February 2023
McGuire and Hester has performed many emergency projects over my career. I (and many others) can remember being a part of the team that repaired the sewer collapse at the intersection of Davis Street and Doolittle in San Leandro.
The sewer trunk main that handled all the flow into the sewer treatment plant at the end of Davis Street had to be bypassed as we made multiple repairs in the line. When the road failed, it could have swallowed a small car. Luckily no one was hurt.
When I was a young project engineer (yes, a long time ago), I remember getting poison oak almost every winter while performing emergency work (storm drain repairs/ landslides/retaining wall failure/etc.) for the City of Oakland, City of Orinda, City of Layfette and others. Although I did not get poison oak, this December and early January reminded me of our work +/-25 years ago.
The atmospheric river was more or less the straw that broke the camel’s back. Undersized pipelines combined with deferred maintenance lead to many storm drains and culvert failures.
The Oakland Zoo
On New Year’s Eve, I received a call from the Executive Director of the Oakland Zoo regarding a large pipe failure at their main entrance. My next call was to Mike Anderson; he knew I was NOT calling to wish him a Happy New Year. I was actually able to wish him, John Sabia, Wilfredo Ramos (aka Cookie), and others a Happy New Year when I met them onsite on January 1st. With our expertise and resources, we were able to safely replace the culvert and rebuild the entrance so the park could reopen.
City of San Leandro
The Oakland Zoo was not the only agency to call on New Year’s Eve. The City of San Leandro called, and Matt Finley handled their concerns with the help of Adolfo Gomes, Bill Fellows, and others. When they were onsite removing trees and installing tarps to project the hillside before the next round of rain, some concerned neighbors showed them additional areas that needed to be “safed-off”. I think the City of San Leandro has Matt on speed dial. We still have a couple of small projects to knock out for them in the coming weeks.
Contra Costa Public Works
On January 2nd, Caroline Tom from Contra Costa Public Works called regarding a storm drain failure on Deer Valley Road in Brentwood. Again I called Mike Anderson. This time Manual Ortega met Caroline at 12:30 PM, and with the help of Ramon, Leo, and Rick in dispatch, we were able to start work that afternoon.
Additional Projects
Once the proverbial floodgates opened, it kept coming. Jose Alarcon and crew replaced a collapsed storm drain line in Antioch. Jose Gonzales, Gerardo Torres, and their crews handled landslides and storm drain clean-up projects for the City of Oakland. In early February, we picked up a $2m emergency roadway shoring project for Alameda County Public Works. As I am writing this article, we are mobilizing to do some more work for Contra Costa Public Works, including installing a run of 72-inch RCP that Jeremy Cecil and crew are going to install.
I want to thank everyone involved, especially Matt Finley and Brian Huitt, for all the extra work they did (and continue to do) behind the scenes to get this work scheduled and moving forward. Matt, with Kyle Carone’s help, spearheaded a quick response and timely estimate so we could capture the $2m shoring project with Alameda County Public Works.
I am so proud to be a part of the incredible McGuire and Hester Team. It is awesome that we can respond and assist the cities and counties where many of us live. Thanks again for everyone’s efforts, and I know that we will be their first call for any future emergency work because of our TEAM.