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- McCourtney Rd. Transfer Station Renovation Project
McCourtney Rd. Transfer Station Renovation Project
Project Contact: Director of Public Works, David A. Garcia, Jr. 
(530)-265-1411, Email Solid Waste to Learn More
Proposed Project
Nevada County’s Solid Waste Division is proposing to renovate the McCourtney Road Transfer Station (MRTS) to serve the community better. The McCourtney Road Transfer Station (MRTS) provides solid waste and recycling services for the communities of Grass Valley, Nevada City, and the unincorporated areas of western Nevada County, California. Proposed improvements will address current facility challenges and future operations to accommodate growth leading to increased materials received, and customers served.
Proposed Improvements Include:
- Building a new Public Receiving Area (PRA) building to provide more unloading bays and improve unloading facility capacity and efficiency
- Adding a new access road and entrance scale facilities to reduce arrival wait time and traffic delays
- Improving site circulation to provide easier access to the household hazardous waste (HHW) and recyclables buy-back areas
- Rearranging the site to provide easier access for green waste unloading and construction demolition debris unloading
- Repurpose the existing Public Receiving Area (PRA) for organic waste (food waste) to meet the requirements of SB1383
McCourtney Transfer Station Traffic Camera
Please keep in mind that the transfer station is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The busiest traffic days at the transfer station are typically Wednesdays and Sundays. This webcam refreshes every minute - refresh the page for the most up-to-date picture.
McCourtney Rd. Transfer Station Current Map
McCourtney Rd. Transfer Station Renovation Process
1 | Transfer station built | 1994 |
2 | WM Franchise Agreement • WM commits to $5.6 million for Improvements • Remainder County’s Share | 2012 |
3 | BOS chooses MRTS improvements over relocation | 2013 |
4 | AB1826 mandatory organics (commercial) | 2014 |
5 | Conceptual design report (HDR) | 2015-2016 |
6 | B1383 mandatory organics (residential) | 2016 |
7 | Recycling market crashes. | 2016 |
8 | Amend WM Franchise Agreement • 2017 Hired R3 Consulting to assist with WM Negotiation • MRTS project • Legislative updates (e.g. AB1826 & SB1383) | 2017-2019 |
9 | Request for Proposals for Design Firm Released | 2019 |
10 | Awarded HDR contract to begin MRTS Design on September 24, 2019, link: COUNTY OF NEVADA - File #: SR 19-0833 (legistar.com) Project Design website:mccourtneytransferstation.com | 2019 |
11 | Conducted Public Outreach - Presented at 2 Community Meetings on September 9 and 29, 2020. These were publicly noticed and 300 postcards were sent to residents directly affected by the project. These meetings were recorded and shared via the website. Staff also presented at the Solid and Hazardous Waste Commission on October 8, 2020 | 2020 |
12 | Permitting: the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) was circulated for a 30-day comment period from December 10, 2020, to January 10, 2021. MND approved by BOS on March 9, 2021, link COUNTY OF NEVADA - File #: SR 21-0153 (legistar.com) | 2021 |
13 | Board Approval of Plans and Specs and Authorization to Advertise Construction December 14, 2021, link COUNTY OF NEVADA - File #: SR 21-0881 (legistar.com) | 2021 |
14 | Bid Project Early 2022, rejected all bids due to market instability and funding gap. | 2022 |
15 | Re-Bid Project November to January 11, 2022 | 2022 |
16 | Board award of construction contract | Feb 7, 2023 |
17 | MRTS Ground Breaking - Press Release | May 1, 2023 |
18 | Phase 1 has begun. This phase focuses on earthwork and the construction of a new Public Receiving Area. | Current May 1, 2023 - May 1, 2024 (estimated) |
18.1 | Nevada County’s McCourtney Road Transfer Station Improvement Project began May 1, 2023. The first month of the project focused on clearing and leveling the site to prepare for construction and creating the safety infrastructure required for a project of this size. The next phase involves dynamic compaction, residents and customers in the area will hear increased, heavy construction noise. A crane will hoist a 10- 30 ton weight and then allow it to fall creating a compacted grid pattern throughout the project site. Dynamic Compaction will take place intermittently 7 am – 6 pm and is expected to last 6-8 weeks.  | June 13, 2023 |
18.2 | The fourth month of the project focused on finalizing the building pad and undergrounding and installing the fire suppression and drainage systems. A 300-ton, yes 300-ton, crane was on site doing some heavy lifting to install three new 20’ tall manholes that will provide storm water drainage! Check out the photos of the crane, site, and other project accomplishments. | September 4, 2023 |
18.3 | This past month, the project continued to focus on underground utilities (storm drains, fire suppression systems, leachate lines, electrical lines, etc.). In the next few weeks, the true foundation work will begin with concrete pours of footings and headwalls. Check out the photos of the 1) MRTS project trenches and undergrounding of utilities and other systems; 2) the hole dug for drainage and fire suppression systems; 3) the crane moving a water pump into the hole; 4) the future fire hydrant installed that will provide for fire suppression.  | October 6, 2023 |
18.4 | Over the past month, the project team has completed about 95% of the utility underground work (leachate tanks and lines, storm water drains, etc.), begun pouring concrete footings and culverts, and preparing the site for winter weather. Over the next month, we will continue working on the fire suppression system, drainage work, and the forms, base, and rebar for future concrete work. | November 16, 2023 |
18.5 | The McCourtney Road Transfer Station (aka “the dump”) Improvement Project hits the one-year mark fairly soon! In that time, the project team has imported 30,000 cubic yards of soil or fill to the site, completed dynamic compaction to prepare the site for the foundation, and completed 95% of the utility undergrounding and drainage work! Currently, the team is working on setting up the concrete; this includes creating forms, placing rebar, and pouring the building pad and loadout bay. They are also tackling the fire suppression system. | February 22, 2024 |
18.6 | The McCourtney Road Transfer Station Improvement Project is moving along! Currently the team is working on the curbs and gutters, erecting the push walls, and prepping for the new scale facility, which will bring the site up to four (4) scales in total. Our team is also preparing for the delivery and assembly of the new premanufactured building, which is schedule to being at the end of June.  | June 26, 2024 |
19 | A major milestone as the new 48,000 square foot Public Receiving Area (PRA) opens to the public on September 25, 2024. This building will triple the number of bays from 8 to 24. With the opening of the new Public Receiving Area, the team will be able to complete work on phase 2, which includes the new entrance and scale plaza and also start phase 3..jpeg "MRTS PRA and new roads 9.25.24") | September 25, 2024 |
20 | The new scales are open and operational with the majority of the project substantially complete. The first bay of the old public receiving area accepts food waste as part of the County's Organics Waste Collection program.  | January 2025 |
