Transportation & Infrastructure

Roads, rail corridors, and utility infrastructure regularly intersect with streams, wetlands, and drainage systems — which means transportation and infrastructure projects carry both spill risk and ecological restoration requirements that most general contractors aren’t equipped to handle. ERC supports transportation agencies, engineers, and infrastructure contractors with both sides of that work.

From emergency response after a tanker or rail incident to stream restoration required as part of a roadway or utility project, our self-performing crews handle the environmental scope directly, working alongside project engineers rather than as an outside specialist brought in late.

Environmental Risk in Transportation Projects

Tanker truck accidents and rail incidents are the most visible environmental risk along transportation corridors — a release near a roadway or rail line can reach a nearby stream or storm system quickly if it isn’t contained fast, and responders often have to work while emergency services are still managing the incident itself.

Infrastructure projects also regularly require stream, culvert, or bank work as part of construction — relocating a channel, daylighting a piped stream, or stabilizing a bank disturbed by construction activity. That work falls under separate regulatory requirements from the roadway or utility construction itself.

Groundwater and soil contamination can also surface during infrastructure construction, particularly along older transportation corridors and rail yards with a long industrial history.

How ERC Supports Transportation & Infrastructure Projects

For active incidents, ERC’s 24/7 emergency response team contains and recovers releases from tanker and rail incidents, coordinating with emergency services already on scene.

Where infrastructure work intersects with a stream or waterway, our streams, rivers, and wetlands and bank stabilization services restore channels and banks disturbed by or required for construction.

Groundwater intercepted by construction can be managed with an interceptor trench, capturing contaminated groundwater before it spreads further along a corridor.

Confirmed soil or groundwater contamination discovered during construction is addressed through our broader environmental remediation services, sequenced to keep the project moving.

Daylighting & Stream Relocation

Some infrastructure projects require daylighting a stream that was previously piped underground, or relocating a channel to accommodate new construction. ERC has completed daylighting design/build work for municipal and county infrastructure clients, removing outdated storm sewer infrastructure and building a new, functioning stream channel in its place.

This work requires close coordination with the project’s civil engineer, since the stream design has to work within the broader infrastructure plan, not around it.

Responding While Traffic Control Is Still Active

Transportation incident response often means working while emergency services are still managing traffic and safety at the scene. ERC’s crews are trained to coordinate directly with first responders, mobilizing containment and recovery work without adding to the immediate hazard.

Whether it’s an active incident or a planned infrastructure project requiring stream or wetland work, ERC’s emergency response and ecological restoration teams are ready. Contact us to discuss your project.

We can help with your environmental remediation, ecological restoration, and emergency response needs in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.