Transportation staff at Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC) recently attended the Rivers and Roads training hosted by the UMass Transportation Center. This two-day, hands-on workshop took place in Worcester at the MassDOT District 3 Headquarters and in-situ at various rivers in the area. The training focused on the intersection of transportation infrastructure and river systems, offering valuable insights into resilient road design, culvert upgrades, and flood mitigation strategies alongside deepening knowledge of fluvial geomorphology, which is the study of the physical shapes of rivers.  

Attendance at this training is an example of expanding interdisciplinary knowledge to support our work in the MVPC Transportation program. The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission’s Environmental Program leads numerous water resource planning and implementation projects in the Merrimack, Parker, Ipswich, North Coastal and Shawsheen River basins. While these projects center on mitigating inland and coastal flood events, it is also important for the Transportation Program to also understand these natural resources and plan road, culvert, and bridge maintenance and implementation from a place of respect for rivers.

In addition to a classroom lecture, and site visits to rivers, attendees also enjoyed a hands-on portion where they used a stream table, pictured above, to observe different fluvial morphology and design resilient culverts.

We’re committed to applying these best practices in our region to support safer, more sustainable infrastructure throughout the Merrimack Valley.

Trainings like these are available to all municipal staff, and can be found at the UMass Transportation Center Website, here: Baystate Roads – UMTC