Region: West

The Port of Alaska is the largest and most important commercial port in the state. Already outdated and deteriorating, the facility suffered significant structural damage during a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2018. The port needed new, more resilient, marine infrastructure. The ambitious Port of Alaska Modernization Program (PAMP) set out to give it a generational […]

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) faced a unique challenge; build a sustainable fish habitat beneath an active interstate and near a busy intersection—and do it with minimal traffic disruptions. To comply with a federal injunction requiring corrected fish barriers, WSDOT had to replace Padden Creek crossings at I-5 and SR 11 near Bellingham, […]

SH-3 is a heavily trafficked two-lane highway and the main artery between St. Maries and I-90 in northern Idaho. This narrow section of road had no shoulders and many steep slopes down to the adjacent St. Joe River. To improve safety and increase transportation capacity, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) set out to widen SH-3 […]

Lava Hot Springs is a popular tourist attraction nestled among the rocky slopes of Southwest Idaho’s wilderness. The state’s Lava Hot Springs Foundation has maintained a series of geothermal pools just off Highway 30 for more than a century, but eventually the facility had to contend with a far less profitable geologic feature—falling rocks. Two […]

The Seattle Convention Center is a major economic stimulus for Seattle, Washington, drawing as many as 400,000 people to town each year for conferences and events. In 2008, the convention center’s owners embarked on an ambitious $2 billion expansion to double the facility’s available space and better meet the needs of the rapidly growing city. […]

For years, fish biologists have seen correlations between urban stormwater events and coho salmon deaths, but the precise cause was unknown. In 2020, researchers  identified the likely culprit—the chemical 6PPD (N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine) and its byproduct 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q). 6PPD is a common antioxidant used in rubber tire manufacturing, and urban stormwater regularly transports it from roads into […]

In 2017, the Rotary Club of Salem, Oregon announced a plan to build a new open-air amphitheater at the city’s Riverfront Park. The $4 million project would deliver a premiere venue for outdoor community events, complete with a vendor plaza, elevated stage and pavilion shell. GeoEngineers provided geotechnical services for the project as sub-consultant to […]

The City of Issaquah, Washington, needed to improve Newport Way, a heavily trafficked two-lane road in the greater Seattle metro area, to better serve the community. The Newport Way Improvements Project would widen the road, add pedestrian and cycling features and replace three culverts along a 1.1-mile stretch of asphalt. An interdisciplinary GeoEngineers team provided […]

In 2018, real estate developer ProLogis set out to build a state-of-the-art distribution center on the grounds of a historic Portland horse track. Portland Meadows had entertained locals since 1946, but after redevelopment the plot would be home to more than 1 million square feet of industrial warehouse space, dramatically expanding delivery capacity for large […]

Fish are a critical natural resource in Washington State. Salmonid species are the backbone of the state’s fishing industry and an important cultural icon for Washington Tribes, but over the last century fish populations have been decimated—in part due to human infrastructure. Culverts and bridges often create obstacles that prevent salmonid fish from accessing their […]