Specialty Construction: Award of Merit: Berthoud Pass Wall Repairs

Berthoud Pass Wall Repairs
Berthoud Falls, Colo.
Award of Merit

Owner: Colorado Dept. of Transportation
Lead Design Firm: Colorado Dept. of Transportation
General Contractor: ESCO Construction Co.
Key Consultants & Subcontractors: Advanced Traffic Services LLC; Collective Marketing & Communications Inc.; HTM Construction Co.; Miller Wall Co.; NPW Contracting Inc.; Powell Restoration Inc.; Smith Environmental; Thorcon Shotcrete and Shoring; Yeh Engineering

Berthoud Pass rises to more than 10,000 ft above sea level. That can mean snow as early as August. As a result, this project was a race against the elements, and a battle with the mountains themselves. Crews used bridge-inspection machinery to get access to the walls they were repairing and worked six days a week, 12 hours a day.

The cramped project site created numerous challenges. Chief among them were embankments that dropped off steeply just a few feet from where crews were working. Then, toward the end of the project, a slope behind a retaining wall failed, requiring emergency repairs with soil nails. Even with all the difficulties, the team finished early, and the retaining walls along Berthoud Pass are in good shape once again.