Work officially began today on a project to restore the Muddy River to something closer to what Olmsted might recognize - and to reduce the odds of another devastating flood along the normally placid series of brooks and ponds at the heart of the Emerald Necklace.
Officials said the first phase of the project, which will last three years and cost $31 million, will involve dredging current channels, replacing some culverts with larger pipes or opening them back up as streams and moving some nearby roads.