EVERETT—Snohomish County Public Works is being recognized nationally for an innovative project that changes the way the County handles wetland mitigation and saves millions of dollars in future taxpayer funds. The creation of Little Bear Creek Advance Mitigation Site (LBCAMS) has been named a national 2024 Public Works Project of the Year from the American Public Works Association in the Environmental under $5 million category.
“Our Snohomish County Public Works team is full of creative, dedicated professionals who work hard every day to ensure we have safe, maintained, and well-designed roads, waste disposal, and recycling,” said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “This is an incredibly well-deserved honor and I’m grateful to everyone who had a hand in bringing the mitigation site to life.”
The 17-acre project is now a protected wetland mitigation site that allows the County to be proactive in addressing mitigation requirements by generating wetland credits for future project impacts. Consolidating wetland restoration and enhancement efforts in advance is expected to save the County more than $30 million on 11 County road projects, when compared to building concurrent wetland mitigation projects or purchasing wetland credits from a mitigation bank.
“We know that by combining the mitigation needs for future road projects and mitigation efforts into a single site before it’s needed, we create significant financial savings and a strong ecological impact. This was a bold public works project as very few organizations handle wetland mitigation in this way,” Public Works Director Kelly Snyder said. “In all, creating LBCAMS took seven years, however it benefits the County and the public in perpetuity.”
Developing LBCAMS started in 2017 when the County purchased a derelict property built on wetland fill in the densely populated southern part of the county. Returning the site to a high-functioning forested wetland involved removing 17 structures, 4.25 acres of wetland fill, 1,200 feet of drainpipe and electrical conduit, and more than 37,000 square feet of impervious surface, and adding 6,300 cubic yards of compost and wood chip mulch and more than 21,000 native plants. The total project cost was $4.2 million.
“This project was successful because of the close coordination between Public Works, design consultant ESA, and Accord Contractors,” Public Works Deputy Director and County Engineer Doug McCormick said. “This award is a testament to our team’s innovation, collaboration, and proactive thinking to be strong environmental and fiscal stewards.”
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, SCJ Alliance and Reece Construction were also honored at the national level by the APWA for Project of the Year in the Transportation $5 million – $25 million category for their 236th St NE corridor improvements. As the owner and partnering agency, Snohomish County Public Works was proud to nominate this worthy project for the award and congratulates our community partner.
APWA’s annual awards recognize infrastructure projects that are publicly owned and promote excellence in construction, management, and administration. These awards recognize the alliance between the managing agency, the contractor, the consultant, and their cooperative achievements for the good of their communities. Both Snohomish County projects were previously recognized as projects of the year in their respective categories at the state level by the Washington Chapter of APWA.
Snohomish County Public Works last won a national project of the year award in 2010 for the replacement of Sauk River Bridge 414. Other previous national award-winning projects include the replacement of South Slough Bridge 91 in 2008 and the Puget Park Drive extension in 2007.
Supplemental Information
- American Public Works Association (APWA) 2024 Project of the Year Award for the Environmental <$5 Million. View the award presentation.
SOURCE: Snohomish County Public Works
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
