Bimonthly updates – Little Thompson Watershed Coalition

As specific dates and activities are set, LTWC staff will be posting those here to keep residents informed and updated. Please keep this page in mind for your visitors, UPS and Fed Ex deliveries, contractors, propane deliveries, real estate house showings etc.

Below are the updates thus far on the Stagecoach Project. To be added to the mailing list please click here.

April 10th, 2018

Almost exactly 7 months since construction began on the Stagecoach project the work is nearly complete. Lawrence will be saying farewell to the site on or before April 18th, and Stagecoach might seem oddly quite without the trucks and crew at work.

Other points of interest:

The detour had to stay in a bit longer than originally planned because the concrete had not set up enough by the date the bridge was intended to be opened to traffic. As of this week the new bridge is now open and fully functional!
Lawrence is finishing up the last of the work under the location of the detour including installing some toe rock at the edge of the river channel.
Tetra Tech will complete their final survey of the project this Thursday.
Smith will be done with all of the planting and seeding by April 15th. The hydro-mulching will be quite obvious by its vibrant green color, while other areas will receive seeding and straw, or wood straw mulch.
The final project walk through with the EWP team will take place early next week.
The Little Thompson Watershed Coalition (LTWC) will work with Larimer County, and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), who is providing funds for the monitoring of the project, over the next several years.

March 20th, 2018

Tomorrow the concrete trucks are scheduled to arrive at 11 am to start pouring the deck for the new bridge. This will only last a couple hours. While the concrete is curing the crew will be working on installing the guardrail this Thursday and Friday, as well as next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Other points of interest:

The concrete dip on the north side of the bridge (spanning the wetlands) will be poured next Monday.
The armor flex around the bridge is currently being installed.
Next week the abutments will be back filled and the approach to the bridge will be graded.
The detour will be coming out at the end of next week!
The very last of the channel work between the detour and the new bridge will be finished the day after the detour removal is complete.
The extra work on Lot 34 will be completed this Thursday! All that currently remains is the burying of rock and floodplain wood to provide roughness during floods.
Boulders will be placed along the road (10′ back) at the edges of the project, except for the staging area.
The planting of willows, cottonwoods, and other container plants, seeding and installation of erosion control blankets will be in full swing the first week of April.

March 12th, 2018

The girders for the bridge made it out of Minnesota and were delivered last Thursday and Friday. Lawrence is planning on setting the bridge tomorrow (Tuesday, 3/13)! Please stay well clear of the crane and other vehicles while the new bridge is put into place.

March 7th, 2018

The new prefabricated bridge is being trucked in from Minnesota, which is apparently in the midst of a winter storm front. If the trucks carrying the bridge pieces left before the weather hit the first pieces should be ready for assembly starting tomorrow! Otherwise the bridge assembly may be bumped into next week.
Over the course of 3 days 4 out of the 5 bridge pieces will be assembled in pairs on the ground before all of the pieces are lifted into place by the crane.

Other points of interest:

The detour will be widened somewhat to accommodate the turning radius of the delivery trucks.
Assuming the bridge is erected this week. Next week will be spent on forming and pouring the concrete dip, as well as forming the deck (the drivable surface of the bridge) and installing rebar before another concrete pour scheduled for March 19th.
The Amor Flex will be installed below the bridge next week as well.
The last couple weeks of March will be spent installing the bridge rails.

As far as river work goes everyone is gearing up for the last 2 weeks of additional work on Lot 34 starting next Monday. This will cover the items EWP, as the funder, wished to see added to the project. Tetra Tech has drawn up plans, which will hopefully be added to the LTWC website this week, or early next week. Tetra Tech will be overseeing the work along with EWP.
The additional items will include more willow installation, the addition of more point bars, floodplain wood to provide roughness and resistance to high flows outside the main channel, and boulder clusters.
Coming in right behind this work (moving from downstream to upstream) will be the revegetation crew managing the willow planting along with the seeding and mulching.
Perhaps hard to believe, or perhaps a long time coming the detour will be coming out and the plantings finished up some time in the first couple weeks of April!

Feb. 22nd, 2018

The crane to assemble the bridge is scheduled to be set up next week between Feb. 28th – March 2nd. During bridge assembly the week of March 5th Lawrence will have a flagger out on site again. They expect some delays, but for traffic to still be able to come and go across the detour.

