.) Nos. 6, 10A, 11, and 17. The FWSGP No. 6 was required to fill in one (1) small isolated wetland area. The construction of the two (2) pedestrian footbridges required a FWSGP No. 10A. The FWSGP No. 11 allowed for the construction of two (2) stormwater outfalls and the proposed recreational footpath required a FWSGP No. 17 allowing the path to be constructed through several wetland and transition areas.
A Transition Area Averaging Waiver was also requested for the facility’s construction. The wetlands on-site have been classified as exceptional and intermediate resource value requiring a 150’ and 50’ transition area (wetland buffer), respectively. This waiver allowed for the buffer to be reduced in pertinent construction areas while increasing the buffer in other areas to preserve the overall square footage of the transition area.
At the northern portion of the site Boswell proposed passive recreation consisting of a 4’ wide meandering wood chip nature trail circumnavigating the existing lake. To minimize vegetation disturbance, the trail was constructed from a pre-existing path currently utilized by hikers. The trail included a number of education stations to inform the public of the importance of wetlands and the fragile ecosystem occupied by the wood turtle, a threatened species identified on the subject site.