Case History No.

Name: Alex Raikes

Date: 04/22/2020
Project
Colorado Highway U.S. 36 Collapse
Background
In July of 2019, an eastbound section of the recently completed highway U.S. 36 collapsed.
Beginning in mid-2012 and completed in early 2016, express lanes were added to U.S. 36 to ease
an increase in traffic problems. It was a welcomed project to citizens of Boulder, Broomfield,
and Westminster counties as well as everyday commuters. But unlike the exhaustive C-470
expansion, which is still underway to this day, an emphasis was put on speed for this project.
Problems/Triumphs
In addition to the U.S. 36 expansion, bridge embankments over the highway, specifically over
Church Ranch Boulevard in Westminster, had to be modified. In mid-July of 2019, drivers on the
highway noticed that a section of the bridge embankment for the Church Ranch bridge was
falling apart. The bridge and the eastbound portion of the highway was immediately shut down
for investigation and repairs. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) spokesperson,
Tamara Rollison issued the following statement, “It appears water has gotten underneath the
section that’s collapsing…Large cracks have developed into a sinkhole, with significant damage
to the retaining wall under the road.” (Ben Markus and David Sachs, Colorado Public Radio,
July 2019). Beneath the embankment exists a clay layer, where water seeped into the clay
creating a slope failure. In 2009, prior to the initialization of the construction of the U.S. 36
expansion, a geotechnical report from the Environmental Impact Statement was issued warning
of collapsing soils in the area that appears to have been ignored.
Crews worked in 24 hour shifts to repair the section of the bridge until the restoration was
completed in early October of 2019. The Ames Granite Joint Venture in conjunction with CDOT
initially constructed the expansion. Repairs were handed over to a different engineering firm,
Kraemer North America. Kraemer solved the problem by firstly drilling 140 caissons into the
bedrock to create stability in the underlying soils and then installed geofoam fill blocks on top of
the ground to reduce pressure on the soil. To this date surveyors continue to take regular readings
along U.S. 36 to monitor any elevation changes as well as development of any cracks in the
roads.

From: Case Histories of Professional Liability Losses, ASFE Case Histories 1-65
ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences
8811 Colesville Rd./Suite G106/Silver Spring, MD 20910 Page 1
Outcome
Responsibility of the collapse will more than likely turn into a legal battle. It is believed that a
responsibility will fall on the Ames Granite Joint Venture group for the 20.4-million-dollar
repair. If the Ames Granite Joint Venture group does not immediately claim responsibility for the
failure, costs will fall to the taxpayers. No claims to this date have been made, however.
Furthermore, no significant issues have been reported with the U.S. 36 highway as well since the
repairs.
Lessons learned
1) As engineers it is our responsibility to pay attention to investigative reports about the
locations in which our projects our built. Although it is not clear, why the
Environmental Impact Statement was ignored, a responsible engineer would have
sought out any geotechnical reports and paid attention to any warnings they issue.

2) This failure is also an example of a failure to explore options. The initial installation
of the geofoam pads would also have prevented this failure from occurring. Although
the use of geofoam pads is not commonly used in Colorado, the geofoam pads are
excellent at reducing stresses of the underlying soils despite their high costs. High
costs are more than likely a key reason the pads were not used initially, however,
despite their high costs the pads can greatly reduce construction timelines. This is a
great example of time versus money, where the initial engineers valued the bottom
line rather than factor of safety and schedule.

From: Case Histories of Professional Liability Losses, ASFE Case Histories 1-65
ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences
8811 Colesville Rd./Suite G106/Silver Spring, MD 20910 Page 2
 Works Cited
Hillan, J. (2019, October 4). Highway 36 Completely Reopens After Sinkhole Caused Lanes To

Collapse. Retrieved April 21, 2020, from https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/10/04/highway-36-

reopens-sinkhole-collapse/

Markus, B., & Sachs, D. (2019, July 16). We May Know What Caused The US 36 Sinkhole, But

CDOT Doesn't Want To Say Who's Responsible. Retrieved from

https://www.cpr.org/2019/07/15/u-s-36-sink-hole-likely-caused-by-water-mixing-with-

collapsible-soil/

Roberts, M. (2019, October 4). Highway 36 Investigation and Plan to Prevent Future Collapse.

Retrieved April 21, 2020, from https://www.westword.com/news/highway-36-repair-and-

reopened-lanes-update-11497786

From: Case Histories of Professional Liability Losses, ASFE Case Histories 1-65
ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences
8811 Colesville Rd./Suite G106/Silver Spring, MD 20910 Page 3