Blossom Way Creek in Rogers flows through heavily urbanized residential and commercial areas along I-49. Rapid land development along the riparian corridor led to a loss of vegetation and increased flows through the creek. A record flood in the spring of 2022 washed away large portions of the streambank, leaving a vertical edge eroded to within inches of the Razorback Greenway Trail. 

The City of Rogers hired Crafton Tull to lead emergency efforts to stabilize the creek and protect the Greenway. This was followed by a larger project to restore 825 L.F. of stream channel and reconnect 1,800 L.F. of additional creek to its floodplain. The team used a natural channel design methodology to create an appropriately sized channel with a dense riparian buffer and instream structures that deflect erosive forces from the banks and prevent downcutting. 

The team navigated around an active bridge construction project on site and three other development projects nearby. What began as an emergency stabilization effort ended in a restored natural channel section in an urban center. The restoration of Blossom Way Creek safeguards community green space, removes homes from the floodplain, and provides essential stormwater management functions along a primary flood corridor in Rogers.