2004 Award of Excellence Winners

WSDOT & FHWA Recognize “Excellence in Local Agency Projects
Last week, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) selected four local agency projects for the Award of Excellence awards. The awards program is a collaborative effort between WSDOT Highways and Local Programs and FHWA to formally recognize federally funded local agency projects that have achieved excellence in safety enhancements, construction, innovative design, environmental compatibility, and public involvement and satisfaction. The award categories are Best City Project, Best County Project, Best Special Project, and Director’s Award.

• Best City Project:

  City of Stevenson SR 14 Couplet Project
  
  The SR 14 Couplet project targeted improvements to the City of Stevenson’s main commercial arterial to increase pedestrian/vehicular safety, improve signing and lighting, reconstruct unsafe sidewalks, improve drainage, and improve the general attractiveness of the streetscape to encourage tourist stops.
  
  The residents of the community expressed three safety concerns. The first was the excessive crown of the existing roadway due to years of maintenance overlays. The second safety concern was the loss of curb height, also related to maintenance overlays. The third safety concern was the deterioration of the sidewalks. All three safety concerns were addressed with this project. The existing roadway and sidewalks were completely rebuilt eliminating the excessive crown, bringing curb heights back to the standard 6-inches, and making the entire downtown sidewalk system ADA accessible.
  
  One of the goals of the project was to develop a downtown that reflected the personality of the community. This personality comes through in the use of basalt and colored patterned concrete. Basalt is used as the bases for the information kiosks and signs, the retaining walls, and the seating areas. Colored patterned concrete sidewalks highlight doorways, intersection areas, and park/plaza areas. Also the colored patterned concrete intersection at SR 14 and Russell Avenue is at the center of the business district and at the corner of the courthouse lawn, and serves as the community center.
  
  Funding sources for the SR 14 Couplet project included approximately $1.3 million in local funds and approximately $1.5 million in federal funds. For more information about this project, please contact Mary Ann Duncan-Cole, Stevenson City Manager, at (509) 427-5971.    Back to top

• Best County Project:

  Clark County Padden Parkway Project
  
  Classified as a Principal Arterial, the Padden Parkway provides an alternative east-west link between NE 53 rd Avenue/NE 78 th Street and Ward Road. Designed to facilitate the movement of transit and freight through a limited access facility, the reduced congestion of existing facilities in the area will help to preserve current capacity in the region. The installation of curbs, sidewalks, separated walkways and ADA ramps have improved pedestrian accessibility for all users and completed a regional pathway system that connects a large portion of the urbanized area.
  
  An innovative design element of this project includes a unique concrete pedestrian bridge at NE 142 nd Avenue that provides a connection between established neighborhoods on the north and south sides of the Parkway. This bridge features post-tensioned deck beams and post-tensioned Dwyidag bars for support. The bridge deck is 10 inches thick with half-rounds for deck beams on both sides. Two concrete columns rise 50 feet in the center of the bridge to provide support for the deck and a place to tie the Dwyidag bars. This pedestrian bridge was also the recipient of the “Excellence in Concrete Construction 2003 Public Works/Bridges Category” award, presented by the Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association. Construction of the pedestrian bridge set a new length record for prestressed girders, subject to land transport, in the U.S.
  
  Total funding sources for the Padden Parkway project included approximately $26.9 million in local funds and approximately $14.8 million in federal funds. For more information about this project, please contact Kevin Gray, Clark County Capital Improvement Program Manager, at (360) 397-6118.    Back to top

• Best Special Project:

  Douglas County Chief Joseph Dam Bridge Rehabilitation Project
  
  The Chief Joseph Dam Bridge is listed with both the Washington state Heritage Register and the National Historic Register for its engineering significance and its association with Chief Joseph Dam. The intent of the project was to rehabilitate the bridge and bring the structure up to the appropriate load capacity, while maintaining the historic character of the bridge.
  
  The existing structure had a timber bridge rail system that did not meet current standards and the existing width from curb to curb was 23 feet. The structure was posted for one truck at a time on the bridge. The rehabilitated structure now has a clear span of 31-feet wide with two 12-foot lanes. This allows for two-way truck traffic to cross safely. The new bridge rail system meets current standards and has W-Beam guardrail with flared terminal section on each end of the bridge.
  
  Rehabilitation of the bridge required replacement of the deteriorated deck. The project demonstrated the use of a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) deck, the first of its kind in Washington State. This innovative material provided unique benefits for this project by allowing Douglas County to widen the bridge, not reduce its load carrying capacity, and maintain the structure’s historic character. Another benefit of the FRP deck was the quick installation of the full-width panels, which were easily handled with a light crane.
  
  Funding sources for the Chief Joseph Dam Bridge Rehabilitation project included $436,000 in local funds and approximately $2.4 million in federal funds. For more information about this project, please contact Jolene Gosselin, Douglas County Engineer, at (509) 884-7173.    Back to top

• Director’s Award:

  City of Tonasket SR 20/SR 97 Sidewalk Improvements Project
  
  While the SR 20/SR 97 Sidewalk Improvements project proved to be aesthetically pleasing and addressed environmental issues, the sole motivation behind this effort was pedestrian safety. The first step to address the safety issue was the need for a sidewalk to get pedestrians off the highway. Next, streetlights were installed the entire length of the project, fully illuminating the new sidewalk as well as the highway itself, significantly improving sight distance for both pedestrians and motorists. With funds remaining, due to cost-effective design and construction, the City of Tonasket purchased a permanent Active School Zone Sign that measures and posts speed as vehicles travel through the school zone. The sign was the first of its kind on a Washington State project. This project fits perfectly within Washington State’s Safe Routes to Schools Program.
  
  Before construction began, the project team decided to use the state Cost Reduction Incentive Proposal (CRIP) program to improve project design and reduce costs. CRIP is a program that encourages contractor inspired design improvements that result in a joint cost reduction for the project owner and the contractor.
  
  In the case of the Sidewalk Improvement Project, the original design called for a standard WSDOT approved retaining wall to support the new sidewalk along SR 20 where the shoulder gives way to a steep slope. The standard retaining wall was costly for the intended use and would have required much wider excavation into the SR 20 travel lane. Instead, a smaller, more traditional lock and load system was constructed, providing more than adequate support and saving both money and time on the project. Implementing this innovative design for the retaining wall resulted in a $26,000 savings and construction time was reduced from six weeks to two days.
  
  Funding sources for SR 20/SR 97 Sidewalk Improvements project included $82,924 in local funds and $531,326 in federal funds. For more information about this project, please contact Alice Attwood, Tonasket City Clerk, at (509) 486-2131 or Kurt Holland, Varella & Associates, at (509) 328-6066.    Back to top

For more information about the Awards of Excellence Program, contact:

Kimberly Colburn

360-705-7879
ColburK@wsdot.wa.gov