Left to right in above photo: Scott Grayson (Chief Executive Officer, APWA), Mark Myers (Senior Technical Expert, Haley and Aldrich), Daniel Woldenenbet (Director, Public Works Alameda County), Tim Plowman (Superintendent, Goodfellow Bros.), and W. Gary Losier – (Past President, APWA).
Photo Credit: APWA
On Dec. 31, 2022, a winter storm swept through the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving widespread flooding, landslides, and power outages in its wake.
In Castro Valley, the storm’s drenching rains caused the San Lorenzo Creek to flood. Part of the creek runs alongside A Street, which is one of Castro Valley’s busiest thoroughfares. The rising floodwaters damaged a concrete channel in the creek, consequently undermining the retaining wall that supported A Street above. As the rain continued to fall, a section of the retaining wall gave way and slid into the creek below, exposing a large fiber optic duct bank that had been underground. Miraculously, the duct bank was not damaged during the collapse, but its exposure posed a serious safety hazard.
In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, A Street’s northbound lanes were shut down, which led to significant traffic delays. A few days later, after the storm had passed, the Alameda County Public Works Agency and engineering firm Haley & Aldrich met with our Goodfellow Bros. (GBI) California Region, which agreed to take on this high-priority emergency repair project.
The work began on Feb. 6, 2023. Over the next 32 days, GBI’s crews worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week in cold, windy, and wet conditions. In just five weeks, Goodfellow Bros. completed a complex project that would typically take several months to finish. True to form, Goodfellow Bros. found a way to do the near-impossible—without ever compromising safety or quality.
For the initial phase of the project, GBI removed the failed retaining wall from the creek bed. A crane lifted the broken sections of wall out of the creek; they were subsequently crushed and hauled away. After that, Foundation Constructors, Inc. used a large pile driver to drive temporary sheet piles into the ground fronting the fiber optic duct bank. The temporary sheet piles, along with several tons of gravel, supported the duct bank and prevented it from collapsing while repairs were underway in the creek. Inside the creek bed, GBI crews diverted water away from the work area using gravel-filled sacks before driving more than 200 feet of permanent sheet pile into the ground. Once the permanent sheet piles were installed, GBI placed nearly 4,000 tons of 18-inch riprap to fortify the creek’s embankment. GBI also repaired two drainage systems that had collapsed during the storm, along with a leaking water main that had failed. Finally, Goodfellow Bros. backfilled and repaved A Street; it was the finishing element that eventually led to the reopening of the road.
Photos showing repair work underway, Photo Credit: Goodfellow Bros.
This was GBI’s first time working with the Alameda County Public Works Agency—and it wouldn’t be the last. As a result of the A Street project, Goodfellow. Bros. has forged an enduring relationship with the agency based on trust and integrity. To date, GBI’s California Region has completed nine emergency repair projects for the Alameda County Public Works Agency, and there will likely be more to come.
Photos showing before and after the repair, Photo Credit: Tim Plowman
GBI has also earned several accolades for this project. Earlier this year, GBI was honored with the American Public Works Association (AWPA) Northern California Chapter’s Public Works Project of the Year Award in the category of Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair. Then, in September, GBI received the national-level AWPA Public Works Project of the Year Award in the category of Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair. The awards ceremony was held on Sept. 9 during the APWA PWX (Public Works Expo) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. GBI Superintendent Tim Plowman, who oversaw the project, flew to Atlanta to accept the award on behalf of GBI.
Left: Shawna Plowman and Tim Plowman at the AWPA Awards, Right: GBI’s Tim Plowman receiving award onstage at the 2024 APWA Awards
Plowman attributes the success of this project to the many individuals who worked so tirelessly to complete it safely and efficiently. Among them are Foremen Dave Gaub, Jorge Contreras, and Josh Jones; Labor Foreman John Ingraham; Key Operators Dennis Pratt, Luis Estrada, and Dominic Vincent; and Project Managers Kris Bowles and Mina Habacshi.
“GBI’s relationship-based business model is tailor-made for this type of project,” says Plowman. “You can see that commitment in our crew’s ability and willingness to safely go above and beyond what’s needed to successfully complete this project. You can also see it in the trust and respect between Goodfellow Bros. and Alameda County.”
Congratulations to the project team!
