The "walls" in the Raritan River at Donaldson Park look massive, but they're only temporary. They're the sides of a cofferdam keeping water out of the construction site for a replacement boat-launch ramp. After construction, the cofferdam will be removed, and the new ramp (and parking areas for it) will be what's left. The plans originally presented to the public in Highland Park also call for naturalistic erosion control along the river banks by the ramp. That's a key area where boat wakes combine with river flow to eat away at the fill material that created the park in the first place--where a marsh was once. The Environmental Commission hopes this proposed naturalistic treatment will reintroduce significant stands of native riverside vegetation. Photo: Arnold Henderson 4/20/2006
