Spring Gulch Road is primarily used for residential access for the subdivisions near the golf course and airport north of Jackson, Wyoming. The road is also popular for recreational cycling. However, a section of the road has remained unpaved due to flooding and erosion along a 5,517-foot section of the road, which is bordered by irrigated, agricultural land. Teton County Public Works Department hired IME to provide design recommendations for replacing culverts and paving a section of the Spring Gulch Road located between Lucas Riva Ridge Road and Bar BC Ranch Road. The project included evaluating the area and coordinating requirements through various federal and local agencies, geotechnical exploration, surveying, construction material testing, civil design and project oversight. Since the road crosses Spring Creek, a wetland delineation was performed to determine if permitting and design considerations would be required through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for this project.

The wetland delineation for this project included evaluating areas where Spring Creek and irrigation channels were present within the project’s right-of-way. Challenges to this project were areas where the irrigation channels were parallel and within close proximity to the road. We evaluated the three USACE indicators (hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soil, and wetland hydrology) and worked closely with USACE staff to successfully determine wetland status and complete design and construction phases.