To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Bryan Weimer, Director, Public Works and Development
Prepared By:
prepared
Sue Liu, P.E. Engineer III, Engineering Services, Public Works and Development
Joseph Boateng, P.E. Engineer III, Engineering Services, Public Works and Development
Emily Gonzalez, P.E., Engineer II, Engineering Services, Public Works and Development
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presenter
Presenter: Ceila Rethamel, PE, Engineering Service Division Manager, Public Works and Development
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Subject:
title
Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards 2024 Adoption
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Public Works and Development staff would like to present the 2024 Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards (IDCS) to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The draft IDCS was presented to the BOCC on January 28, 2025. The draft IDCS was posted on the County’s website for comment from July 26, 2024, through August 26, 2024.
The purpose of this March 11, 2025, presentation is:
1. Present a brief recap of the changes made to the IDCS
2. Recognize the support of the BOCC and others in the IDCS update effort
3. BOCC adoption of the Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards 2024
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Background and Discussion: The last adopted version of the Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards (IDCS) took place in 2019 with minor modifications. This update proposes to complete a comprehensive review the IDCS. The primary focus was to update the standards to:
• Reflect current county processes, procedures, and recent technological advances
• Correct ambiguous, inconsistent, and conflicting language
• Remove or replace outdated or incorrect information and reference
As the County’s primary design standard, this document is frequently used by developers, engineers, professional services providers, utility companies, County Staff, and other stakeholders to determine engineering and construction requirements that apply to these improvements.
A summary of the highlighted changes include:
• Reorganized chapters to improve the flow of information.
• Updated the Roadway Classification nomenclature and right-of-way requirements to align with the 2040 Transportation Master Plan.
• Updated and revise roadway design requirements to meet latest design standards and references to the most current sources.
• Addition of flashfill as acceptable backfill material.
• Engineer’s Cost Estimate need to be prepared by a licensed Engineer in Colorado.
• Checklists for construction documents were added in Appendix F.
• Reformatted the document for ease of use.
• Addition of Traffic Signal Design Standard and Specifications appendix
• Addition of Pavement Marking Standard Details appendix.
Internal and external stakeholders were given the opportunity to comment. Comments that were applicable were incorporated and others have been noted for a future revision specifically consideration of multimodal transportation and support for the water supply study. Engineering Services goal is to have more routine updates and is already working on a plan to address some comments that did not make it into this version of the IDCS.
Engineering Services would like to thank members of the Transportation, Road & Bridge, and Planning Divisions who reviewed and provided comments for this update. We would also like to thank any of the public that provided their comments and our communications liaison, Gary Salazar. I would like to thank ESD staff, the inspection group and our Engineering Support Specialist, Michelle as well as those present here today who did the bulk of the work organizing, writing and sometimes rewriting sections for clarity. And obviously, we could not have done anything this without support from Bryan Weimer and the Board of County Commissioners who gave us the time to make the edits as thorough as possible
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Alternatives: No alternatives were identified as the IDCS should be routinely updated to reflect current County processes and standards.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☐Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends the finalization of the Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards for BOCC adoption on March 11, 2025, with an effective June 9, 2025.
Concurrence: The Arapahoe County Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report.
Resolution: Attached is a copy of the draft resolution.