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NE 10th Avenue:
NE 149th Street to NE 154th Street

Location: Vancouver, Washington
Size: Quarter mile
Cost: $8,359,825
Start: May 2021
Completion: September 2022
Owner/Developer: Clark County
Architect: Clark County Public Works
Engineer: Clark County Public Works
General Contractor: Tapani Inc.
Submitting Company: Tapani Inc.
Subcontractors: 3 Kings Environmental, Aquatic Contracting, Brad’s Septic Service, Brothers Concrete Cutting, City Electric, Dietrich Trucking, Em3, Glacier Drilling, Green Sweep, Jeffries Construction, Keller North America, Lakeside Industries, McDonald Excavating, Molecular, North 40 Fence, Northwest LNG GEOTXTL PRD, Pacific Rim, Ralph’s Concrete Pumping, Site One, Specialized Pavement Marketings, Superior Gunite, Tapani Trucking, Taylor Transport, West Coast Sand and Gravel, West Coast Soil Solutions

With significant growth happening in Clark County – especially in the greater Ridgefield area – roads are seeing higher volumes of traffic and activity. Such is the case for the NE 10th Avenue Project, which aimed to improve access from Salmon Creek to the popular Clark County Fairgrounds.

Before construction began on 10th Avenue, there were only two lanes with no shoulder, limited visibility of oncoming traffic, and the road was unable to keep traffic moving during peak flow times. The project aimed to widen the street to two travel lanes with a center left turn lane, as well as add bicycle lanes and sidewalks. It also included the addition of a traffic signal to improve traffic flow. The project required a complete reconstruction of 10th Avenue from 149th Street to 154th Street.

This stretch of road is strategically located near a creek bed, where high water conditions and other environmental issues needed to be considered. The most critical part of the project was elevating the road 20 feet over an unnamed Whipple Creek outlet. This required detailed planning on how to best preserve and work within the wetland area, while ensuring erosion control methods were followed. To develop the nearby embankment, the teams placed 32,350 cubic yards of gravel borrow, which secured the foundation of the new roadway. Construction teams also used 13,600 cubic yards of deep soil mixing, which helped increase the stability of the area. More than 4,055 tons of asphalt pavement was placed during final paving which finished the roadway over the creek.

With new retaining walls, a culvert that draws attention to the creek and wetland, and a wider, more stable road that welcomes pedestrians, vehicles, and bikes, the area now provides improved access to the area without the need to travel on Interstate 5.