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Boulder County, Colo. -- Boulder
County’s Transportation Department will receive the Disaster or Emergency
Construction Award for a large community from the Colorado Chapter of the
American Public Works Association (APWA) at an awards luncheon on Monday, Oct.
26 in Breckenridge. The award will recognize the design and construction of the
bridge on East County Line Road at St. Vrain Creek that was completely
destroyed during the 2013 Flood. In addition to the bridge reconstruction,
several hundred feet of damaged roadway and roadside ditches were rebuilt and
new drainage structures were installed as part of the project.
Building
a bridge of any size is no small engineering feat and a project of this
magnitude can traditionally take two to three years to complete, but Boulder
County and its project partners designed and constructed the bridge and road in
just over one year. The work is a great example of how a group of interested
parties can come together to solve a large problem in an expedited manner. The
project required that the county coordinate with several agencies including the
Federal Highways Administration (FHWA), the Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT), the City of Longmont, Weld County, Boulder County Parks
& Open Space, a private irrigation company, neighboring residents, and
private utility companies. With the help of project partners J-U-B Engineers, Inc.
and Lawrence Construction, the county was able to coordinate all interested
parties and design and build a bridge that could withstand a future 100-year
flood event.
“I
am extremely proud of the team that came together to design and build this
project. Their dedication to the job ensured that no obstacle would derail the
work, no matter how significant,” said Boulder County Transportation Director
George Gerstle. “I’d like to thank everyone who had a hand in building a safe
and resilient bridge and roadway quickly and effectively. I’d also like to
thank the public for their patience and understanding while we worked to reopen
East County Line Road. There is still a lot of flood recovery work to do and
we’re going to need everyone’s support to see this work through to the end.”
J-U-B
Project Manager Jeff Temple added, “In my 25 years of experience, I have never
seen a project of this size with so many stakeholders be designed and
constructed as fast as this bridge. It’s truly an indicator of how
public/private entities can work together in an effective and efficient
manner.”
The
Colorado APWA is a division of the American Public Works Association, which is
a not-for-profit, international organization of more than 28,500 members
involved in the field of public works. They serve their members by promoting
professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and
the exchange of knowledge.
For more information
on East County Line Road project, contact Andrew Barth, Transportation
Department Communications Specialist, at abarth@bouldercounty.org or call
303-441-1032.
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