The Park River

[Kelly]

Wow - what great pictures and vision for what could be - again.

Would anyone have a graphic showing where exactly the Park River runs underground? I'm specifically interested in the area west of Bushnell Park. Thanks in advance.

[email protected]

[blink55184]

http://www.hogriver.org/issues/v01n01/hog_river_history.htm

A good article about the "Hog River" that I hadnt read before

[BJE]

There must be a way to control flooding without burying the river, I don't really see how burying the river helped control flooding, it's still there. I guess maybe making it run straight helped.

Burying the river helps control flooding because the Park River runs into the Connecticut River, and when the CT River rises above flood level, the Park River backs up and used to flood too. Putting the Park River underground was part of a 1940s flood control project that put dikes along the CT River as well as buried the Park River. Now, the elevation of the Park River before it goes underground is well above flood stage. So, when the CT River rises, the dikes keep it out of downtown, and the Park River backs up IN THE TUNNEL, instead of flooding over its banks.

BJE

[BJE]

Burying the river helps control flooding because the Park River runs into the Connecticut River, and when the CT River rises above flood level, the Park River backs up and used to flood too. Putting the Park River underground was part of a 1940s flood control project that put dikes along the CT River as well as buried the Park River. Now, the elevation of the Park River before it goes underground is well above flood stage. So, when the CT River rises, the dikes keep it out of downtown, and the Park River backs up IN THE TUNNEL, instead of flooding over its banks.

BJE

I don't know if I explained that very well. OK, how about this: The CT River, as it passes Hartford, is at about 10' above sea level, normally. Its banks are at about elev. 20' so if the river were to rise more than 10' above normal it spills over the riverbanks (i.e. floods). From the rivers' edge, Hartford slopes uphill, but it's only about 25' to 30' above sea level in the area around Bushnell Park. I think the dikes are built at about 50' above sea level, offering much more protection against flooding. So, at the point where the Park River goes underground, by Pope Park (south branch) and Farmington Ave (north branch) its also at about 50' above sea level. That way water doesn't back up the Park River and flood the city despite the dikes. Does that make sense?

By the way, those elevations are rough estimates only, from a quick look at a topozone.com map...

BJE

[Captain59]

^ In the drawing in the Courant, it did have a pedestrian bridge - but it doesn't use the arch. Too bad - its still there, underground.

http://www.courant.com/media/graphic/2006-01/21366540.jpg

The Courant seems to have removed this. Does anyone have it anywhere else?

[blink55184]

part 2

[beerbeer]

That ain't the depths. They never more than a few feet past the opening of the tunnel.

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

Cool, thanks for posting this blink!

[blink55184]

That ain't the depths. They never more than a few feet past the opening of the tunnel.

Yah, I wish someone who canoed it woulda filmed it...still a cool find tho...Ive never been down there, just seen them from the highway

[tomp]

Yah, I wish someone who canoed it woulda filmed it...still a cool find tho...Ive never been down there, just seen them from the highway

It's kind of hard to film, actually, because it's so dark. I did the trip and took some low-quality video, but you can't see much. It's hard to understand how completely pitch black it is in there unless you've been through. Also, the tunnels are pretty huge, so headlamps and such don't do much to illuminate the surroundings. You'd have to bring in some fairly intense lighting to be able to capture the place on camera.

[beash19]

Looks like there is an interesting exhibit at RealArtWays. I think the article stated it's showing until July 31st so my hope is to get over there to see it.

http://farmington.patch.com/articles/artist-archaeologists-unearth-hartfords-buried-river-2