Company:
Orange County Community Resources/OC Parks
Status:
Awarded
Awarded:
Parks & Recreation Project of the Year
Additional Files
Retrofitted abutment
Construction aerial of existing bridge
Construction aerial of new bridge
Construction manager on new bridge
Additional Information

Ralph Clark Regional Park Pedestrian Bridge Replacement and Sidewalk Improvements

Project Location:

Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, 8800 Rosecrans Ave, Buena Park, CA

Project Description:

The Ralph B. Clark Regional Park was originally built in 1981 and the existing pedestrian bridges that span the park lake were in need of replacement or repair. Surrounding concrete walkways and approach slabs had settled and cracked. Engineering alternatives analysis were performed for the renovation or replacement of three (3) pedestrian bridges and pedestrian walkway approaches.  The alternatives analysis provided structural calculations to determine load-carrying capacities and seismic performance of the existing structures to determine any renovations required to meet AASHTO LRFD and Caltrans Seismic design standards.  Replacement alternatives included prefabricated steel truss and precast concrete bridges. A life-cycle cost for each alternative was developed for County review and selection of the preferred alternative.  Final PS&E’s were then developed for the preferred alternative.
The project was a collaboration between Orange County Community Resources (OCCR)-OC Parks and Orange County Public Works (OCPW).  OCCR – OC Parks is the design phase owner’s representative, and OCPW is the construction phase owner’s representative.

Project Justification:

The park is a popular location for families young and old to gather for a quiet fishing outing, stroll along the lake, run in the grass, sit and bird watch, or picnic at one of the many picnic tables. The three (3) pedestrian bridges link the many pathways and are an important part of the park circulation. The design and owner’s team worked together closely to overcome the challenges and obstacles summarized below in order to meet the scheduled Pre-historic OC, an annual family-friendly event that offers educational activities and information to the public about Orange County’s rich history and prehistory and to learn about local natural and cultural resources.  The main pedestrian access from the main entry of the park to the event location was by crossing Bridge # 1. Since Bridge # 1 served as the main circulation path for the event, the design and owner’s team and contractor worked diligently and came up with innovative solutions to complete Bridge #1 in a short amount of time. Moreover, the design team, owner team and contractor met the schedule while maintaining an open and functional park during construction.  The park’s regular activities were not impacted during the construction. The parks visitor were able to visit and use the park as usual.

Special Circumstances:

Challenges presented included keeping the park open and maintaining pedestrian circulation around the lake during construction and replacement of the three bridges and ADA compliant pathway approaches; maintaining adequate lake levels to preserve/protect the existing aquatic life during construction; addressing saturated soils and retrofitting the existing submerged abutments.

This project (as designed and bid) included the replacement of bridge superstructures and substructures (i.e. abutments). Upon attempting to remove the existing abutments, the contractor encountered dewatering issues. Lake and groundwater was present everywhere, complicating the construction of new concrete foundations. The project team quickly changed course, suggesting the re-use and retrofit of the existing abutments with helical piles to accommodate the new bridges. Helical piles are commonly used in residential and commercial construction, but are rarely used for public works. For these lightly loaded pedestrian bridges, helical piles were an efficient and cost-effective means to retrofit the existing abutments. The owner, engineer, and contractor worked quickly and collaboratively to come up with a solution to install these piles and attach them to the existing abutments that avoided dewatering. This “semi-Design/Build” approach to addressing the unforeseen issues with dewatering minimized the project cost and maintained the project schedule.

Project Attachments:

The project was a collaboration between Orange County Community Resources (OCCR)-OC Parks and Orange County Public Works (OCPW).  OCCR – OC Parks is the design phase owner’s representative, and OCPW is the construction phase owner’s representative.

Award Citation::

For its innovation for building methods, engineering design solutions, successful collaboration between the owner, engineers and contractor, and outstanding quality and safety in the construction of the Ralph Clark Regional Park Pedestrian Bridges.

Suggested Award Summary:

For its innovation for building methods, engineering design solutions, successful collaboration between the owner, engineers and contractor, and outstanding quality and safety in the construction of the Ralph Clark Regional Park Pedestrian Bridges. The project team had a clear understanding the needs of the local community and the environmental constraints of the lake and the park resulting in overwhelming success.

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