Palisades Maintenance Facility Improvements

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park » Palisades Maintenance Facility Improvements » Document List

The National Park Service, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, will undertake improvements for security and storage at the park's Palisades maintenance shop, located at Great Falls, MD. Included in this proposal is the replacement of the chain link fence around the perimeter of the facility, a new "green" retaining wall to prevent further slope failure and erosion of the parking lot surface, and a concrete block addition to the existing maintenance building.

The chain link fence will be 6' high black PVC coated chain link. The fence posts will be driven every 10' and set in 36" concrete at the corners. The fence posts will be located within areas of fill material or previously disturbed earth. The "green" Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining wall is a system that can be seeded to allow vegetation to grow and cover the face of the structure. This product had been used in the park for slope failure repairs at 15 Mile Creek Aqueduct, Little Orleans, MD and Berm Road, Hancock, MD.

A 15'x40' concrete block addition will be built to store equipment and supplies for the Volunteers in the Park (VIP) program in the Palisades district. The program is currently using a small storage shed located near the maintenance shop buildings. The program has outgrown the shed's storage capacity. The shed does not have electricity for lights and tool battery charging. The addition to the existing concrete block structure will double the VIP storage capacity, provide electric power, and provide a more secure area for the storage of program supplies and equipment.

It is anticipated the project will be accomplished by day labor.

The park's Interdisciplinary Team reviewed the project for impacts to natural and cultural resources. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to the environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets categorical exclusion #C.8 – Replacement in kind of minor structures and facilities with little or no change in location, capacity, or appearance – for example, comfort stations, pit toilets, fences, kiosks, signs, and campfire circles.

The project also meets the National Historic Preservation Act/Section 106 Programmatic Agreement, Exclusions #IV.B 6 – rehabilitation and widening of existing trails, walks, paths, and sidewalks within previously disturbed areas, and; Exclusions #IV.B 8 – placement, maintenance, or replacement of utility lines, transmission lines, and fences within previously disturbed areas.





Contact Information

For further information about this project, please contact Chief of Maintenance, at 1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100, Hagerstown, MD 21740.