For public works, road projects include off-road attention

This approach is not new. In fact, it’s been standard for more than three decades.

“There’s so much that goes into a project,” said Darcy Tiglas, a private consultant who, for more than 30 years, has been hired by Weld County to help public works identify environmental concerns on various projects. “It’s not just design, engineering and physical construction, there’s a whole other level of things to consider.”

In much the same way the county attorney provides the Weld County Board of Commissioners with legal advice, Tiglas also acts as an advisor, offering advice to public works engineers and project managers about how they can complete their work and meet various state and federal regulations, which can include preserving nearby wetlands and protecting wildlife ranging from owls, eagles, swallows, jumping mice and more. Every project has its environmental challenges, and Tiglas has consistently provided expertise to public works to make sure they are met.

“My job is to know what the rules are and convey that to Weld County, so they stay in compliance,” Tiglas said.

She explained that involves evaluating a project before it begins to identify areas of concern. Once the project begins, compliance is the responsibility of project engineers and managers, who can call her for advice if an environmental measure they’ve taken isn’t working.

Best management practices that protect the environment are an element of every public works project. However, the environmental regulations can be many and can change, so hiring a consultant allows the department to focus on completing a project while also allowing it to address environmental concerns to protect the environment.

“Beyond her help keeping us in compliance, Darcy’s knowledge has been instrumental in helping keep project costs low by avoiding fines or time spent having to correct an issue,” said Curtis Hall, Director of Public Works. “She’s been a great asset and has allowed us to focus our attention on a project while knowing we’re doing what we need to do to protect the environment, which is important to residents and public works as well, as many of the people working on our projects call Weld County home.”

It's an impact Hall has seen for more than 20 years as many of his first tasks with Weld County, both as a seasonal employee and surveyor, involved working with Tiglas to map out wetlands surrounding county gravel pits as well as intersection projects like Weld County Road 74 and 15 northwest of Windsor. That familiarity helped Hall and the team get over the initial surprise of discovering birds of prey near Two Rivers Parkway, adapt, and keep the project moving forward.

“My first thought was, ‘this could set the project back a year,’” Hall said. “But Darcy helped us find who to contact at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and she laid out what the potential conflicts between the birds and our construction projects were and, more importantly, solutions to those problems.”

Solutions revolved around a distinct goal: not disturbing the birds or causing them to leave the nest and abandon their eggs or young.

“The birds were protected, which occurs if they’ve bred and laid their eggs,” Tiglas explained. “Once the eggs are in the nest, we’re not allowed to disturb them.”

Not disturbing the birds required the team working on Two Rivers Parkway to take steps to limit noise, and congestion near the bridge and the nearby roadway.  This required continual observation — both Erich Green, Public Works engineer, and Tiglas checked on the birds weekly to see if they were still nesting — and coming up with alternative ways to remove asphalt near the bridge. Conversations with CPW provided suggestions and ideas to public works of how to remove asphalt near the bridge and minimize the impact to the nearby birds, in particular the bald eagles.

“We altered our methods,” Green said. “That meant removing a portion of the road with an excavator instead of a milling machine. Milling machines can get pretty loud, so an excavator was a quieter option for removing bigger chunks of asphalt, and it also caused less vibration.”

While this may have delayed progress slightly, it kept the project moving and protected the birds, who remained safe for the duration of the project.

“No two projects are the same, and there are always going to be challenges,” Hall said, explaining how proud he is of the team for their ability to adapt to the needs of the birds and keep the maintenance on Two Rivers Parkway moving forward. “It speaks to the talent of the people we have working for us and their ability to meet new challenges, but it also shows the care we have for the land and the environment.”

That care helped create a happy ending for the bald eagles and great horned owl, who hatched two and three chicks, respectively. It also serves as another success story for public works — this time for the department’s work beyond county infrastructure.

Every year, County Veterans Services Officers in Weld County and throughout the United States serve veterans and their families by helping them apply for the benefits they earned as a result of military service.

This assistance makes a lasting impact in the lives of many and in the next edition of our County Government 101 series, we'll take a closer look at this important work.