Addressing Sustainability and Pedestrian Access
This project rehabilitated the entire 1.5 miles stretch of Castro Ranch Road from Olinda Road to the Richmond City Limit in Richmond, California. The project used an innovative and environmentally friendly “cold in-place recycling” (CIR) pavement treatment, where the removed asphalt was processed and reused on-site. The project also included continuous bike lanes, pedestrian safety elements, and minor drainage improvements. Resurfacing included cold in-place recycling of asphalt pavement, pavement (base) repairs, and Hot Mix Asphalt paving. There was minor roadway widening to allow for bike lanes which will be continuous throughout the project limits except for one block by Olinda School; most of the bike lanes also have a one-foot striped buffer. Pedestrian improvements included a new crosswalk near Conestoga Way and upgrades to the existing crosswalk at Amend Rd. Both crosswalks feature a solar-powered Rectangular Rapid Flashing beacon (RRFB) for added visibility. The project also addressed drainage issues with new and repaired storm drain inlets, replacement of a lagging retaining wall, and drainage swale improvements.
Specific work included traffic control, environmental protection, concrete curb removal, and replacement, sidewalk removal, AC dike removal and replacement, asphalt pavement cold milling, wedge and conform grinding, and pavement repairs. Thermoplastic traffic striping and traffic markings were added for new bike lanes and traffic dividers. Other improvements included pedestrian push buttons, removing/replacing signs and signposts, and median landscaping.
Thorough Construction Management from Pre-construction to Project Closeout
The highly qualified and local team from Ghirardelli Associates (Ghirardelli) helped the City successfully deliver this project. Our assigned Resident Engineers managed the construction contract from pre-construction to project close-out. Project-specific tasks included carefully reviewing and inspecting the traffic control plan and evaluating the total base repair quantity to maintain adequate cost controls and provide the optimal product. They also consulted with the design team on the contractor’s mic design and inspected the contractor’s CIR pavement placement, acquired an adequate staging area, and verified utility boxes and manhole placement.
During the pre-construction phase, our team conducted a preliminary constructability review to identify unanticipated extra work, potential claims and excessive delays, and potential risks. Ghirardelli’s Resident Engineer conducted a pre-construction conference to brief the Contractor, subcontractors, City staff, designer, and construction management team on the project and the work involved and documented existing site conditions prior to construction.
During construction, our assigned Resident Engineer was responsible for the project’s contract administration and construction engineering. The Resident Engineer was assisted by our Project Manager to help meet all the necessary federal and project administration requirements. Our construction management process for this project followed the Caltrans Local Assistance Manual, chapter 16 in conjunction with the Caltrans Construction Manual. Specific duties during construction included scope, schedule, budget, risk, communications, and quality management, reviewing and responding to Contractor’s RFIs, technical submittals, and change order requests, reviewing Contractor’s progress pay estimates, and reviewing and writing contract change orders. Ghirardelli’s Resident Engineer also managed project staff, performed inspection and materials testing oversight, and led the project closeout.
