ASCE Los Angeles Section

The project is located in the City of Dana Point, Orange County, under Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Doheny State Beach Park.

The project consists of the construction of a concrete u-channel under Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to significantly reduce flooding of the San Juan Bike Trail and improve public access to Doheny State Beach Park and coastal access in general.

The heavily used bike trail along San Juan Creek connects the inland communities of San Juan Capistrano from the foothills to the coast. The bike trail undercrossing at PCH was subject to prolonged inundation due to water ponding behind the sand shoal at the mouth of San Juan Creek. 

The inundation occurred even during summer months when high tide would wash over the beach berm and fill the lagoon forming behind the beach berm.  The water, trapped by the sand shoal would keep the bike trail undercrossing inundated long after the high tide or high flows receded.

The San Juan Creek Bike Trail is very popular in south Orange County.  The new development of the Ranch Plan in San Juan Capistrano will add to the number of users who will use this off-road paved bike trail.  The new undercrossing of PCH will be the cornerstone is this well used trail.  

The walls of the new concrete u-channel are 4-ft high.  The length of the new flood wall is 375-ft.  The project construction was $700,000.  The construction contractor was Patriot Contracting and Engineering.  The designer was David Stuetzel of Hall and Foreman, Inc.  The construction was inspected by in-house inspectors of OC Public Works.

The project resolves a serious flooding problem at the mouth of San Juan Creek.  Bypassing the flooded area of the San Juan Creek Bike Trail results in placing cyclists, including young children in bike lanes of high volume and speed (PCH and Del Obispo) and the detour adds over a mile to the goal of the cyclists in reaching the ocean. 

This project was a cooperative project between two county agencies (OC Public Works and OC Parks) and the City of Dana Point.  The city funded half of the local match requirement for the Federal Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant and the project would not have been completed without the partnership. 

Several unique aspects of the project that are not common for capital improvement projects including:

•Competitive grant funding (Federal Transportation Enhancement (TE) Grant) in the amount of $442,500, which is 59% of the estimated total project cost of $750,000. 

•Complications of working within Caltrans and State Parks rights-of-way and obtaining encroachment permits from each entity.

•Avoiding peak recreational season and minimizing impacts to a heavily used state beach.

•Obtaining regulatory permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board; U. S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the California Coastal Commission

•The federal grant requirement for a portion of the work to be completed by Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contractors added significant effort to the project.

•The presence of nesting birds just prior to the initial start of construction in spring 2013 pushed the start of construction until after Labor Day 2013.

•Environmental and water quality concerns with working in San Juan Creek in the Coastal Zone.  

The project was completed with all the objectives achieved.  The project was completed in fewer working days than were provided in the contract.

The project improved portions of the bike trail on Caltrans and State Parks’ rights-of-way.  Staging, site access, and vehicular detours were of special concern with State Parks, as well as scheduling the project to avoid impacting the peak recreational season for Doheny State Beach.  The County and City had to work closely with the State Parks officials to enable the project to move forward.

None

The County of Orange and the City of Dana Point worked together to improve public access along the San Juan Creek Bike Trail by constructing improvements to reduce flooding of the trail undercrossing at Pacific Coast Highway.  The project was funded by the County of Orange, City of Dana Point, and a Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant.  The trail connects the communities of San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point to Doheny State Beach Park and other coastal facilities.

The County of Orange and the City of Dana Point worked together to improve public access along the San Juan Creek Bike Trail by constructing improvements to reduce flooding of the trail undercrossing at Pacific Coast Highway.  The project was funded by the County of Orange, City of Dana Point, and a federal Transportation Enhancement Grant.

The trail connects the communities of San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point to Doheny State Beach Park and other coastal facilities.  Without the project, the trail would be frequently inundated for prolonged periods from storm flows or high tides trapped behind the sand shoal formed at the coastal outlet of San Juan Creek.

The challenges of working in the rights-of-way of two different state agencies and the environmental concerns with working in the San Juan Creek have made the project a challenge.  The cooperative efforts of two county agencies (OC Public Work and OC Parks) and the City of Dana Point enabled this long needed project to be completed.