Panther Island
The Army Corps of Engineers is designing a 1.5-mile flood-control bypass channel, which will reroute part of the Trinity River near downtown Fort Worth.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2023 work plan includes $20 million for the Modified Central City project in Fort Worth, also known as the Panther Island project, the city announced on Monday.
The funds will continue the design of the project, which will include completing the Clear Fork, Trinity Point and Tarrant Regional Water District isolation gates and TRWD pump station beyond the initial design.
The Corps previously received $403 million as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2022. Those funds will be used to develop the initial design of the gates and pump station, complete the designs of the bypass channel and three valley storage sites, and construct the interior portions of the bypass channel, three valley storage sites and all required aquatic mitigation.
Additional funds allow design work to continue on remaining features of the project.
The Fort Worth floodway levees were originally constructed in response to flooding events in the early 1900s. The system was modified in the 1950s, and the current system was constructed in the 1960s.
As a result of congressionally authorized floodway studies, it was determined that modifications are required to reduce flood risk.
The Modified Central City Project has several components:
- An approximate 8,400-foot bypass channel
- Three isolation gates
- Low-water dam
- Valley storage mitigation sites (Gateway Park, Ham Branch, Riverside Park, Rockwood Park West, Samuels Avenue and University Drive) to provide flood risk management along the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River.