Special Applications
Environmental Merit

Location: 9774 Highway 14, Goldendale

Owner/developer: Maryhill Winery

Project team: Mountain States Construction, general contractor; Ultra Block, concrete contractor; Tenneson Engineering, structural engineer; Glacier Northwest and Central Pre-Mix Concrete, ready-mix suppliers

An engineered mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall system was used on the two-phase Maryhill Winery.

The first phase involved building a winery on a bench overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. The second phase included construction of an amphitheater below the winery.

Over 3,000 of the precast concrete interlocking blocks were used in the two phases. The blocks have quarry stone finished faces that were cast from recycled concrete.

For the first phase, the blocks were installed to support an outdoor visitors’ wine tasting area. For the second-phase amphitheater, blocks were constructed with a 40 degree arc over 500 feet. The center of the arc has a two-sided step entry that opens onto a central patio area, supported by another arced wall. Also, two side retaining walls were built to support the outside edges of the sloped seating area.

Because the blocks have a half-inch of play in their interlocking keyways, large radius walls can be built without using specialty blocks.

The finalist in the category was the Edmonds mid-waterfront walkway and bulkhead replacement project.