Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Rivers Edge Levee Setback Project Wins ASCE LOCEA Award

The Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) honored the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s (JST) Rivers Edge Levee Setback project with its 2022 Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (LOCEA) in the Geotechnical category.

The project replaced an aging, constricting levee on the Lower Dungeness River near Sequim with a new levee setback designed to meet modern flood protection standards and aligned to restore the area’s natural floodplain and salmon habitat. Work completed on a compressed, whirlwind schedule. JST acquired the land and started preliminary design in mid-2020, and by September 2021, they’d completed final design, successful navigation of a complex series of permit applications and design reviews, and substantial construction—a monumental feat in just 14 months.

The new levee was constructed in part with gravel from a nearby quarry pit, limiting the cost, time, and environmental impact of importing materials to the site. The project was done in tandem with an adjacent similar levee project by Clallam County, and together they will open up 143 acres of reclaimed floodplain and habitat. You can learn more about the Rivers Edge project in our previous blog post.

Aspect led geotechnical engineering design and construction of the levee as a subconsultant to Pat McCullough and his firm Engineering Services Association (ESA), alongside WEST Consultants for hydrology and hydraulics.

Aspect’s Project Manager and Lead Geotechnical Engineer Andrew Holmson and Project Geotechnical Engineer Mari Otto gave a short presentation on the project during the LOCEA virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 9.  

Other LOCEA Winning Projects

Aspect was also on the winning teams for two projects as geotechnical subconsultants to our frequent teaming partner Osborn Consulting:

• The City of Kenmore’s new boathouse on the Sammamish River won in the Small Projects and Non-Construction Studies category. We provided foundation redesign support and services during construction of the two-story prefab metal building that is the new home for the Kenmore Community Rowing Club and Northshore School District rowing programs.

• The City of Sammamish’s Ebright Creek Fish Passage Culvert Replacement was honored in the Water Resources category. Aspect led the geotechnical evaluation for design and construction of two new 30-inch-diameter culverts along busy arterial East Lake Sammamish Parkway. Replacing the outdated culvert was a priority for the City of Sammamish to enhance fish passage and habitat for kokanee salmon. Construction was completed in fall 2021, and the City has already seen an increase in returning kokanee and other fish species passing through this stretch of the creek.

This year’s other LOCEA winners honored during the ceremony were:

• Climate Pledge Arena Renovation (Thornton Tomasetti) – Structures

• Northgate Link Extension (MJA) – Transportation and Development

• 2021 Airfield Pavement Replacement + Infrastructure Upgrade Project (HNTB) – Transportation and Development

• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport North Satellite Modernization (AECOM) – Transportation and Development

Bellingham's Waypoint Park Wins Local and National Awards

Waypoint Park touts a playground, a pier, access to the beach along the Whatcom Waterway, and now, several awards. The project recently won the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA)’s award for Best Restored Beach in the U.S.; and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Seattle Section’s 2019 Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award.

The park sits upon the site of a former Georgia-Pacific pulp mill. Aspect was a part of the team that spent seven years cleaning up the contaminated industrial area and providing geotechnical and environmental consultation throughout the design, permitting, and construction. It opened to the public last summer, and there are more redevelopment projects planned in the vicinity to continue the transformation along Bellingham’s waterfront.

Congratulations to the City and Port of Bellingham, prime firm KPFF, and the whole project team for your award-winning vision and work for this project!

Aspect’s Principal Geotechnical Engineer Erik Andersen strolls amongst the bubbles during the Waypoint Park opening celebration last summer. He developed foundations recommendations for the repurposed 400,000-pound industrial acid ball tank turned public art piece titled “Waypoint.”

Henry Haselton named President-Elect of ASCE Seattle Section

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – Seattle Section has a new President-Elect: Aspect’s Principal Engineer Henry Haselton.

Henry was voted in by the Seattle Section in June. He will serve as President-Elect under incoming President Eset Alemu this year, and then transition to President in October 2019. Henry has been a member of the ASCE since joining the student chapter 26 years ago and has served on several committees, most recently as Program Co-Chair, where he was tasked with brainstorming meeting topics and recruiting speakers for the section’s monthly dinner meetings.

As part of his transition to President-Elect, Henry attended the ASCE Region 8 Fall Assembly Meeting in Spokane, where he met leadership from all the western states and ASCE National President Kristina Swallow. Attendees were treated to an “engineers tour” of the Grand Coulee dam, where they learned about the inner workings of the dam from an experienced operator at the facility.

Henry also recently attended the ASCE President and Governors Forum (PGF) Event in Washington D.C., where he participated in trainings with ASCE leaders from around the world. The PGF training provides best practices to effectively lead a Section/Branch.

Henry is joined by other Aspect colleagues in the ASCE Seattle Section. Project Geotechnical Engineer Spencer Ambauen, EIT, is taking over Henry’s position as Program Co-Chair. Staff Engineer Mari Otto, EIT, is in her second term as Host and Hospitality Co-Chair, where she coordinates with the host venue and oversees meeting registration.

Aspect’s ASCE team kicked off the 2018-2019 season earlier in September with presentations on the upcoming demolition of the SR99 Viaduct and the Pier 62 Replacement, a project where Aspect is the geotechnical engineer-of-record. The ASCE Seattle Section Geotechnical Group’s first dinner meeting of the season was on Thursday, September 27 in Seattle. Professor Russell A. Green, PhD, a Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech, spoke on region-specific probabilistic liquefaction hazard analyses through a pilot study done in the Netherlands due to induced seismicity from natural gas production. Learn about upcoming events here.