Hamilton Dam Removal - Innovative Design and Collaboration to Achieve a Wide Variety of Objectives

The Flint River Restoration is a key component in a long‐term project to revitalize the riverfront in downtown Flint, Michigan combining riverbank park improvements, greenway connectivity, and in‐river naturalization that will become the recently announced Flint State Park. Naturalization of the river will improve habitat and access along nearly 2 miles of the channel, address impairments from damming, channelization, dredging, and urban development, while improving recreational opportunities for city residents. The lynchpin was removal of the Hamilton Dam, which opened nearly 25 miles of stream to lake sturgeon and walleye and reconnected the upstream reaches to Saginaw Bay for the first time in over a century. Meeting multiple, and sometimes conflicting, objectives of the project required innovative use of both natural channel design elements and traditional civil engineering approaches.