Old Arcata Road Improvements Project

Location: Humboldt County, California
Client: SHN Consulting Geologists & Engineers

An unsolicited Task Order was awarded to DZC Consulting by SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists in support of The Old Arcata Road Improvements Project (OARI), located in Humboldt County, California. The project entailed the analysis of a right-of-way (ROW) contained within the limits of, and maintained by, the City of Arcata. The linear project boundary spanned three residential suburbs known as Sunnybrae, Jacoby Creek, and Bayside.

Old Arcata Road (OAR) is a regionally significant rural arterial route between the cities of Eureka and Arcata the Bayside community, and part of an alternate north/south corridor to Highway 101. The City of Arcata proposed improvements to a 1.5-mile section of OAR that regularly incurs heavy pedestrian, bicycle, and motorized use. OAR was in fair condition but required rehabilitation and reconstruction to improve safety and traffic flow.

A cultural resource current conditions and risk assessment analysis report was prepared to convey current conditions and project planning concerns and anticipated requirement concerning CEQA, NEPA, Section 106 review, and Tribal coordination.

Archival Research found archaeological deposits, a prehistoric trail/historic road and historic architectural structures within the DE-APE and the IE-APE. DZC also analyzed multiple road, sidewalk, and lighting designs with regard to rural community identity and compatibility with the Victorian architecture prevalent in the neighborhood, concluding that most project designs would be compatible with the architectural setting and the rural community identity which was high on the stakeholders list of concerns.  Lastly, DZC identified which structures within the APE were likely eligible for formation of a Historic Architectural District. The assessment concluded that there was a very high probability for additional buried cultural deposits within the DE-APE and IE-APE and a cohesive architectural style to the neighborhood that would warrant design considerations. Research was limited to available archival material and limited field work was performed for this report.

Client satisfaction was high and it is anticipated that DZC will be awarded the subsequent monitoring contract when the construction work renovation begins.