Colorado Flood Debris Removal
Emergency flood debris cleanup and restoration
Quick Facts
Location
Multiple Counties, Colorado
Role
Prime Contractor
Completion Date
April 2014
Project Overview
Phillips was contracted by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to support recovery efforts after record rainfall in August 2013 caused extensive flood damage throughout the Front Range and Foothills areas of Colorado. The majority of the debris that required removal was compacted under state-maintained highway bridges by powerful water currents in the streams below.
Project Highlights
149,562
CY of Debris
5,000
CY of Debris Reduced After Collection And Provided For Reuse
Phillips Contribution
Special techniques were developed by Phillips to loosen and remove the compacted debris without causing additional damage to the bridges. Debris removal operations at many of the impacted bridges were complicated due to the presence of moving and nearly frozen water in the stream channels, as well as the fact that the operations were conducted during the winter season. In addition to bridge-clearing work, Phillips also removed flood-generated debris from stream channels and public ROWs.
Bridge clearing and debris removal operations were conducted throughout six counties in northeastern Colorado (Boulder, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, and Weld). Some of the nation’s top trout streams are located in these counties, and therefore, debris removal operations were designed and implemented to minimize environmental impacts on these sensitive waterways. At the conclusion of the project, Phillips had collected and processed debris, which included woody vegetation, rocks, and sediment. A majority of the rock and sediment debris was reduced after collection and provided to CDOT for reuse during future road and stream bank restoration projects.
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