Federal Funds Secured to Restore Rocky Branch Creek Inside Dix Park

Raleigh's Rocky Branch Creek, classified as impaired by state regulators and partially displaced by a landfill built in its historic wetland, secured $1,092,000 in federal funding Thursday when Congresswoman Deborah Ross and Mayor Janet Cowell announced the grant at Dix Park.

The money, formally designated the City of Raleigh Rocky Branch Tributary Enhancement Project, flows from a Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill. The city plans to begin with the stretch of creek running between Boylan Avenue and South Saunders Street, where restored banks, new boardwalks and pathways, and native plantings would eventually create a continuous green corridor linking downtown Raleigh to Gipson Play Plaza inside the 308-acre park.

The creek's degradation accumulated over decades. A landfill was placed in Rocky Branch's natural wetland, stripping away the wide floodplain that once filtered runoff and absorbed stormwater. Development and roadways further pushed the channel from its natural course. The restoration calls for reestablishing that meandering path, widening the floodplain, removing invasive species, and stabilizing banks with native plantings. A proposed system of stormwater catchment ponds and hillside seeps would filter pollutants and create wetland habitat while giving the creek capacity to hold runoff during heavy rains, reducing downstream flood risk.

The $1.09 million is one piece of $6.2 million in community project funding that Ross secured for Wake County in the same appropriations package. "After months of partisan fights and inaction in Congress," Ross said when the bill was signed into law in January, "I am thrilled that we were able to put politics aside and deliver funding for critical projects in Wake County."

Cowell brings an unusually personal stake to the announcement. She served as president and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy from 2021 until October 2024, helping raise $40 million in private funding for the park before resigning to run for mayor and winning election that November. The federal restoration grant now moving forward is a project she advocated from the conservancy's executive office.

The City of Raleigh will manage construction and is expected to select a multi-disciplinary design team, following feasibility work previously led by Durham-based consultant Surface 678. The city has not announced a construction start date, a projected completion window, specific trail or road closures during construction, or measurable benchmarks for water quality improvement and flood reduction. Whether state or local matching funds accompany the federal award has also not been disclosed. Those details will determine whether $1,092,000 produces a transformed waterway or extends a years-long study of a creek Raleigh has long acknowledged needs fixing.