Update on Lower "Trunk Road"
Following membership approval of Assessment 2017-3 in mid May, CCA hired GeoEngineers to conduct a geotechnical analysis of the lower trunk road (Chuckanut Crest Drive below the CCA gate). The company will also help CCA identify solutions to the ongoing slumping of the road in that area.
In mid June the engineers completed lower road soil borings to determine soil conditions and the distance to bedrock that would be suitable to support a repair. Analysis of those borings and the engineers’ other site observations were completed in early July. Among other things, the borings showed about 2 feet of fill in the center of the downhill lane, 5 feet of fill in the center of the uphill lane, and 12 feet of fill in the area where the road is slumping.
The board met twice with the engineers in July 2017 to consider design alternatives the engineers prepared to provide a long-term solution to the slumping area of the road. The second meeting included several CCA members who had expressed an interest in learning about the solutions that GeoEngineers had developed. Key factors under consideration with all alternatives include the cost of the engineering project; the degree of disruption of road traffic during the period of road repair; how long the repair would take to complete; whether the repair could be undertaken during the winter, or whether it required drier (summer) weather; and assurance that a selected alternative could be counted on as a long-term solution. No decision has yet been made about which alternative should be recommended to the membership. At this time we are awaiting additional information from the engineers about cost and other factors regarding one particular alternative. Next Steps. The board will continue to work with the engineers to develop a final recommendation. That will likely be available later this summer. When it is, the board will hold a membership meeting at which the recommended repair alternative will be presented. The engineer will be present to explain the findings of their analysis of the road conditions, the several engineering alternatives that were considered, and why the proposed alternative was selected. Following that meeting, the engineers will prepare a detailed plan that CCA can use to solicit contractor bids for the engineering project. Only after we have actual bids in hand can the board prepare a “project proposal” to send to the members for their approval of an assessment to pay for the repair project. |
Ok. But when will the road be repaired? All of the repair alternatives require a significant about of digging. Since most cannot reasonably occur during the wetter weather, it means that the actual engineering work on a repair cannot begin until next summer.
In the meantime, the current condition of the road is alarming for us all. We all want the road to be safe and to reflect the care and concern we share for the appearance and safety of our neighborhood. Consequently, in early August 2017 the following work will be carried out below the gate: Filling and patching of the road crevasses, and rebuilding the downhill side berm. The purpose of this work is to bring the driving surface of the road and downhill side berm up to the present road level. This is a safety measure that will eliminate the current deep crevasses while we continue to consider a longer-term approach to strengthen this portion of the road. The patching and rebuilding of the berm will also help keep water from flowing over the edge of the road, which potentially could continue to undermine it. Note: We do not consider that this patching work will restore the slumping area of the road to the point that it is safe to drive on. To prevent people from driving on the patched portion of the road, we will continue to keep the orange plastic delineator poles on the road surface. We will also restripe the center and fog lines (see next bullet). Restriping of the center and fog lines. To provide better traffic separation, the road in the area of the slump will be repainted to the normal standard 22 feet width (two lanes, 11 feet wide), rather than the oversized 24-foot width that existed in this area before the slump. |