The project in Amesbury is located at Alliance Park, at the confluence of the Powwow and Merrimack Rivers, about 38 miles north of Boston.
Significant erosion of the riverbanks from tides and ice threatened the continued existence of Alliance Park as a recreation area. Unsightly pieces of broken sidewalk and stones of various sizes had been dumped on the riverbank in an attempt to control the erosion. The Corps responded to the problem by building a 480-foot-long gabion retaining wall with stone slope protection along its base. The project starts at the Main Street Bridge and extends for 230 feet along Alliance Park and the Powwow River, then continues for 250 feet along Alliance Park and the Merrimack River.
The project at Amesbury was constructed between October 1977 and June 1978 at a cost of $132,000. It was built under Section 14 of the Corps’ Continuing Authorities Program.