Other points of interest:

The cold weather this past week has delayed Lawrence some. However the concrete pour for the abutments and wingwalls is scheduled for either tomorrow, or Saturday (weather dependent).
Next week Lawrence will be focusing on backfilling the abutments with rock & dirt as the crane is assembled.
Work on the section of channel that will soon run under the new bridge, and the accompanying placement of riprap (large, protective rock) will be taking place early next week.
The Armor Flex for placement beneath the bridge is scheduled for delivery late next week. The installation will be underway as the bridge is assembled.
For those of you curious what Armor Flex is: ArmorFlex is a flexible, interlocking matrix of cellular concrete blocks of uniform size, shape, and weight used for hard armor erosion control. ArmorFlex blocks have specific tested hydraulic capacities and are laced longitudinally with revetment cables to provide ease-of-handling and rapid installation.
Meanwhile the last many loads of material to be hauled off site should be wrapping up this week.
The main work along the Lewis section east of the bridge is now mostly completed.
Smith Environmental is still at work along the Lewis section planting willow clippings and installing soil retention blankets.
Once the major bridge work is completed Lawrence will be working to finish up the additional items EWP requested upstream at Lot 34.

Feb. 7th, 2018

Unfortunately the yellow lab (male) is still making visits to the work site. He is only wearing a radio/electric fence collar without tags. He has been climbing into vehicles, and the contractors are concerned that he is going to get hurt by the heavy equipment. As a last resort they will call animal control to take the dog off the site. If you know who’s dog this might be please talk to them!

Other points of interest:

The contractors were delayed slightly with the pouring of the footers because of scheduling difficulties with the rebar crew, and the dog pulling out their survey stakes. Nonetheless they finished the concrete pour for the footers this past Monday.
Up next is the forming for the concrete pour for the wingwalls and abutments, which is scheduled for two days early next week.
The pre-fabricated bridge is still scheduled to arrive on Monday, March 5th. There will be a crane on site to place the bridge on top of the abutments and wingwalls, which will likely impede some traffic. Please don’t schedule any deliveries or important events for March 5th.
Meanwhile the contractor has just finished the boulder trains in the floodplain on Lot 34, which provide stability and roughness during flows that over top the main channel.
Lawrence has also been working their way along the eastern portion of the project by the Lewis property. They have about a week and a half of work left here and Tetra Tech is pleased with how it’s coming along.
The revegetation crew (Smith Environmental) is following along behind Lawrence with willow plantings, and soil retention blankets. They’ll be working full swing starting next week through the last full week of February.

Jan. 25th, 2018

This past week Lawrence started excavation for the bridge abutment and wingwalls. The next couple weeks they’ll be setting up forms and starting the concrete pours for the footers, concrete dip, abutments & wingwalls, and setting the rebar.

Other points of interest:

A new crew from Lawrence will be coming in for all of the bridge related work.
The prefabricated bridge is currently scheduled for delivery on March 5th.
The current crew will be starting work along the river downstream of the bridge, along Tom’s property, next week and will be working their way along that stretch for the next 3 weeks.
In response to Tom’s concerns, and in an effort to leave the well rooted vegetation undisturbed, as well places where mother nature has already done an excellent job in providing rock and bank stability, the work along the project section east of the bridge has been scaled back some.
Due to the adjustments Tetra Tech, the project design and oversight team, will be spending much more time on the ground to direct the contractors.
The focus here will be on the channel bed rather than the banks, and increasing the low flow channel.
Nonetheless there will is more hauling ahead, so expect the big trucks back over the next 2-3 weeks.

Jan. 13th, 2018

This past week most of the project funded by the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program (upstream of the bridge) was completed, and the water is back in the main channel!

Other points of interest:

The diversion channel on Lot 34 is being left open to allow the water to be re-diverted for the installation of the additional features the EWP team would like to see, pending final agreement on design. The contractor estimates this will be another 2 weeks of work from when they start in on it.
The revegetation crew is busy installing willows! They started on the completed area below the bridge and are working their way upstream. After reaching the bridge they’ll jump upstream and work their way back down to the bridge.
The last root wads were installed at the upstream end of the project this past week!
Starting the last full week of January work will start along the main channel from the eastern end of the project (along Tom’s property) and move upstream.
Last week Lawrence worked on excavating for the new concrete dip below the bridge, and may have started installing it depending on the delivery of their materials.
One of the main focuses for the next two weeks will be on the removal of the old concrete culverts and the excavation for the new bridge abutments and wingwalls.
The bridge is currently scheduled for delivery on Feb. 19th.

