The Wyandotte Eureka Road viaduct downtown gateway planting project has received an America in Bloom $25,000 grant award, with other funds being matched by the city’s Downtown Development Authority, which the city council approved at its Jan. 10 meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – The City Council accepted a $25,000 America in Bloom grant Jan. 10 for the Eureka Road viaduct downtown gateway planting project, with the balance funded by the Downtown Development Authority.
The grant is provided by the Canadian National EcoConnexions Program, and will be reimbursed to the DDA upon the project’s completion. The DDA is providing the balance of the estimated $61,775 total project cost.
The planting project will add approximately 60 trees to the area, as well as thousands of perennial flowers between 7th and 9th streets, north and south of the viaduct, on the sloped embankments and the upper tiers.
The trees were selected to provide year-round color and habitat restoration, and will include eight European black pines, eight Douglas firs, 12 black spruces, six sugar maples and 24 weeping cherries.
In addition, 1,363 creeping phlox flowers will be planted. Phlox is a perennial native to the eastern United States, and is found in woodlands and on stream banks. Its bright, fragrant flowers are pale purple, pink and white. The blooms thrive in any type of soil, as well as in full sun and partial shade.
Access to the plantings will be provided by 9th Street on the northwest and southwest side, the Roosevelt High School parking lot on the northeast side, and 8th Street on the southeast side.
Downtown Development Director Joe Gruber said a commercial landscaping firm has not yet been identified to do the planting.
He said Brian Martin, the city’s certified arborist and superintendent of the Department of Public Works, helped identify the tree species that would thrive on the site, be visually appealing during the changing seasons and would provide a balance of spring blooms and fall colors.
“There is a major focus for urban tree canopy and native habitat restoration, so we are hoping that the trees help make the site look nice and limit maintenance over a long period of time,” he said.
Gruber said the long-term seasonal maintenance of the site next to the viaduct is out for bid. He said he hopes that the same company chosen to provide the seasonal maintenance will also be able to provide the spring planting.
“It is a large and challenging site, so we are looking for a highly proficient landscape company that’s got all the right people and all the right tools to do the job,” Gruber said.
He said the annual flowers that were planted in the past required more watering than the proposed perennials would, and noted that they are more resilient. He said that a few years ago, native flowering shrubs were planted which do not require a lot of irrigation, and he hopes that the new trees will not require a lot of irrigation, either, in the long term.
Gruber noted, though, that the site will require a lot of watering the first two or three years, which will be facilitated by an on-street truck, not an irrigation system, but he would like to explore the possibilities for the future. He noted that purchasing and installing an irrigation system is an expensive proposal, but that there are water feeds to the site.
Mayor Robert DeSana said he hopes that state Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) will be able to persuade the railroad to improve the appearance of the viaduct, as well as provide documentation regarding the viaduct structural integrity.
Gruber said railroad officials contend that the viaduct structure is fine, so city officials are trying to get a document from their engineering representatives confirming the railroad officials’ assertion.
“They won’t address those types of issues unless they present a serious concern for safety,” he said.
Councilmember Kaylyn Crayne wondered what it would cost for the city to contract an engineering firm to inspect the viaduct structures to confirm if they are safe.
“I know someone personally who had a chunk fall on their car, and demolished their hood and broke their windshield,” she said. “There is no way they are safe.”