Bitter Creek Reconstruction Plan & Design

The Master Plan has two purposes - one functional and engineering-based, and another that focuses on aesthetics and urban design. It will provide guidance to the reconstruction and design of Bitter Creek as it flows through the City of Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Bitter Creek currently causes residential neighborhoods and commercial/retail areas to be designated within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood plain. This designation puts severe restrictions on development opportunities, requires property owners to pay large flood insurance premiums, and negatively affects community image. A primary purpose of the plan is to reconstruct the creek channel to contain flood events so that properties now shown in the flood plain can be removed from the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).

The Plan will also set a framework for transforming the long-neglected eyesore into a green corridor that links neighborhoods with each other and downtown, and provides a pleasant and inviting pathway system accented with gathering places, seating places, and plazas. The creek corridor will be cleaned, planted with native riparian and upland vegetation, and over time will establish Bitter Creek as a community asset and positive reflection on the community.