Dec. 29th, 2017

With the cold weather over the last week Lawrence Construction hasn’t been able to start their equipment or accomplish much work on the ground. Hence their schedule has been pushed out about a week. However they’re intending to start removal of the old Stagecoach Bridge next week and the excavation for abutment and wingwalls of the new bridge the following week.

Other points of interest:

The EWP (Emergency Watershed Protection) team funding 75% of the river restoration work upstream of the bridge has requested that more habitat features and roughness, such as vegetation, rootwads, boulders and sandbars be added to the design. There is also a slight difference of opinion between the EWP team and Tetra Tech, who designed the project, on the way sediment should be transported, or retained with the project area. Tetra Tech is currently working on addressing EWP’s concerns along with Larimer County while still moving the project forward.
The NRCS will be seeking an extension from their office in D.C. to allow planting and reseeding in April rather than February for all of the current restoration projects underway.
While Lawrence will be creating the space as designed and providing the base layer of dirt for the firetruck turnaround they won’t be providing the road base for it. It appears this may have been lost in communication somewhere along the way, but Larimer County is unfortunately unable to do this as it qualifies as making improvements to private land. Larimer County has been able to sponsor the rest of the project because of how it relates to the longevity of the Stagecoach Bridge, which is officially a county bridge.
Lawrence will be pulling aside the largest boulders to space 20 feet apart and 10 feet off the edge of the road at lot 34. The idea is to discourage people from driving in while allowing access for unforeseen future needs without equipment present to shift the boulders. The boulders will be placed 10 feet from the road to allow emergency pullovers when necessary.
The erosion control for the project has improved with the addition of another rock check dam downstream and less sediment is escaping.
Out of an estimated 13 loads for woody debris to be trucked out Lawrence has removed 30! There are still 2 more loads to go from the Lewis property.

Dec. 15th, 2017

New signage will be going up at the detour requiring drivers to Stop and Proceed When Clear. Lawrence Construction and Larimer County are suggesting that you chose other routes for your walks and runs due to the limited sight distance for traffic entering the detour. If you do not please be extremely vigilant.

Other points of interest:

The past week there was a surveying issue due to the difference between the steady slope modeled for the river channel and what turned out to be more steeply sloping sections followed by almost flat sections. The differences between the technical calculations and the landscape have now been resolved and the necessary adjustments to the river channel made. However, in order to prevent things from needing to be modified later work was slowed down a bit over the past week.
This coming week, with fewer people available, work will be mostly focused on the channel: removing sediment, shaping the channel and installing boulders.
In the upstream section of work Tetra Tech (the design engineers) are seeing the river behaving exactly as it should around the root wads.
The contractor will be working on the river down to the detour and then jump down below the bridge to complete some of the river work before finishing the floodplain grading upstream.
All of the river work, including the entire portion downstream of the bridge, should be done by the 3rd week of January. The seeding will be the last thing to take place after the bridge is constructed.
Lawrence Construction has remove about 13,000 – 14,000 cubic yards of sediment so far! They have 3 – 8 days left of hauling.
The concrete dip by the bridge will be removed the week following Christmas with the new concrete dip going in the first week of January in preparation for the bridge work.

Nov. 29th, 2017:

The temporary detour is up! It’s only awaiting a layer of road base, and possibly some preliminary bridge work where the it meets the road leading up to the bridge on the south side. Before this time next week the contractors are planning to start diverting traffic over the detour. Please take care when coming home as it will be a rather sharp turn from where the road currently is.

Other points of interest:

A root wad specialist from Seattle is out for the week to help oversee the installation of the root wads upstream of the bridge. To install a root wad along the river a 10 -25 foot length of tree is embedded with rock in the river bank leaving just a couple feet (including the root ball) exposed in the river. These root wads help to stabilize the bank and dissipate the velocity of the water while also providing organic matter and aquatic habitat to the river system.
Boulder banks will be going in next week along the upper reach of the river to prevent future erosion.
The concrete dip by the bridge will be removed next Wednesday with the excavation and installation of the new concrete dip to follow the week of Dec.11th. This is the primary reason for the start of the detour.
With almost 3 weeks allotted for hauling excess dirt away the hauling should be wrapping up around Dec. 13th.
The diversion channel is currently diverting the water around the work upstream, through the wetland, and out just above the bridge.
Once work in the main channel upstream of the bridge is complete the diversion channel will be filled in and the last 100′ of root wad installation will be completed by Dec. 20th.

