Pre-construction site conditions at Desert National Wildlife Refuge Fire Cache Station, Corn Creek Station, Nevada

Desert National Wildlife Refuge – Fire Cache & Bunkhouse

Desert National Wildlife Refuge – Fire Cache & Bunkhouse

Corn Creek Station, Lincoln County, Nevada

HCF served as the civil engineering design lead for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Nevada Fire Zone Fire Complex, a federal design-build project located within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge at Corn Creek Field Station in Nevada. The project supports wildfire operations serving approximately 1.7 million acres of federally managed refuge lands and includes a new fire cache station and associated bunkhouse facilities.

HCF’s civil engineering scope included site grading, drainage analysis, utility infrastructure design, access roads, parking areas, concrete sidewalks, erosion control measures, and preparation of civil site development plans. HCF coordinated closely with the design-build contractor and a multi-disciplinary team (architect, MEP, structural, and archeology) through phased federal submittals at the 50%, 90%, and 100% design milestones. Additional services included design and permitting of the onsite septic system through the Southern Nevada Health District, wastewater demand calculations, and domestic water distribution system design using EPANet 2.2 hydraulic modeling to support reliable service in a remote refuge environment.

Minnetonka cave plan to improve the walking bridge

Minnetonka Cave

Minnetonka Cave – Steel Boardwalk Redesign Caribou-Targhee National Forest 

HCF assisted a contractor with the redesign of a steel boardwalk leading to the entrance of Minnetonka Cave, a significant limestone formation located within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in southeastern Idaho. The project was performed under the SABER (Strategic Abatement of Building & Environmental Risk) IDIQ Contract, requiring a high level of coordination and precision in a sensitive natural environment.

HCF’s scope of work included on-site measurement of existing conditions, pier column location verification, and the establishment of survey control points using traditional rod-and-level methods. Our team also conducted a design review of the previous wood boardwalk structure and provided coordination with the steel fabricator to ensure the redesign met both structural and site-specific requirements. Due to the remote accessibility of the cave entrance and the environmentally sensitive nature of the National Forest setting, construction work at this site demanded specialized expertise and careful planning.

Cercla Project photo taken in the fall in Utah

Salt Lake City VAMC -CERCLA

SLC CERCLA Storage – VA Medical Center Site Design

Salt Lake City, Utah

HCF provided civil site design services for a CERCLA storage facility at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The project required a detailed layout design to maximize the available area allotted by the VA, incorporating a 50-foot turning radius to accommodate large vehicles loading and unloading soil samples. An alternative drive-through configuration was also designed to provide additional operational flexibility.

HCF’s scope included surveying all existing site features, designing a concrete pad at appropriate grading and slope to conform with existing conditions, and coordinating around significant utility conflicts including 30-inch and 36-inch storm drains owned by Salt Lake City Public Utilities and a 6-inch gas line requiring 36 inches of vertical separation. The final design fit three connex box containers between an existing light pole and storm drain manhole while maintaining required clearances. HCF also managed the acquisition of all applicable environmental permits throughout the project.

Photo of the VAMC Medical Center building in North Las Vegas.

VA North Las Vegas

North Las Vegas VA – Life Safety Barrier Design

North Las Vegas, Nevada

HCF provided structural and mechanical design services for a life safety barrier enhancement project at the North Las Vegas Veterans Affairs facility. The project involved the design of a fence barrier system for an existing stairwell, including safety handrails and an inner fence to restrict stairwell access, with the goal of enhancing life safety at the facility.

HCF’s scope included mechanical and structural design for all fasteners and attachments connecting the new barrier system to the existing stairwell structure, ensuring the design met applicable safety standards while integrating with existing site conditions.

Well Pump

TEAD North – Water Distribution System Improvements

TEAD North – Water Distribution System Improvements

Tooele Army Depot, Tooele, Utah

HCF provided water distribution system improvements for the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) water system at Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah, with the primary objective of meeting fire flow requirements. The project included a comprehensive review of previous hydraulic analyses, reports, and model scenarios using EPANet modeling software.

HCF developed cost-efficient improvement recommendations including extending metered pipelines, installing detector checks for flow monitoring, incorporating pressure zone data, adding a storage tank to the existing network, and installing a backup generator. HCF also prepared detailed reports identifying system deficiencies in the MWR area and outlined actionable solutions to bring the water distribution system into full compliance with fire flow standards.