SouthEast Connector

Connecting Communities. Restoring the Environment. Creating Prosperity. Protecting the Eastern Sierra watershed.

Project Overview

The SouthEast Connector is significant regional investment in the Truckee Meadows that began over 40 years ago, and addresses the long-term transportation needs to improve the safety and mobility of people, goods, and services in the Reno/Sparks area. Completed in July June of 2018, the SouthEast Connector roadway— called Veterans Parkway—stretches 5.5 miles from the intersection of Greg Street and Sparks Boulevard, to the existing intersection of Veterans Parkway and South Meadows Parkway. In addition to the important transportation and economic benefits, the SEC project included a large plan to enhance wetland resources to protect the sensitive Truckee River ecosystem fed from several watershed systems of the Eastern Sierras while ensuring environmental regulations were met or exceeded.

Scope & Objectives

Plans to protect wildlife, improve water and air quality, and restore native vegetation were developed in conjunction with numerous agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. Prior to rehabilitation, the area was threatened by illegal dumping, airport runoff, erosion and invasive noxious weeds and mercury from 19th century mining. In addition to naturally occurring sulfur, boron and salt, these conditions created an immediate threat to native habitats, degrading wetlands with toxins, also preventing recreational use. The plan incorporated a multi-use recreational path alongside the road bed for enjoyment of the restored wetlands.

Soil-Tech Role

A combination of our staff experience, licensing and certifications in landscape construction, erosion control, commercial irrigation, federal and state pesticide application, arboriculture and nursery work, made us the ideal fit to partner with the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC) on this monumental project.

Project highlights include:

  • Riparian Weed Abatement across 114 acres throughout the 5.5-mile corridor and 4 major tributary watershed systems
  • Nursery operations and procurement for propagation, shoreline planting and fencing of 569 cottonwood trees, and 215,000 wetland tubelings
  • Planting and fencing 4,908 plants of 9 species into 19 wetland habitat areas in non-contiguous native shrub gardens covering over 4 acres
  • Cutting, soaking and planting of about 21,000 willow stakes for wattles, 96,000 willow poles for vegetating 1,791 cubic yards of rip-rap to protect over 20,722 square yards of streambank, and harvesting enough willow shoots to soak, bundle and install 968 linear feet of entrenched willow wattles
  • Installation of 56,884 linear feet of entrenched, staked bio-degradable rice wattle
  • Installation and daily operations for 3 years of 6+ miles of temporary irrigation along Steamboat Creek, adjusting for fluctuating flows from 4 major tributary watershed systems
  • Hydroseed, broadcast & harrow, and drill seed 310 acres with 39 species of seed blended into 5 types of mixes totaling 1.8 tons of seed

300ACRE

Riparian Habitat Restoration

$300MILLION

Total Project
Funding

Project Services Include:

MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES

WETLAND
RESTORATION

HYDROSEEDING

NUSERY
SERVICES

WEED
ABATEMENT

RESULTS

Early into the project, century flooding occurred. Flood controls worked as planned, but delays in access set the project behind. After catching up to the original timelines, Soil-Tech’s resourcefulness and experience boosted the problem-solving among key stakeholders and contractors, to still open the roadway on schedule.
Since early 2018, the initial and ongoing data from botanical monitoring shows decreased erosion and weed infestation and healthy progress in desirable vegetation, including native growth.