Projects Archives - Page 8 of 11

Animas River Trail Extension Connects Durango Residents to New Park and River

A newly completed section of the Animas River Trail (ART), a project more than ten years in the making, has recently opened, extending the ART to Oxbow Park and Preserve in Durango, Colorado. The trail provides connectivity between downtown, parks, and the library, to miles of other trail systems, and now to Oxbow Park and the Animas River itself.

Oxbow Park and Preserve is a 44-acre area along the Animas River in north Durango with about 38 acres dedicated as a natural preserve for wildlife habitat. The newly completed North Extension of the Animas River Trail is part of the City’s multi-million dollar plan to extend the trail to a new river access point at the park. With the completion of the extension, Durango residents and visitors are now able to safely access the river and enjoy the expanded amenities at Oxbow Park and Preserve.

Initially hired by the City of Durango in 2008 to complete the planning and alignment alternative analysis for the North Extension, Otak has been the lead design firm on all aspects of the trail. At that time, the project extended from Memorial Park to the Iron Horse (2 miles north). Under the leadership of project engineer and trail design manager, Scott Belonger, an alignment study and final construction documents were provided for the segment through Animas City Park in 2011. The project was then put on hold until property ownership and right of way issues were resolved. Because much of the trail work has been within the narrow Durango and Silverton railroad right of way, extensive structures were required as was broad public outreach.

In 2017, Otak was hired to also complete the design for the southern half of the original alignment study (from Memorial Park to Oxbow Park). Scott and his team have completed the final design/construction documents, which were divided into three subsegments. While Segments 2 and 3 have already been built, the redesign of Segment 1, which was pending the resolution of property issues, is now underway. The redesign is slated to be completed in early 2021, with the goal to construct Segment 1 later in 2021.

As a major city artery and asset for the City of Durango, the North Extension of the Animas River Trail presented a unique set of challenges. For instance, one mile of the North Extension shares a narrow corridor with the tracks of the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, used daily by dozens of trains. Extensive retaining walls were needed to fit the trail between the railroad tracks, adjacent homes, and the Animas River. The design took into consideration a number of issues including safety, privacy concerns, impacts to adjacent properties, and aesthetics.

Otak has been instrumental throughout the project’s more than ten-year span, providing project management, trail-design, and civil and structural engineering. The Otak Team included Scott Belonger, PE, Scott Kallase, EIT, Dan Beltzer, PE, David Graff, PE, Steve Florian, Senior Designer, Peter Loris, PE SE, and engineering designer Michael Cunningham.

A Holistic Approach to Transportation and Community Design

Posted on October 27, 2020August 31, 2023 by OTAK Team

The cool thing about Otak—the reason we love working here—is our complete focus on making the places we live, work, and play even better than they are today. We do that through our work and through our community activities. The services we provide as transportation engineers and planners are one of the ways we help implement a community’s vision.

Few elements shape a community and how it functions more than transportation. From roads to trails to transit systems, how and how far we travel has a direct impact on the economic and environmental sustainability of a region and ultimately its livability.

For the past thirty years, Otak has been working with city planners, municipal leaders, and developers to design new urban centers, plan transit systems, and restore and protect natural spaces. The hallmark of our work is an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to each project and to community development. We think about the community as a whole and all the implications of a project—a process we believe is critical when it comes to transportation planning.

Transportation engineering planning as a whole.

When we look at the transportation needs of a city or region, we look beyond the immediate problem to gain a broader perspective of priorities and possible solutions. We start by listening to the people who live and work in the community, as well as city leaders. We seek to understand the desires and needs of the community as a whole—residents, businesses, and commuters. We bring into focus the long-term goals, looking years into the future, exploring growth challenges, and possible solutions.

Otak’s continuing work with Community Transit (CT), Snohomish County’s transit provider, is a case in point. We have led the final design work on each of CT’s three BRT lines. Each of these lines is intimately connected with the cities and neighborhoods they serve. A value we provide is that we know those communities and have the experience to use our design talent to improve mobility and make them even better places to live—all while avoiding unwelcome impacts.

Leveraging limited resources.

By looking at transportation projects as part of a whole, we not only find practical solutions that will not have to be replaced in a few years, we often learn of other pressing needs and projects, and ways to leverage resources and budgets for greater outcomes. What may seem like competing priorities can often work together.

