Makoshika State Park Infrastructure Repairs

Montana FWP required repairs to the aging infrastructure at Makoshika State Park. The park is in a very dynamic geologic setting “the badlands” with fossil laden highly erodible and expansive soils. Early project planning and design included: road repairs; campground relocation; associated municipal water and on-site wastewater disposal designs; trail improvements and a new pedestrian bridge. Budgeting, site assessment, and prioritization moved the project focus to its greatest need of road and drainage repair. Full Depth Recycling (FDR) and Cement Treated Base (CTB) with asphalt overlay were major components of the road design for about 2.5 miles of the park access road. Twenty-six drainage crossings were assessed and reestablished.

The Holter Lake Campground is located about halfway between Great Falls and Helena, Montana on Holter Lake, an impoundment on the Missouri River. Campground visitation is currently about 50,000 visitors per year with projections of up to 350 boat launchings per day. The design includes a 65-foot boarding float between boat access ramp lanes, an 88-foot courtesy dock, and a 235-foot main overnight dock. The layout accommodates 43 overnight moorings and is designed for winter seasonal removal of the floating dock sections.

Trails to the docks were routed to provide ADA accessibility and minimize the impact on the existing facility. The paved trails, concrete stairway, dock abutments, shoreline stabilization, and anchoring system designs were complicated by fill-type soils and shallow groundwater. The existing boat ramp was being undercut at the toe and required deepening and lengthening in addition to adding ramp access lanes. The water depth at the ramp toe required that sheet piling be installed for dewatering during construction. RPA coordinated with a number of structural, geotechnical, dock, and ramp specialists to facilitate the design.

Design alternatives were compiled into reporting that also addressed cost estimates. Design complications included significant wave and ice loads on the dock and shoreline stabilization. RPA accommodated multiple design reviews and provided complete plans and specifications provided for bid. The construction cost of the project was about $1.1M. The design work was completed through RPA’s IDIQ contract with the BLM Montana and Dakotas region.

RPA competed the Civil design work for this Land Port of Entry (LPOE) task under a General
Services Administration (GSA) Rocky Mountain Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, and Wyoming), AE Services IDIQ. The project involved building additional
prototype housing for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at the Piegan LPOE property. The remote, self-sufficient site design required complex interrelations and significant infrastructure improvements.

KEY PROJECT ELEMENTS:

• 63-acre site, 46 existing and new housing units
• Phased design/build procurement, LEED compliance
• Tribal lands, international border, national park setting, severe weather, variable seasonal use, and visitation, existing historic facilities
• Site survey, existing infrastructure assessment, systems testing, soils investigations, alternatives analysis
• On-site sewage treatment and disposal system, surge volume storage
• Surface source water collection and security, water right review
• Two-mile source water main, water treatment systems and backwash disposal, new water delivery system
• Buried fire water and potable water storage, fire protection pump systems
• Roads, parking, drainage system, and controls
• Electrical distribution systems and emergency on-site generation, natural gas distribution
• Security fencing, trails, common community areas, severe weather landscaping