Posted on March 31, 2025
LOS ANGELES — Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited three reaches of the Los Angeles River Feb. 27 to receive a close-up look at the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project.
Colosimo’s LA River site visit was the final part of her three-day visit to the Los Angeles District area of operations in the last week of February, with much of her time dedicated to meeting with leaders and their teams taking on the California wildfire response mission.
For the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project site visit, Colosimo was joined by a group of leaders including Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Civil Works and Emergency Operations; Joseph Savage, senior executive and programs director with USACE South Pacific Division; Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander; Justin Gay, Deputy District Engineer, and Priyanka Wadhawan, project manager and deputy chief with the LA District’s Mega Projects Division, as she spoke with City of Los Angeles officials Edward Belden, LA River Ecosystem Restoration project manager, and Mara Luevano, capital projects delivery manager, about the status and direction of the project.
The LARER Project is a joint effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and the City of LA to ecologically restore an 11-mile stretch of the river, extending roughly from Griffith Park to downtown LA, and includes plans for riparian habitat and freshwater marsh restoration to support increased populations of wildlife and enhanced habitat connectivity throughout 719 acres and eight reaches or segments of the river.
“There are not many urban ecosystem restoration projects like this that exist in the world,” Wadhawan said. “We’ve looked for case studies and sample studies, and projects of this magnitude in similar urban settings are relatively unprecedented. There may be fewer than a handful that have been put into place. That’s what makes this project unique and significant locally, nationally — and globally, I would even say.”
For the tour, Colosimo and the accompanying group visited key vantage points along three reaches.
The U.S. Geological Survey defines a reach as “a section of a stream or river along which similar hydrologic conditions exist, such as discharge, depth, area and slope.” For the 11-mile stretch of the LA River, other distinguishing features can factor into that definition as well, such as the presence of distinct geographic features, real estate and river channel configurations.
“Every reach has its own unique features and its own unique challenges,” Wadhawan said. “That’s what makes the project so complex, both as an engineering effort and an environmental restoration project. The challenge is to bring back a thriving riparian habitat within an urban environment while maintaining current levels of flood protection.”
Additionally, project responsibilities at each of the three reaches are split differently: Per the current plan, USACE is responsible for delivery of work at Reach 1 at Pollywog Park, which is the northern most feature; the City of LA is responsible for Reach 6 near Taylor Yard, which is mid-stream near Elysian Park; while Reach 8 at the LA Trailer and Container intermodal facility near Union Station is a joint effort.
Wadhawan said the City of Los Angeles and the LA District are still working on their own distinct pieces of the project, each navigating its own separate requirements and processes, but the agencies are still working in lockstep as partners in the project.
“USACE’s relationship with the City of LA, including urban development of the city, goes back at least a century — when the Corps started working on a lot of these big infrastructure projects like the dams and channelization of LA’s rivers and streams to help mitigate flood risk throughout the city,” Wadhawan said. “It’s an old relationship we have with them. We are still in alignment with them, and we are going to continue that partnership, whichever direction that is for the benefit of our communities. Whether it’s flood risk, ecosystem restoration, or emergency operations and debris cleanup, the LA District has an important and longstanding tradition of partnership with the City of LA.”
Learn more about the LARER project here: https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Projects-and-Studies/Los-Angeles-River-Ecosystem-Restoration/.
Priyanka Wadhawan, project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Mega Projects Division, center, briefs Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, second from left, during a visit to Reach 1 of the LA River during an onsite discussion of the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project Feb. 27 in Burbank, California.
Edward Belden, Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project manager for the City of LA, center, provides updates Feb. 27 to Joseph Savage, programs director with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division, left, and Justin Gay, LA District deputy district engineer, on the LA River Ecosystem Restoration project from a vantage point along a pedestrian bridge overlooking the LA River, next to LA’s historic Taylor Yard. They were accompanied by a group including Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works; Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, USACE deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations; and Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander.
Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations, right, speaks with Edward Belden, Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project manager for the City of LA, during a Feb. 27 stop on the pedestrian bridge over Reach 6 of the LA River, next to LA’s historic Taylor Yard. Kelly was there with a group of leaders including Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works; Joseph Savage, programs director with USACE South Pacific Division; Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander; and Justin Gay, LA District deputy district engineer, to talk with City of Los Angeles officials about the status and direction of the project.
Edward Belden, Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project manager for the City of LA, right, directs a visiting group’s attention to a point of interest Feb. 27 along Reach 1 of the LA River. The group included Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works; Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations; Joseph Savage, programs director with USACE South Pacific Division; Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander; and Justin Gay, LA District deputy district engineer; and Priyanka Wadhawan, project manager with the LA District’s Mega Projects Division.
A pedestrian bridge stretching across Reach 6 of the Los Angeles River is pictured Feb. 27 next to LA’s historic Taylor Yard.
A group visiting key sites along the Los Angeles River are pictured together Feb. 27 on the pedestrian bridge overlooking the LA River next to LA’s historic Taylor Yard. From left to right: Capt. Victoria Amato, architect with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Interagency Engineering Section; Priyanka Wadhawan, project manager with the LA District’s Mega Projects Division; Joseph Savage, programs director with USACE South Pacific Division; Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works; Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, USACE deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations; Mara Luevano, capital projects delivery manager for the City of LA; Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander; Edward Belden, LA River Ecosystem Restoration project manager for the City of LA; Justin Gay, LA District deputy district engineer; and Paul Underwood, chief of the LA District’s Engineering Division.
Reach 8 of the Los Angeles River is pictured Feb. 27 at the LA Trailer and Container intermodal facility near Union Station in downtown LA.
Reach 6 of the Los Angeles River is pictured Feb. 27 next to LA’s historic Taylor Yard.
