Bridge Creek was altered nearly a century ago when a state highway  and railroad line was constructed, cutting off much of the tidal flow  and severely degrading the entire upstream aquatic ecosystem.  The culprits were two undersized culverts that carried the creek  beneath the road and the rail line. The project site, 40 acres of coastal wetlands, lies within the state-designated Sandy Neck/Barnstable  Harbor Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

 

Town of Barnstable, National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA), USDA Natural Resources Conservation  Service, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), MA Wetlands  Restoration Program, ten corporate partners via the MA Corporate  Wetlands Restoration Partnership, Conservation Law Foundation,  The Nature Conservancy, the Gulf Of Maine Council, and others.

The partnership rallied to meet the deadline imposed by scheduled maintenance and, in 2003, replaced the culvert beneath the railroad line, restoring tidal flow to 24 acres of degraded salt marsh. In April 2005, the culvert under the State road was replaced, restoring  tidal flow to another 16 acres. Preliminary monitoring indicates that the project successfully restored full tidal exchange to 40 acres of degraded marsh, which will expand and improve habitat for estuarine life, including fish, wading birds, and the state threatened northern diamondback terrapin.

 

Each of the project partners played a critical role:  

 The total cost of the project was about $1.5 million, of which NOAA contributed about $343,000.