In advancing the goal of improving student capacity across North Clackamas School District, a middle school was converted and expanded into Adrienne C. Nelson High School. In leading each element of project delivery and logistics, Otak provided full project management services in bringing the district’s vision to reality.
Expanding Education Facilities to Meet a District’s Student Capacity Goals
Named in honor of the first African American woman appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court, Adrienne C. Nelson High School received a 140,000-square-foot addition from the original middle school with funding from a successful school bond measure. The conversion project also included updates to increase building energy efficiency and student safety while improving classroom technology infrastructure for STEM and vocational education programs. New classrooms, chemistry labs, and a career center were part of a two-story classroom wing while a 600-seat auditorium highlights the performing arts wing. Athletic facilities across the 66-acre site included improvements to multiple indoor gyms and weight rooms while new outdoor facilities added tennis courts, a football stadium with track and covered bleachers, a press box, and varsity baseball field.
For one of the fastest-growing areas of Snohomish County, plans for additional transit options and improvements to the arterial transportation system were considered a top priority. As a main route in the county’s southeast, the 180th corridor would be reconstructed with a multimodal design that addresses capacity needs while also enhancing multiple adjacent wetland habitats.
In meeting the county’s five-lane urban arterial design stands, improvements to the 180th Street corridor includes the widening of the road with two new lanes to improve capacity and reduce congestion. Sidewalks on both sides of the road and bike lanes are part of multimodal design. With much of the work occurring at the confluence of two fish-bearing streams, significant changes to that system were needed. Realigning a portion of Thompson Creek and the removal of a roadside ditch creates a more natural channel and habitat. A new stormwater conveyance system adds modular wetlands for stormwater treatment, and stormwater detention vaults for flow control. The removal of hydrologic barriers along with wetland enhancements through grading, soil amendments, and planting were part of fully-mitigating all impacts on site. Otak designed two culvert replacements, a restored stream channel, stormwater facilities, retaining walls, and utility relocation to support the County’s roadway improvement goals.
On a 5-acre open space parcel near Vancouver, Washington’s northern border exists Kozy Kamp Park, providing a green oasis in a quickly developing suburban community. Working from a previously prepared master plan, Otak led an environmental review and land use approvals before assisting the County with construction document preparation and construction phase services to build this much-anticipated neighborhood park.
Utilizing a Master Plan Process to Protect a Wetland and Meet Diverse Community Recreation Interests
In utilizing community feedback as part of the master plan process, the development of Kozy Kamp Park – named after a locally-made camping trailer – focused on improvements aimed at meeting the diverse recreation interests of the community. Among the features are a basketball court, play structures, comfortable site furnishings, a generous grass field for passive recreation, and access to a paved loop trail. The project also includes frontage improvements, assistance with road modification request, and permitting for work near a wetland area and buffer that occupies twenty-five percent of the park.
Adjacent to Little Boston Road, a 0.75-mile section of trail was designed and constructed as the principal nonmotorized connection to the Tribal Administrative Campus for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.
A Pedestrian Trail Designed for Tribal Administrative Access
The pedestrian trail consists of a ten-foot-wide paved trail with a number of amenities that also includes three pedestrian bridges, five stream crossings, and 7,600 square-feet of retaining walls. In limiting impact to to the area, the project included environmental mitigation as well as utility relocations, driveway and frontage restoration along 15 homeowner sites. As the prime consultant for design and construction Otak provided civil and structural engineering, landscape design, geotechnical investigation, environmental mitigation design, community engagement, construction document preparation, permitting, and construction management.
As a major east/west arterial, McGilchrist Street carries significant traffic volumes for the area surrounding Salem, Oregon. The corridor, which provides a vital connection to downtown access as well as I-5 via Highway 22, would undergo multiple phases across three segments of roadway improvements aimed at traffic, railway, bicyclist, and pedestrian use. In leading the roadway design, Otak prepared a corridor analysis and feasibility study, as well as the engineering design and stream analysis to accommodate multiple creek crossings.
Roadway Design Intersects Stream Analysis for an Improved Corridor and Fish Habitat
The roadway design of McGilchrist Street traverses existing railroad tracks along with crossings at Clark Creek as well as the East and West Forks of Pringle Creek. Widening throughout the corridor with additional turn lanes at major intersections featuring new traffic signals – including the realignment of the 22nd Street intersection to a four-leg intersection – aim to reduce traffic congestion while bike facilities including a 10-foot-wide protected cycle track and pedestrian crossings encourage active transportation. In facilitating multiple creek crossings as well as widening of an at-grade track crossing for a Union Pacific Railroad mainline, stream analysis also identified solutions to alleviate bank over-topping and chronic flooding from the creek channel onto adjacent properties and over the existing roadway. Two culverts – including three-sided culvert with a natural bottom to accommodate the road widening – along with large wood debris add to this approach while also improving fish passage and habitat.
An alternatives analysis process led to a selected concept for three roundabouts along the existing alignment of NE 171st Street in Woodinville, Washington. The design alleviates congestion created by zoning changes aimed at encouraging economic growth in the city’s downtown area. In leading the analysis, Otak also provided a variety of services including the full design and construction support that followed.
