LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Orinda wins Outstanding Sustainable Engineering Project of the Year award


Public Works Director Larry Theis and Paving Engineer Project Manager Farah Khorashadi are all smiles after receiving the Outstanding Sustainable Engineering Project of the Year award. Back row, from left: Orinda City Council members Dean Orr, Inga Miller, Mayor Eve Phillips, Vice Mayor Amy Worth and Council Member Darlene Gee; front row: Don Greb, principal engineer of Griffin Soil, Theis, Khorashadi, and Bill Howard, president of Griffin Soil Group. Photo Sora O'Doherty

Using full depth reclamation to restore Orinda's roads garnered an award for Public Works Director Larry Theis and Paving Engineer Project Manager Farah Khorashadi at the American Society of Civil Engineers San Francisco Section annual meeting and awards gala on Sept. 14. Full depth reclamation is beneficial environmentally and financially and leads to quicker restoration of roads. Vice Mayor Amy Worth commended the Public Works Department at a recent council meeting, noting that Orinda tried full depth reclamation before other cities. Full depth reclamation, or full depth recycling, is a process that rebuilds worn out asphalt pavements by recycling the existing roadway. Old asphalt and base materials are pulverized in place using a specialized machine called a reclaimer, and then reused.