Erosion Control on Long Slopes

Robert R. Marshall, CPESC RLA

After spectacular erosion and sediment control failures on the new Hwy 20 project resulted in impacts to endangered fish species, the destruction of newly constructed bridges and the State Police escorting the project manager from the project site, I was tapped to provide erosion and sediment control design for the second effort of building this road segment. This presentation will recount the challenging project and multiple solutions to issues that occurred while working in the temperate rain forest of Oregon's Coast Range, an area with long steep slopes in a location of grand vistas and a lush and beautiful landscape.

Learning Objectives: 

  • Understand some of the difficulties of Erosion and Sediment Control in wet climates on steep slopes.
  • Feel empowered to use new and innovative solutions when presented with unique challenges.
  • Design erosion and sediment control plans for long slopes.

Presented by Robert R. Marshall, CPESC RLA – Erosion and Sediment Control Program Leader, Oregon Dept of Transportation

After stints as commercial fisherman and ski area bartender I buckled down and became a landscape architect. I worked for 25 years as a consultant for David Evans and Associates, a mid size multi disciplinary consulting firm as a Project Landscape Architect on a wide range of projects. I worked on schools, hospitals, cemeteries, parks and residences but my primary focus was streetscapes and roadsides where I designed the landscapes and erosion and sediment control.. These were not glamorous projects but big and important work that was viewed in passing by millions of travelers. In 2016 I became the Project Landscape Architect for a huge and failed project that cut through the temperate rain forest of the Oregon Coast Range. After providing a design that stabilized roadside soils in the Coast Range I was offered a position with Oregon Department of Transportation where I now sit as the Roadside Development Program leader and also the Erosion and Sediment Control Program Leader. Again, this work is not glamorous, but big and important and affords me the opportunity to work with a great team in a beautiful state.