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East Pier Roadway Redesign: Green Infrastructure, Stormwater Park Design

Cypress worked with our partners at Digital Engineering to redesign East Pier Roadway at the Port of Gulfport in 2020. The green infrastructure project accomplishes multiple objectives that benefit the Port and the City of Gulfport – including the addition of a stormwater park. The Port of Gulfport is the second largest green fruit port in the US and one of the 17 strategic ports in the US authorized to handle military cargo.
 
This project:
  • transforms an abandoned brownfield located within the city center
  • creates accessible greenspace
  • improves water quality with a stormwater park and raingardens
  • uses native plants to enhance ecological function
  • serves the community by improving safety, the environment, and aesthetics
 
The primary improvements designed into this project are:
  • the road alignment was adjusted to accommodate container truck traffic and improve safety
  • we designed an entry space and signage for the Port
  • we designed a stormwater park and constructed wetlands behind the entry signage
  • we designed green infrastructure features alongside the roadway.
The green infrastructure features process and filter stormwater from the road. This project improves traffic flow, public safety, and water quality. Water quality improvement is critical in this area, since it drains directly into the Mississippi Sound.
 
The East Pier roadway improvement project is part of the Port’s expansion initiative. This initiative includes a 282-acre dredge and fill program, expansion of the east pier, north harbor, west pier, and the construction of a 4,000-linear foot breakwater system.
 
Cypress developed a new grading design, stormwater design and landscape design for this project. To improve port resiliency, sustainability, aesthetics, and maintenance, the landscape design includes extensive use of native plants. Cypress conducted stakeholder engagement throughout the design process.


About Cypress

Cypress Environmental Services (Cypress), LLC, is a small, woman-owned business specializing in engineering, planning, and environmental science from our office in Biloxi, Mississippi. We provide a range of environmental science and engineering services including consulting, construction administration, and construction contracting and are a licensed engineering firm in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia.

Cypress focuses on creating better projects where the built environment meets the natural environment. We stay abreast of current research as well as innovations in products, materials, and techniques to provide the most cost-effective methods to achieve an individual client’s objectives while planning and building projects and developments that work with the environment.

Park Design
Engineering, environmental consulting & planning firm.
Section of constructed wetland bioswale