Urban has a proud and significant history of developing solutions for complex challenges. Looking ahead, the firm wants to continue its reputation as a steward of infrastructure. Our firm works to protect our nation’s transportation network and public spaces through a variety of ways. In addition to our design, planning, and construction support services - which touch all aspects of infrastructure projects - our environmental services team has helped transform blighted properties and aging infrastructure into livable, sustainable community hubs. We have also enabled construction to occur safely and efficiently in locations that were once deemed infeasible for new development or reuse. For the month of March, we are recognizing resilience in infrastructure. Here are some of the projects Urban has worked in an effort to be a steward of resiliency:

The Rail Park

The Rail Park is a transformational project that introduced 25,000 SF of community and green space to a mixed-use Philadelphia neighborhood which lacked both. Urban is proud to have been part of this effort that is spurring economic and environmental growth throughout the City. Read more about the project by clicking here.

Superstorm Sandy

Superstorm Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive, as well as the strongest, hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Inflicting nearly $70 billion in damage, it was the second-costliest hurricane on record in the United States. PATH, in support of the Superstorm Sandy Recovery efforts, contracted Urban to provide Program Management and Project Management services. Read more about the work by clicking here.

South Cove Jetty

Urban served as the on-call engineering design consultant and construction manager for the Battery Park City’s South Cove Jetty’s decking replacement and bracing restoration. The jetty is a dual art installation and recreational esplanade that extends into the Hudson River from the Battery Park City relieving platform. With many piles showing signs of deterioration in the tidal zone, Urban designed a splice repair and recommended a multilayer layer wrap system to protect against further deterioration. Learn more about the project by clicking here.

Battery Park City

Again working with Manhattan’s Battery Park City, Urban developed a maintenance protocol for the seawall protecting the park. Tax and lease revenue from this marquee waterfront site has funded affordable housing projects elsewhere in the city. Learn more about the resiliency program by clicking here.

South to Christian Trail

Urban was proud to work on the Schuylkill River Trail Extension in Philadelphia. The site presented multiple design challenges, including a narrow footprint, a deteriorating bulkhead edge, soil contamination throughout the site, and limited construction access due to physical constraints on all sides. Following the completion of a feasibility study, Urban developed a full set of plans, specifications, and estimates for construction of the trail. Learn more about it by clicking here.

JFK Boulevard

More than simple roadway reconstruction, the JFK Boulevard project became the cornerstone of Sea Isle City’s “Beach to Bay” initiative and transformed JFK Boulevard — the city’s central corridor— from an aging road into an inviting gateway with amenities long sought by the community. Urban provided engineering services from preliminary design through construction to Cape May County. Learn more about it by clicking here.

Lardner's Point Park

Lardner’s Point Park is a model of ecological restoration and riverfront recreation that has set standards for a planned riverfront greenway. It’s also an important link to the 3,000-mile-long East Coast Greenway that runs from Maine to Florida. A formerly blighted space next to the Delaware River, Urban served as the environmental consultant for ecological restoration of this area as a park. Learn more by clicking here.

Main Fountain at Longwood Gardens

For the renovation of the Main Fountain at Longwood Gardens, the project involved replacing the aging infrastructure supporting the Gardens and providing new engineered systems and enhancements to the landscape, site, and fountains. Urban played an integral role on this project by providing civil, site, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services, as a subconsultant to the project designer. Learn more by clicking here.

Mussel Hatchery

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary contracted Urban to support their effort to build the nation's first city-owned mussel hatchery at Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia. Once built it will be capable of producing 500,000 mussels a year as part of an effort to help filter and purify water in the Delaware, Schuylkill, and Susquehanna Rivers. Learn more by clicking here.