Monterey Dunes Way Emergency Culvert Repair

The $2.2M emergency repair project was critical for the safety and welfare of the nearby community, the protection of the natural habitat, and the adjacent agricultural landowners. With the quickly deteriorating conditions and culvert failures, water flow from the Old Salinas River channel was restricted. The adjacent land and roadway were in danger of flooding, causing a loss of income for the farmers and threatening the public access and overall safety for nearby residents. The success of this project resulted from the team’s quick assessments of the emergency conditions and a fast and proactive plan of action to repair and replace the culverts and road while keeping the road accessible to the community throughout construction. The emergency repairs included repairing the 66-inch diameter corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert by retrofitting it with a solid wall high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sleeve, replacing the failing 48-inch diameter CMP culvert with a larger HDPE culvert, and repaving and adding new guard rails to Monterey Dunes Way road. The repair and replacement for the two culverts were designed with the smallest footprint possible to have the least impact on the natural environment while still providing adequate capacity for flow.