Converting an Arterial to Improve Capacity, Flooding, and Fish Passage
Zoning changes enacted within the downtown master planning area of Woodinville were expected to result in congested intersections at key entrances into the downtown core. Roundabouts at one existing intersection and plans for two others – at locations that would be constructed as the area became more densely developed – provided the basis for the identified best solution. The alignment for each intersecting roadway was determined while incorporating a roadway diet, from five lanes to two, between roundabouts to channelize the traffic safely and efficiently. These improvements came with several other benefits by substantially reducing paved areas, replacing two culverts to fish-passable standards, alleviating flooding, and adding stormwater quality improvements, and a multi-use trail.
An aging and underutilized park in Vancouver, Washington, was redesigned to meet current safety and accessibility guidelines. In updating the design and amenities of Dubois Park, Otak developed a master plan – as well as subsequent construction support – to address a variety of goals based on input from the community.
A Park Site Plan to Meet Diverse Community Recreation Priorities
Originally installed nearly 40 years prior, Dubois Park underwent an extensive public engagement process to produce a preferred site plan that met community needs for recreation. For the 2.3-acre park that was largely underutilized, its redesign balanced a widely diverse set of priorities from the public. From sustainable materials and planting design to universally inclusive public amenities and creative play opportunities, the design placed an overarching emphasis on enhancing recreation opportunities for all ages. Park layout, topography, and program were adjusted and publicly presented to demonstrate respect for various concerns and how they were addressed. The park has received praise from both neighborhood users and park staff for preserving the woodsy quality of the park while also increasing it’s utility for the community as a whole.
As part of Community Transit’s busy operations base, the Hardeson Campus Service and Operations Building presented a unique opportunity to convert a two-story concrete tilt panel office building into an operations hub. Following the design ideals established at the Cascade Administration Building to create a vibrant environment to better serve the growing company and community. Leading the project from design through construction, Otak provided architectural, structural, civil, and landscape design as well as planning and construction administration services.
A Transit Service Hub Designed for Employee Wellness and Efficient Operations
Comprehensive renovation revitalized the existing building through holistic improvements with an emphasis on employee wellness. Expanded exterior windows and several new skylights increase natural illumination to foster a more sustainable and pleasant indoor environment while newly added entry vestibules improve the envelope efficiency. Interior renovations focused largely on the needs of the hundreds of coach operators, supervisors, dispatchers, and ambassadors that it is intended to serve daily. This approach led to a facility that now boasts numerous amenities, from fitness facilities and expanded locker rooms to comfortable recreation and break areas, and quiet rooms where operators recharge between shifts. The heart of the building is the great hall designed to encourage team cohesion and accommodate company gatherings. The employee focus extends to other exterior enhancements including a screened patio area, expanded landscaping, and improved parking and traffic flow. Building improvements include structural and seismic upgrades, and state of the art mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems, including zero fossil fuel, all-electric heat pump heating. Additional technology systems meet stringent communication, conferencing, and security needs. Sharing the site with an active maintenance building and coach parking, the project required a phased construction approach to ensure uninterrupted operations throughout the process.
As part of Washington State’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) line, the 11-mile Orange Line route connects portions of Snohomish County along with the cities of Lynnwood and Mill Creek. Otak led the design and permitting while also providing construction engineering support for this transit-oriented development.
Expanding Bus Rapid Transit Corridors and Facilities for Improved Public Transportation
The design of this corridor connects service to Edmonds College, Lynnwood city center, Alderwood Mall, Mill Creek, including four park-and-rides and three future Sound Transit Link light rail stations. Project elements include a new transit center for the western terminus at the Edmonds College, construction of 17 BRT stations along the new Orange Line corridor and one additional BRT station along the Blue Line Swift Bus route, retrofitting five Green Line stations to also function as Orange Line stations, reconstruction of the existing transit center at the McCollum Park Park-and-Ride, and roadway and signal improvements at approximately 14 intersections to improve transit speed and reliability. Otak team efforts include alternatives analysis, preliminary and final design, environmental permitting, PS&E preparation, and jurisdictional coordination and permitting for the proposed BRT stations and termini including all associated roadway, signal, and pedestrian improvements.
The relocation of fiberoptic cables crossing the Old Young’s Bay Bridge in Astoria, Oregon required a wide range of permitting. Otak provided a full array of permitting services for the development of this complete permit acquisition and strategy.
A Complete Permitting Strategy to Ensure Environmental Protection
Mitigation of construction impacts to stream and estuary functions also necessitated compliance with local City of Astoria shoreline requirements along with restoration and compensatory mitigation planning documents. Given the structural elements and surrounding natural environment, the permit strategy included cultural resources compliance for NHPA Section 106, ESA compliance documentation per a programmatic Biological Assessment, a Joint Permit Application in support of required cut and fill permit from Oregon’s Department of State Lands and the Corps Section 404 permits.
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