Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) celebrated the completion of the $3.5 million Valley Green Run Restoration and Pedestrian Bridge Project after a decade of planning and seven months of construction.

Valley Green Run is a watershed that follows Valley Green Road, connecting with Wissahickon Creek around the pedestrian bridge. Years of storm-induced erosion caused both the streambank and wooden boardwalk to collapse in 2014, forcing a closure of Valley Green Road. The closure forced pedestrians to navigate the narrow road as they headed down to the park.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, FOW Executive Director Ruffian Tittmann cut the ribbon on the bridge, dedicating it to the more than 2,000 FOW volunteers involved in the project.

"We knew that erosion along this steep stretch was a huge problem, and 10 years ago we began planning both to restore the bank that had collapsed and restore the stream to keep erosion from taking sediment into the drinking water supply and then find a new way to convey people along that lower stretch," Tittmann said. "So here we are today."

Before the project, pedestrian traffic from the upper parking lot of Valley Green Road had been connected by a dirt trail running along the road. A significant portion of the bank that the trail traverses had collapsed, taking with it a small footbridge.

"Folks who've been visiting the Wissahickon for a long time will remember that that lot was kind of crumbling into the creek," Tittmann said. "In partnership with the water department, with funding from various grants, we were able to rebuild the bank there and stabilize the stream."

The new bridge allows pedestrians to move more safely off the road, connecting the most popular junction of Wissahickon Valley Park. The elevated walkway also serves as an observation platform, giving visitors an expanded view of Valley Green Run below. Along with connecting the parking lot, the new bridge also connects with sections of Orange Trail above the connection to Forbidden Drive.

A majority of the decade spent on this project was fundraising, Tittmann said. The design portion started in 2020, with construction beginning in May 2024.

Along with state-level funding, "The Philadelphia Water Department has provided capital funding, Parks and Recreation has provided capital funding, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and then a wonderful group of individual donors as well as corporate foundations," Tittmann said.

The stream restoration was the more critical aspect of the project. It restored approximately 215 linear feet of streambank and stream channel, which will help prevent sediment from being discharged to Wissahickon Creek, which provides drinking water to a third of Philadelphians.

That factor contributes to why the Philadelphia Water Department undertakes capital improvements within the Wissahickon.

"The confluence of Wissahickon is just north of the Queen Lane intake of the Schuylkill River," Tittmann said. "So it's really impacting the water that's drawn into the system."

The project placed large boulders on bank walls and within the creek as step pools to fortify the creek and slow the erosive impacts of stormflow, preventing sediment discharge. It also restored a riparian buffer with more than 200 Philadelphia native woody plants, which provides a natural buffer around the stream and helps protect water quality and stream habitat.

Tittmann says this part of the project is meant to be a long-term solution to prevent worsening erosion and another bank collapse.

"We'll continue to monitor the plants and replace them as needed, and continue to work on trying to keep invasives out of the restoration area so these native plants have the opportunity to take hold," Tittmann said. "A significant cost of the project is the very large boulders that went in there. They're the best at staying put, and so hopefully, we won't have to do that again."

An additional portion of the project is "North Approach," located just north of the new pedestrian bridge entrance. It included reconstructing collapsed stormwater infrastructure and a trailhead intended to retain the hillside, convey stormwater and manage high volumes of park visitors through the area.

With the project complete, FOW offers opportunities to name up to 39 planks on the bridge, with some already dedicated to volunteers and family members.

"We're very pleased with how the project has turned out and we are very happy to be done," Tittmann said. "I think it's a wonderful thing to have completed in our 100th anniversary year."