A problem facing many cities today is a backlog of infrastructure repair and maintenance projects, as well as an equally pressing need for infrastructure expansion. The challenge is addressing both with limited funding resources and strict regulatory mandates. Finding workable solutions requires some creativity, but it all comes down to understanding the full range of community needs, current and proposed projects, as well as the regulatory process and the different funding sources available. One of the strengths of our team is we have experienced engineers, designers, and planners who are knowledgeable about both current regulatory guidelines and compliance, and funding and funding streams.

An integrated approach to solving problems.

At Otak, we are very intentional about how we bring various disciplines together—water resources, landscape architecture, civil engineering—enabling our teams to take an integrated approach to planning, design, and construction. It is what sets Otak apart from larger and less experienced firms and has led to exciting opportunities and work we can be proud of.

One such example is the work we are doing in Colorado. On behalf of the City of Manitou Springs, Colorado, an integrated Otak team of structural, civil, and water resource engineers are collaborating with our landscape architects to replace an aging bridge with an aesthetically pleasing, functional, and resilient structure. The new bridge will improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, while also incorporating public art and low-maintenance contextual landscaping into the solution. Working together, in partnership with the client and the local community, the Otak team is creating a unique multimodal solution and a beautiful gateway to the Garden of the Gods.

Our planning, engineering, and construction services teams work on a full range of transportation projects throughout the Pacific Northwest and Colorado that are making a difference in how communities remain connected. From community transit projects crossing multiple jurisdictions, and first- and last-mile solutions, to culvert design for improved fish passages, and pedestrian and bike trails, we are solving complex transportation challenges and offering multimodal ways of commuting that present a sustainable model for a resilient future.

ENR Recognizes Pringle Creek with a 2020 Regional Award of Merit

Otak has been selected by the Engineering News-Record as an Award of Merit winner for the Pringle Creek Demolition and Stream Restoration project. A virtual ceremony will be held Thursday, December 10 to recognize project winners.

This project was performed for the City of Salem and involved removing a vacant concrete structure and opening a 600-foot linear stream corridor which was designed to appear as if it had always been there. The work improved the aesthetics of the area and added a natural area for nearby residents and future park and trail users. It also improved water quality and increased fish passage.

The size and scope of the project necessitated coordination among several firms including Pacific Habitat Services who was key in obtaining environmental permits, and Geo Design Inc. who assisted with the management of contaminated soils. The prime contractor relied on two key subcontractors; Cascade Shoring and Abiqua Landscape.

Phase 1 of Beaverton Underground Water Treatment Facilities Completed

The City of Beaverton foresees a revitalization of its downtown area and is taking a proactive role to provide stormwater treatment within drainage areas that could experience redevelopment activity in the near future. The City is currently investing in regional underground public stormwater facilities at two locations as part of this project.

Construction of one of the two facilities was completed in August, which included two large vaults – one to facilitate sedimentation and one to provide enhanced water quality treatment. The construction site was situated near the Beaverton Round on Watson Avenue, just south of the Watson and Hall Blvd. couplet split. This location is near the downstream end of a large tributary area (mostly untreated under pre-project conditions) that could see multiple redevelopment projects in the future. The project was constructed with the goal to provide regional treatment, thus allowing lots within the tributary area to be redeveloped without having to provide individual on-site treatment.

Ashley Cantlon, Senior Water Resources Engineer and Project Manager, has been leading the Otak team that is providing engineering design and support services from preliminary concept through to final construction. The range of services includes hydraulic and hydrologic analysis, survey, design, and visual mitigation (planning/architect), as well as construction management and construction support services. Sub-consultants included 3D Infusion for drafting services and GRI for geotechnical exploration and analysis. The contractor on the project was MEI.

Working within the existing infrastructure in and around the area presented a unique set of challenges. For example, the need to fit the water collection and treatment system into the existing roadway and pipe infrastructure required using flow splitters and as little relocation of utilities as possible. Feasibility studies were conducted at the outset to gain a more complete picture of conflicts and constraints. These studies exposed potential problems which could then be mitigated, but also revealed opportunities to complete a portion of the project in conjunction with other concurrent city-led projects, including replacement of a water line, which will increase efficiencies and cause fewer interruptions to the public.

