To efficiently manage the design of highway surfacing and appurtenant systems, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) engages consultants to supplement in-house engineering, environmental, and surveying services. Since 1998, D&K has provided design for state and US highways, including interstates, urban Class 1 sections of US or state highways, major and minor arterials, and rural…
To develop a safer and dedicated cyclist and pedestrian-focused path from downtown to Gallison Hill Road, the City of Montpelier chose to develop a paved, largely off-street pathway, which shared a substantial portion of its alignment with a local railroad. Weaving through a largely urban area, the project creates an active transportation and recreation right…
Framed by a public park and a residential area and carrying a city street, Robin Hood Dam was reclassified by the State of New Hampshire as a high-hazard dam, and its spillway did not have the capacity to meet New Hampshire Dam Safety requirements. The City of Keene engaged D&K to evaluate the dam, develop…
The Upper Wilson Pond Dam is a small, high-hazard, earth embankment dam impounding a recreation pond. Recently found to be in poor condition, the dam is owned by the Town of Swanzey, and the pond is bounded by homes and properties located within the City of Keene. D&K’s project team completed a study that evaluated…
Storm flows from Jewell Brook in Ludlow are controlled by flood control dams (numbered 1, 2, 3, and 5) located in a rural, hilly, largely forested area. Previous evaluations of this system indicated that Site 1 had the potential for overtopping and the spillway design hydrograph would exceed allowable stresses at three of the system’s…
Curtis Pond, the dam, and its site serve as a beloved cultural hub and source of identity to Calais and the Maple Corner community. The dam underwent excessive seepage, movement of the stone wall, and piping of the earth/sand backfill through voids in the wall. The project had long-term enthusiastic partners, including the Curtis Pond…
In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, the Town of Rochester participated in a federal and state-funded purchase of two adjacent flood-damaged properties to develop a new park with access to the White River. The properties are partially within the floodway and the floodplain of the White River, requiring design in conformance with Town Flood…
VT 108, a seasonally maintained state highway between Stowe and Cambridge, crosses the spine of the Green Mountains through Smugglers’ Notch, a steep, narrow pass flanked with large boulders creating pinch points. Periodically, drivers of prohibited over-length vehicles (>45′ with a trailer and >40′ without a trailer) attempt the notch, but pinch points physically prevent…
The Norwich Reservoir Dam was a run-of-the-river, cyclopean concrete gravity dam located on the Charles Brown Brook. The dam impounded a reservoir which became silted in, and the dam served no useful function. The dam caused significant negative impacts to the brook and to downstream reaches. The dam blocked fish passage and caused downstream sediment…