General Archives - Western Construction Resources

What is a Ford in the Construction Industry?

As usual, I was reading legal notices, which includes applications and permits for the Department of Ecology and I came across the word Ford: The project would include installation of 4 new fords. I reached out the Dept of Ecology and here is what I learned…..

A ford is basically just a stream crossing fortified with rock. See attached drawing. Here is an excerpt from the project proponent’s application about fords.

Fords
The Project would include installation of 4 new fords that would be subject to federal permitting. Installation would require re-contouring the streambanks and adding geotextile fabric and 12-inch rip rap. Approximately 5 CY of this riprap would fill the stream within the OHWM. For the purposes of permitting, the temporary and permanent impacts for new ford installation and ford replacement were conservatively assumed to be the same (see Sheet 2 in Attachment 5 for the typical detail and impacts associated with ford installation and replacement). Permanent impacts of approximately 132 square feet would occur at each ford crossing that that conveys a wetland or waterbody over a road.

In the 1965 film The Sound of Music, the main character sings the song Climb Ev’ry Mountain which has the lyrics “climb every mountain, ford every stream”. It’s used as a verb there, meaning to cross the stream.

Click here to view a ford drawing

By DawnWCR|April 21, 2026|General|

Why an Official Plan Holders List is Important

For public municipalities and project consultants, ensuring a fair, competitive, and efficient bidding process is essential. One of the simplest — yet most critical — tools to support this is maintaining an official plan holders list.

What Is an Official Plan Holders List?

An official plan holders list is a record of all contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and consultants who have obtained the official project plans and documents from a designated source.

In short:
➡ The bid documents clearly state which agency or location bidders must contact to be added to the plan holders list.
➡ Those on the list are notified of any project changes, addenda, or updates.

This ensures that everyone knows where to get the official, most up-to-date information for a project — eliminating confusion and miscommunication.

Why Does This Matter?

Bidding on public works projects takes significant time, effort, and resources. Without an official plan holders list, several problems can arise:

Lack of coordination — Contractors, suppliers, and subcontractors may not know who is bidding as a prime or sub, leading to missed opportunities for collaboration.
Wasted time and effort — Bids can become fragmented, redundant, or incomplete, wasting valuable time for both bidders and the municipality.
Higher costs — Inefficiencies and uncertainty can discourage participation or lead to inflated bid prices.
Reduced transparency — Without an official source of truth, it’s harder to ensure that the process is fair and competitive.

The Benefits of an Official Plan Holders List

By maintaining and sharing an official plan holders list, municipalities and consultants can:

✅ Promote collaboration between contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers
✅ Encourage more complete, competitive bids
✅ Save time and reduce unnecessary costs for all parties
✅ Support the integrity and transparency of the public bidding process

Final Thoughts

An official plan holders list is a small administrative step that delivers big value. It ensures that everyone — from the owner to the bidders — starts from the same set of information, creating a smoother, fairer, and more efficient project delivery process.

By DawnWCR|June 13, 2025|Construction, General|

Light, Form and Materiality Through the Decades exhibit

This week on November 22, 2019, you are invited to attend the opening reception for the Henry Klein Homes: Light, Form and Materiality Through the Decades exhibit from 5:00 – 7:00pm.

Location: The Historical Museum of Skagit County
Day + Time: November 22, 2019 from 5:00 – 7:00pm
Entry fee: Free

This exceptional exhibit of residential design works by our founder, regionally noted architect Henry Klein (1920-2013), will run through March of 2020. Visit to experience Henry’s guiding themes of natural light, indoor/outdoor connections, natural materials, gracious overhangs, and beautiful screening weave through every decade from the 1950s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

No tickets are needed to attend the exhibit and museum entry is free for members. The regular exhibit hours are Tuesday – Sunday from 11:00am – 4:00pm. For non-members, the museum entry fee is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and children, and $10 for families (two adults with two children).

We hope that you will embrace this wonderful opportunity to see a rare curated collection of photographs of the design and construction of Henry Klein’s most notable homes. Klein’s process of design is also illuminated through working drawings, hand sketches, and physical models.

By DawnWCR|November 19, 2019|General|

New $9.8 billion transportation budget includes some major projects for Whatcom County

The following are some of the major projects in Whatcom County:

? $12.1 million for the Thornton Road Overpass in the Ferndale area.

? $9.4 million for an Orchard Drive east-west connector under I-5 in Bellingham.

? $6.5 million for I-5/Northbound on-ramp at Bakerview Road. The project is to construct a northbound on-ramp on the east side of I-5 to address congestion, enhance regional multimodal transportation and support economic development in northwestern Bellingham.

? $200,000 for the Washington state-British Columbia joint transportation action plan for international mobility and trade.

? $2 million to construct improvements to the I-5/Slater Road Interchange and accommodate planned future development in the area around the interchange.

It also including the following a project covering multiple counties:

? $1.6 million for Skagit Transit to purchase five replacement buses to be used on the county connector services operated by Skagit Transit and partnership with Island Transit and Whatcom Transit. The buses will add passenger capacity and emissions reduction.

Source: Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee and Office of Financial Management

Read more here: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article229529749.html?#storylink=cpy

By DawnWCR|May 2, 2019|General|

New Stanwood High School Virtual Walkthrough

For up to date construction images, please view our live camera feed below.

New SHS Live Feed

New SHS Virtual Walkthrough

The New Stanwood High School Project updates, schedules and renderings may be viewed by clicking on the following link: New SHS Update

The Capital Projects webpage is currently “under construction”. For the time being, here are some progress photos of our new Stanwood High School project – Phase 1.

Cement Treated Base

General Progress

Soldier Pile Wall

Storm Detention Facility

By DawnWCR|March 29, 2019|General|