Odd Fellows Recreation Club Emergency Road and Riverbank Stabilization Project
Russian River
Guerneville, California
In December 2012, heavy rains caused a portion of the Odd Fellows Recreation Club’s riverbank to erode into the Russian River. The riverbank erosion washed out a large section of Riverside Drive and threatened to capture a 4,000 gallon septic holding tank and a 6 inch distribution line. Riverside Drive is the main access road for the park, and contains infrastructure buried beneath the road for a centralized septic system which serves approximately 400 homes. We were able to begin work immediately as this was clearly an emergency. That meant we did not have to wait for permits. We did work with the Army Corps of Engineers and notified the other regulatory agencies.
The project site was 110 feet long.
Our heavy equipment operators discuss how to safely access the site.
We constructed an access road down to the river. It was rocked and heavily compacted to allow the big front loader to safely carry the large boulders down to the excavator.
Crew members warm up by a fire. Below the crew, one of several car bodies that we came across as we excavated and shaped the site. It was clear that there had been erosion problems at this site in the past, repaired the old fashioned way.
The excavator placed six ton boulders to construct a stable base upon which the rest of the project was constructed.
The excavator placed boulders and poured “pit run” rock to fill the gaps. The crew then laid in live willow branches which they covered with a geotextile filter fabric.
Geotextile fabric was placed between the courses of boulders, willow branches and pit run rock to prevent soil leaching.
Six months after construction, the road shows no sign of settling.
The live willow branches placed between the boulders and river run gravel show tremendous growth and vitality.
Six months after construction, looking up toward the road.