Cincinnati’s Lick Run Valley Revitalized by Creative Stormwater & Sewer Innovation

Redi-Rock walls help transform long-term wastewater problem into a sustainable multi-use solution that reduces harmful CSOs

Wall with a road on the left and newly planted trees on the right.

Construction worker, wearing a hardhat and repelling harness, standing on top of a retaining wall.

Storm water creek with retaining wall to the right.

Aerial view of a construction project, flanked by city roads.

Storm Water Solutions (SWS) named the Lick Run Greenway as one of only ten 2022 Top Project honorees across the country in an awards program that "highlights the best stormwater and erosion control projects of the year that sought creative solutions."

This project required 11 Redi-Rock retaining walls to support the new infrastructure and to avoid impact to the existing combined utilities, sewer, and roadways. It revitalized and transformed Lick Run Greenway into both a functional urban waterway and a multi-use community recreational space.

Justin Amlung, P.E. with Civil Solutions designed the project’s Redi-Rock retaining walls using Redi-Rock Wall+ Software (RRWall+).

“[The developer] put a premium on aesthetics and durability,” Amlung explains.“When you compare Redi-Rock to a small-block competitor in a water application, there really wasn’t much of a decision to be made.”

The gravity walls in the Lick Run project were designed to be constructed with Redi-Rock solid retaining wall blocks. Much like one-ton Lego blocks, these large, wetcast blocks interlock to build walls up to 15 ft (4.5 m) tall.

The Redi-Rock Limestone texture seamlessly blends into the surrounding natural elements, while providing swaths of usable greenspace in an urban environment. Read the full Lick Run Greenway story at Redi-Rock International.