Page 6 - LUTAnnualReport1516

RETAINING WALL
A wall that holds back earth or water.

TENSILE REINFORCEMENT
Steel strips placed between layers of soil. The strips and soil work
as a unit providing greater strength than unreinforced soil.

MECHANICALLY STABILIZED EARTH (MSE)
Soil constructed with artificial reinforcement used for
retaining walls, bridge abutments, seawalls and dikes.

“Whenever I go out to the site, I think about all “We’re already further along on Basalt Creek than we
the people involved in this project,” Knoebel said. expected to be,” Kelfkens said. “We had a dry April and
“Community members; the County; the cities of May, which let us get a lot done. We got about .3 miles
Tualatin, Sherwood and Wilsonville; ODOT; Metro; of it already paved this summer, and we weren’t
and then the Willamette Water Supply Program expecting to get to that until late fall.”
(WWSP). They all came together and worked to make
this project a reality. We’ve opened up access to about Basalt Creek Parkway involves construction of a 100-
1,800 acres for homes, jobs, parks — you name it. foot bridge over the Portland & Western Railroad,
We’ve helped shape the future of Washington County.” utilized by TriMet’s WES commuter rail. Mechanically
stabilized earth walls were constructed on both sides
The WWSP water transmission line is being installed of the bridge approach. The wall east of the tracks is
on 124th Avenue, south from Tualatin-Sherwood 300 feet along its north face; the wall west of the
Road, then east on Tonquin Road and south on tracks is 450 feet along its north face.
Grahams Ferry Road. The County-WWSP partnership
is minimizing traffic and construction impacts and “We had to raise the road bed up about 40 feet
saving money by reducing construction and project to accommodate the bridge,” Kelfkens said.
management costs. “There was a lot of fill.”

“This is the first time we’ve partnered with Willamette If all goes as planned, the bridge over the railroad
Water Supply, and it has been going very well,” said tracks will be completed this winter, and Basalt Creek
Renus Kelfkens, project manager. “They and all our Parkway will open in the spring, depending on the
partners have been really good to work with.” weather. At that point, Tonquin Road will close for
widening and the WWSP pipeline installation.
Embankments constructed between Tualatin- Widening on Grahams Ferry is expecting to start in
Sherwood and Tonquin roads needed to settle for fall 2017. In all, the project includes 4.4 miles of new
three months before installation of the pipeline and improved roadway.
could begin. During that “settlement,” work shifted
to Basalt Creek Parkway, a new 0.7-mile east-west “I think this is the largest project I’ve worked on
arterial connecting SW Tonquin and SW 124th with the least amount of opposition,” Knoebel said.
Avenue to Grahams Ferry roads. “That tells me that the majority of people really
want this project. And that’s really satisfying.”

3 | Celebrating People & Partnerships — LUT Annual Report FY 2015–16