Nov. 16th, 2017:

The big news is that the contractors will begin work on the temporary detour next week. However with consideration for the upcoming holiday they will not be directing traffic onto it until after Thanksgiving. So the road will be exactly the same for any guests that you may have coming.

Other points of interest:

No work will be occurring next Thursday or Friday.
However the contractor will be hauling excess material (dirt) out earlier next week, so you can expect to see some larger trucks.
The diversion channel was put in last Saturday. After installation the water cleared quickly and 90% of the water in the river has now been diverted to allow easier access for work in the river. Erosion control features have also been put in place to catch sediment. The diversion channel will be removed in approximately 4 weeks when the contractors have worked their way further downstream.
The contractors have completed 300-400 feet of work on the main channel at the upstream end of the project. There are 500 – 800 willow cuttings that will be planted soon along the main channel where their work is complete. Willows will be planted closer to the water, with Cottonwoods located on the higher slopes.
Rootwad installation will begin the week after Thanksgiving upstream of the bridge. Because of spacial restrictions the contractor will need to push material upstream while they install the first bunch of rootwads, and then push the same material downstream while they install the second bunch of rootwads (or visa versa). They will be putting in bales and/or other erosion control measures downstream to catch the sediment created by this activity.
The contractor has almost completed the screening of material (rock) onsite, which they will use in the project. They have been focused on this for the past couple weeks, but once this is completed they will be moving forward quickly.

Oct. 31st, 2017:

Apparently the contractors have rolled out a few impressively sized boulders! The traffic speed has also slowed down over the last week, and the message sign has now been removed. Thank you for taking notice and being conscious of the continuing work.

Points of interest:

The trees marked with pink flagging will be removed. Extra rootwads (a length of a tree with roots attached) created from this project will be set aside to be used in another stream restoration project downstream. Some trees that haven’t been flagged in the lower reach of the project may be removed if necessary, but as many will be kept as possible.
Work is starting on the upstream portion of the project and moving down towards the bridge.
The contractor will be screening material this week to separate the different sizes of rocks and cobbles as they work on grading and filling. As much of the screened material will be used on site as possible.
Towards the end of this week and into next they will start work on the temporary channel (again in the up stream portion of the project), and installing temporary drainage culverts.
This week should see the clipping of willows and cottonwoods for replanting in roughly 3 weeks. Two temporary “nurseries” for the clippings will be created: one in the upstream area and one downstream by Raul Gulch to provide pools of moving water to store them in.
The first rootwads will be placed in the bank, immediately following the grading work, the week after Thanksgiving. At the same time the planting of the willow and cottonwood clippings will begin.
The erosion logs (to prevent erosion) were due to be delivered today and will be installed before the end of the week.
The contractor may be bringing in equipment to grind some of the woody material near the road in the upstream area.

Oct. 6th, 2017

The Project Timeline is now available!

Some points to note:

The message sign was installed along the road on Friday, Oct. 6th
Construction will begin on Monday, Oct. 23 rd. All other activities before then are mobilization and surveying.
All river restoration work, including along the Lewis stretch, will be complete by Dec. 29th, 2017.
All bridge construction will be complete by February 14th, 2018.
There will be approximately a month where no work occurs from Dec. 21st, 2017 – Jan. 22nd, 2018 while delivery of the bridge sections is awaited.
The only stockpiling of material is expected to be for steal reinforcements and rebar. The supplier is simply not flexible with delivery dates.
The wetlands will be protected with orange fencing during the project. No other fencing is expected.

As of Sep. 21st:

– October 3^rd – Construction contract Signing (tentative)

– October 5^th – Pre-construction meeting (tentative)

– October 13^rd – Begin construction (tentative)

In the meantime, the following dates apply (info. from 9-19-17 community meeting):

Two weeks from 9/19/17 Larimer County will get the construction schedule.
Work will start by Oct. 13^th.
Work may go into Jan. 2018 on the bridge, but river restoration work will be done by Dec. 29, 2017
Bridge work must be completed within 100 working days, or by mid-March 2018 at the very latest.
There will be continuous access across the river throughout the project.
Lawrence Construction will construct a detour above the current bridge before closing the old one. Early on they will install a message sign.
Larimer County requires Lawrence to provide them a schedule and LTWC will provide that schedule to this website for residents to see.
Lawrence needs to clarify if the road will need to be closed for the girder erection – would likely be done at night. Would be one night with advance notice. This is not certain to be needed.

General Disaster Recovery Timeframes

Average time for projects to be completed post disaster is 3-5 years, so 4 years is average.