Belfield Drive is a cul-de-sac that is the only means of egress for residents. The roadway experienced recurrent, nuisance flooding from the Poccasset River that made the road impassable. Furthermore, a single family residence next to the river experienced periodic flooding. Fuss & O’Neill provided the engineering, environmental, and construction services to complete the design and permitting for flood resiliency improvements to Belfield Drive.

Major elements of the project included raising the roadway at Belfield Drive to allow for safe access along the public right-of-way during nuisance flood events, and demolition of a single family residence that experienced recurrent flooding. These elements were designed so as to avoid aggravating subsequent flood conditions. Fuss & O’Neill provided hazardous building materials assessment and abatement services for asbestos-containing materials and arsenic in support of the demolition of a single family residence at the site and contaminated soil management during construction. Design/Build services for a complete “turn-key” package that included construction, construction administration, and engineering support services was also provided.

Even though Belfield Drive is at the head-waters of the Pocasset River, routine flooding made the road impassable, sometimes for months at a time.

Fuss & O’Neill designed a flood mitigation approach that would maintain safe access on the road during flood events. The system was designed to avoid aggravating flood conditions upstream and downstream of the raised roadway. Nature-based solutions were also provided to further mitigate flooding.