SR28 Bike Path Construction – East Shore Tahoe Trail

Granite Construction installed the Environmental Passive Integrated Conveyance (EPIC) system for the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) SR28 bike path and parking project.  The permeable infiltration EPIC filter is under 100 new parking spaces to be used for the East Shore Tahoe Trail, a bike path linking Incline Village to Sand Harbor and eventually to Spooner pass along Lake Tahoe’s East shore.  CH2M Hill designed the project with consulting from Reno based Evaporative Control Systems, Inc. (ECS); manufacturer of the EPIC system.

Wet weather already tested the installation this week as the project is finishing up the first phase before the 2016/2017 winter season.  The design of the EPIC chamber allows for natural oil / grease separation that keeps the hydrocarbons in the #10 sieve gravel layer.  These contaminants decompose by microbiological degradation in the aerobic profile, and filter pollutants from entering Lake Tahoe.  Sediments are filtered at the surface and easily maintained by NDOT street sweeper VAC trucks.  The EPIC system allows for more efficient real estate use at the site; the storm pond volume requirements are met in a shallow space below the driveway itself.

The Belgard 80mm concrete pavers on the surface are built to sustain heavy traffic loads while being permeable in the spaces between the pavers.  The stormwater then drains through the gravel filter of the EPIC system to infiltrate through a geofabric into the native soil.  Record rain events with excessive volumes drain through the EPIC chambers and discharge clean and filtered water into the Lake Tahoe watershed.