28,000 square feet
Golden, Colorado
J.F. Sato and Associates
Denver, Colorado
HTM Construction
Lakewood, Colorado
Expand parking, upgrade drainage, add landscaping, meet high aesthetic standards and construct the project without closing the nearby Interstate highway exits were just a few of the challenges faced by the team that led the improvement of a “park and ride” facility outside Denver, just off Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 40. The area known as the Dakota Hogback in the Rocky Mountain foothills had been a popular parking place for Denver commuters and mountain-bound outdoor enthusiasts for years before the Colorado Department of Transportation and Jefferson County decided to update the facility.
Designed by Denver engineering firm J.F. Sato and Associates, the Hogback retaining wall was engineered to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Colorado DOT Project Manager Martin Herbaugh described the choice of the Diamond Pro Stone Cut® retaining wall system for the wall as the perfect solution that best met the requirements of the project.
The designer chose the product because of its multiple pieces and rough-looking appearance that complement the Rocky Mountain landscape. The design combines four different colors of product: light buff, dark buff, light terra cotta and dark terra cotta that bring to mind the Great Plains to the east and the mountains to the west.
“Although the primary purpose of the retaining wall is that of a support structure, we had high standards for its aesthetics,” Herbaugh says. “The parking area is an important piece of the community and a gateway into the mountains.”
This engineering feat combines tripling the capacity to 1,181 parking spaces supported by a massive 28,000-square foot retaining wall and redesigned intersections.
A major challenge of the project was building the wall quickly and efficiently while working amidst busy Interstate traffic. Neither the highway nor the nearby exit were ever closed during construction so that contractors needed to be extra- vigilant about safety at all times. HTM Construction Company of Lakewood, Colorado, built the wall while navigating around the busy jobsite. They also needed to follow a specific installation pattern with the blocks in order to give a “wavelike” look to the wall with alternating colors. HTM Project Manager Wes Lundeby explains that the installation did not take longer than normal, due in part to the easy installation of the Diamond Pro Stone Cut product.
“Wall installation stayed on schedule and contributed to the entire parking facility opening nearly six months early and in time for the upcoming ski season,” Lundeby says. “The product is a system designed for efficient wall construction.”
The Hogback facility is now more than just a parking lot. It is a well-known and highly used point of interest for the entire state of Colorado as a gateway to the magnificent Rocky Mountains and bustling Denver. The unique aesthetics of the project and its majestic size have turned what could have been an ordinary DOT project into a work of engineering art.