Flow split structures and other conveyance infrastructure associated with completing the connections to the Watson vaults will be completed in conjunction with other city projects in the nearby area to minimize road closures and traffic disruptions and keep costs down.

This first phase of the water treatment facilities project (installation of the sedimentation and treatment vaults), which broke ground on June 3, 2020, was completed on August 5, within a critical 58-day construction window. Phase 2 (flow split and conveyance infrastructure) is being coordinated and integrated into the other city-led projects and is slated for construction during the summer of 2021, at which point the treatment vaults will be brought online.

Otak came to the project with experience and knowledge of the area from previous work completed under multiple contracts with the City of Beaverton. “We have developed a good working relationship with the City and really enjoy working with their team,” Ashley said. Other stakeholders involved in the project include Clean Water Services, TriMet, and private property owners.

Water and Natural Resources Team Wraps Up Derry Dell Creek Restoration

Otak recently completed its work on the rehabilitation of the East Fork Derry Dell Creek in Tigard, Oregon. The City of Tigard hired Otak under its on-call contract.

Project manager and principal in charge Kevin Timmins, was joined by Scott Banker who is certified in erosion and sediment control, and Nick Cook, PhD, who provided engineering design for the project.

The creek, on private property, suffered from increased urban runoff that incised the channel and was causing severe erosion along the creek banks and scour around an existing stormwater outfall, so much so that the trunkline sanitary sewer and several laterals had been exposed. Otak was hired to reconstruct about 900 feet of the stream channel, rebury the sewer line, and restore the floodplain connectivity.

Design and permitting for the project started in April 2018 and permits were received in October 2019. To protect fish species construction had to wait for the next state-approved in-water work window of Summer 2020. Construction began mid-summer and was completed in just four weeks.

The old stream channel had reached depths up to six feet due to the excessive erosion so it was filled in and a gravel streambed was built at the upstream end. The stream channel was relocated at the downstream end to what the engineers believe was the original location of the stream. A mix of rock was used in the new channel to resist erosion and the channel was built with variations to mimic a real streambed and create different habitat conditions. Three trees that had fallen across the creek were cut and reused in the floodplain and stream to provide additional habitat enhancements and channel stability.

The team specified the use of Beaver Dam Analogs (BDA), designed under the same concept as naturally occurring beaver dams, as a cost-effective and efficient means to slow the water and collect sediment to build back the stream bed elevation so it can better access the floodplain.

Otak’s expert water and natural resources team left the stream in a healthier condition while stabilizing the adjacent slopes and protecting the sanitary sewer.

With the stream completed, the City of Tigard is moving forward this coming fall with revegetation of the adjacent stream corridor and wetland areas.

Multi-use Walkway Brings Community Connectivity to Milwaukie

The City of Milwaukie, Oregon has submitted an application for APWA’s Oregon Chapter Project of the Year for the Kronberg Park Multiuse Walkway that was designed by a team from Otak’s Vancouver office. The walkway was completed in May of this year.

The project was a combination pathway and elevated structure designed as a connection for pedestrians and bicycles between downtown Milwaukie and McLoughlin Boulevard. The new path eliminates the need for people and cyclists to cross a busy highway. It also provides a viewpoint and rest stop midway along the corridor. Overall it encompasses a 340-foot long bridge, a 60-foot shorter bridge, and an at-grade pathway.

Scott Nettleton was the bridge design lead for Otak, working alongside project manager Chuck Green, Sam Lozano, who did civil design, and Josh Pope who worked on the shorter bridge.

The steel girder bridges with concrete decks and steel handrails were designed to curve around the trees, minimizing the need for tree removal. “It’s made to feel that you’re up in the canopy of the trees,” Nettleton said. Bridges were needed because the path runs next to Kellogg Creek Lake which can flow up over its banks.

The project was not without challenges. The site itself sits over an old construction landfill and deep underground there is a 40-year old masonry sewer line. Both of these factors complicated pile arrangements and driving for the bridge as the obstacles had to be avoided. Predrilling had to occur for some of the piles.

Another challenge was to comply with the migratory bird season work stoppages while still remaining on time and budget. With the City and Otak’s experience from previous projects, they identified a solution to set up construction fencing to prevent migratory bird nesting in the disturbance area.

In other environmental protection measures, the path width was held to 10 feet, permeable materials were used, a balance between cut and fill was maintained, and there was maximum tree preservation.

