I-5/La Paz Road Interchange Widening and Improvements

Athalye Consulting provided Construction Management and Resident Engineering services to the City of Laguna Hills for the La Paz Road Widening Project at I-5 and Cabot Road. The work involved increasing roadway capacity by removing the existing sloped abutments beneath the freeway and replacing them with retaining walls (with tie-backs) to accommodate additional travel lane.

Several key improvements include: a dedicated right-turn lane onto the northbound I-5 loop on-ramp, a widened southbound off-ramp, a tie-back wall beneath the freeway, three additional retaining walls, drainage system upgrades, irrigation, landscaping, earthwork, HMA paving, traffic signal and fiber optic modifications, and new signing and striping.

My responsibilities included maintaining accurate project records in compliance with Caltrans specifications, preparing field progress reports, daily diaries, SWPPP inspection reports, contractor payment estimates, and labor compliance documentation. Additional duties involved processing Contract Change Orders (CCOs) and potential claims, monitoring the project schedule, performing data entry, attending weekly coordination meetings, and assisting project engineers as needed.

Inspection responsibilities covered a wide range of construction activities, including asphalt concrete (AC) paving, striping, lane closures, traffic control for both day and night work, sidewalk construction, rebar and structural steel placement, tie-back stressing, shotcrete application, concrete barriers, crash cushions, storm drains and inlets, electrical systems, and SWPPP best management practices (BMPs).