Through Otak’s experience and skill with bridge design and engineering, the City of Milwaukie was able to complete this community connection that was first identified as a community need in the Kronberg Park Master Plan of 2014.

Otak Provides Hydraulic Modeling and Design for Spurgeon Creek Fish Passage

Otak’s Vancouver office is working with Thurston County, Washington to finalize the construction plans for two new bridges on Spurgeon Creek to restore fish passage. The project is part of a $1,700,000 grant awarded to Thurston County to replace four culverts with an 80-foot pedestrian bridge on the Chehalis Western Trail and a 46-foot vehicular bridge on Latigo Street Southeast. The state of Washington is working on many projects to remove fish passage barriers on state, local, tribal, and private land that block salmon and steelhead access to prime spawning and rearing habitat.

In the project location, Spurgeon Creek flows under two parallel crossings, one roadway and one old railroad grade that was previously turned into a trail. The crossings bisect a large wetland complex, creating a challenge to maintain the backwatered wetlands while opening up the creek for fish passage. The project is looking to incorporate large wooden structures to create hydraulic diversity and enhance habitat within the project reach.

Otak performed an alternatives analysis for the crossings in 2018 to apply for grant funds through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Upon receiving funding, design has been progressing since November 2019.

Thurston County is performing structural and roadway design in-house but hired Otak to provide wetland delineation, as well as hydraulic engineering and stream design services during the design phase. Nathan Dasler, Senior Water Resource Engineer took on the role of project manager and lead engineer for the hydraulics work. “Balancing the wetland impacts with opening up the creek for fish passage has required lots of coordination with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Army Corps of Engineers, the County, tribes and the funding agency to make sure all agency and stakeholder needs were incorporated,” Nathan said.

To gauge the impacts of any new design, Nathan worked with Gary Wolf, senior hydraulic modeler in Otak’s Portland office, to create a two-dimensional hydraulic model utilizing SRH-2D. The model calculates how the creek will flow through the wide floodplains and new bridges and habitat features. Stream velocities and water surface elevations were utilized to design bridge scour mitigation, determine streambed sediment size and evaluate potential flooding impacts. Thurston County and Otak devised and implemented a water level monitoring plan to determine the backwater effects of the existing crossings. The gages will be left in place to provide future information on the effects of the project on water elevations upstream and downstream of the crossings.

Construction is slated to take place during the summer of 2021.

CO 42 Pedestrian Underpass Connects Extensive Trail System for the City of Louisville, Colorado

Otak recently completed a pedestrian underpass project for the City of Louisville, Colorado, connecting the city’s extensive trail system to neighborhoods and housing developments. The new underpass, which broke ground in September 2019, will encourage more walking, running, and cycling by strengthening the city’s approximately 32-mile trail network with better connectivity.

Otak was heavily involved in the process that designated the Lake to Lake Trail as part of the city’s 2014 Open Space and Trails Wayfinding project. The Lake to Lake Trail connects Harper Lake, Lake Park, Hecla Lake, and Waneka Lake in Lafayette and may one day extend to Marshall Lake. Additionally, the Lake to Lake Trail contains another underpass previously designed by Otak at McCaslin Boulevard, and may eventually include additional underpasses at the BNSF Railroad and South Boulder Road, as included in the City of Louisville’s Transportation Master Plan.

Led by Colorado’s Active Transportation Manager, Scott Belonger, PE, Otak provided the design for the CO 42 Pedestrian Underpass project, as well as project management services during construction, in coordination with the City of Louisville. The new underpass involved the design and construction of a concrete box culvert (CBC) running underneath CO 42 and Courtesy Road, creating a pedestrian thoroughfare that carries the Lake to Lake Trail. The project also included sidewalks and trail connections at each side of CO 42, and the careful relocation of several utilities and the Goodhue Ditch. The new underpass closes a gap in this important regional trail and also provides improved connectivity to the adjacent neighborhoods.

The CO 42 Pedestrian Underpass project is just one of the recent investments by the City of Louisville in transportation, and supports the city’s goal of safe traveling conditions for pedestrians and motorists. A ribbon-cutting celebrating the opening of the new underpass was held on August 21, 2020.

Pacific Highway Emergency Culvert Replacement Project Wins APWA Project of the Year Award

We are excited to announce another Otak project—the Pacific Highway Emergency Culvert Replacement in Clark County—has been awarded Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA) Washington Chapter. The Clark County Public Works project was recognized for excellence in the Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair Category for projects under $5 million.

Following a heavy snow and rain event in February 2019, the existing culvert under Pacific Highway (northwest of La Center, Washington) was obstructed by debris and impounded water on the upstream end. The roadway base was also severely undermined, resulting in a deep scour hole beneath the road, and failure of the reinforced concrete panels of the old highway. The Clark County Council passed a Declaration of Emergency to expedite environmental approvals and contracting for the roadway repairs, and to reopen the highway as soon as possible. As the engineering consultant on-call, Otak was hired to quickly design a new crossing for the unnamed tributary.

In addition to re-opening the roadway, the County had specific goals beyond the typical temporary emergency culvert replacement:

Design a permanent solution to avoid future disruptions, costs, and road closures.
Ensure safe fish passage to the area’s Chinook, chum, coho, and steelhead.
Provide a cost-effective solution.
Avoid utility shutdowns.

The project design team consisted of Otak as the prime consultant, Zucker Engineering for additional engineering capacity, and Hart Crowser for geotechnical evaluations. Together with contractor Thompson Bros. Excavating, the team worked to design and construct a 13-foot span culvert, embedded with a natural stream bottom to repair the road and provide new fish passage. The road was reopened on March 29, 2019, just 45 days after the failure.

Congratulations to Nathan Dasler, PE, CFM, CWRE, and the rest of the team for successfully guiding this critical emergency project and quickly delivering an effective long-term solution to ensure public safety and restore critical fish passage.

To read more about this project click here.

APWA Names Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex Project of the Year

The Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex (RORC), an ambitious 53-acre outdoor facility for sports, recreation, and education has received the APWA-Washington Chapter Project of the Year Award. Hired as the Construction Manager and Owner’s Rep for the City of Ridgefield and the Ridgefield School District, Otak guided the $22M project to successful completion in the Spring of 2019.

Jointly owned by the City and the School District, the RORC was built in conjunction with a new Intermediate and Middle School campus. The partnership between the city and the school district offered a tremendous opportunity for the community to develop a new recreation complex while also saving millions of dollars on land acquisition, road improvements, and recreational and community space infrastructure.

The RORC features an innovative two-floor Community Building with concessions, kitchen, and meeting facilities; six multipurpose sports fields; a playground and trails; and a large plaza with connections for food and concessions carts and trucks. The RORC project is the first installation of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) in Clark County. From supporting beams to the roof structure itself, the Community Building is an architect’s and structural engineer’s dream, showcasing the strength, durability, and architectural look and feel of CLT from both inside and outside of the Community Building.

Continuous and comprehensive communication and cooperation were key to completing the project. In addition to the complex design, concurrent construction, utility projects, frontage improvements, site work, and community-building efforts, all required continuous coordination between a multitude of contractors, community schedules, and events—over the past two years the site hosted the annual Ridgefield Oktoberfest and Experience Ridgefield, together, attracting as many as 10,000 visitors! The complex is also home to the Ridgefield Raptors, a West Coast League baseball team. During construction, project partners decided they wanted to add something else to set the RORC apart from others: a rollup door on the second floor overlooking Field 1, so Raptor fans would be able to “hear the crack of the bat” during baseball games.

Consideration was also given to protecting and preserving the surrounding natural wetlands. Measures were taken to protect the environment, as well as private property, property access, and utility service. As the construction manager and owner’s rep, Otak’s team was in continuous contact with utilities, contractors, and property owners when sensitive and potentially disruptive construction phases were underway, including utility cutovers, paving, and restoration.

Under the leadership of Tim Leavitt, PE, CESCL; and Chuck Green, PE, Otak guided the project through to completion on time and on budget providing construction engineering expertise, as well as construction management, inspections, and design review and support. Additional Otak team members included Mike Hale, Nick Redinger, Kyle Farnsworth, and Robert Dethlefs, PE.

Projects like the Ridgefield Complex are not only representative of Otak’s expertise in multi-disciplinary work, but also represent the community and environmental stewardship that have become Otak hallmarks. The RORC is a prime example of a project that promotes outdoor recreation, community cohesion through events, healthier lifestyles, and improved quality of life.

To read more about this project, click here.

Photos Courtesy: Jason Rayne, Rayne Studios