Work Continues - Majority of the Work is North of the Railroad Tracks at this Point

Progress continues to move forward with the completion of the pipe work south of the railroad tracks work now continues moving north from the tracks.  Crews have also finished the ponds south of the golf course and the condos with the minor exception of a little clean up work.  Storm water can flow from the railroad tracks through the treatment train to the lake at this point.

Seeding work on the southern half of the project remains including reseeding and over seeding work at the Sunrise Pointe Golf Course.  We anticipate that seeding will occur again in mid August 2013 once the weather is appropriate for the seeds to germinate and grow.  Included with the seeding work will be the planting of trees around the southern most ponds and one or two on the golf course itself.

As of Friday, July 26th, crews were working north of the tracks.  There are two crews working currently with a third crew expected onsite around the 5th of August if all goes well.  The schedule for East 4th Street remains the same currently with that work starting on August 5th.

The dirt work crew that was working on the southern ponds has moved south on the old railroad right-of-way area clearing out trees and bushes from that area.  They will then shape the area into a long thin pond shape that will filter, run and treat storm water.

In the distance crews are clearing the area of trees and brush

 A second crew working primarily on the piping works is also in this area immediately north of the railroad tracks installing pipes and manhole to connect the pond structures and flow water through the areas where we don't have room to treat the water.

Member of Lundell Construction works on preparing a manhole for installation.

The pipe crew will finish connecting the pond immediately north of the railroad tracks to the main piping system and then move north to a piece of right-of-way that the City is acquiring where we will install some additional piping and then a rain garden on top of the pipe to filter the immediately available storm water.  This work should begin mid week next week.  This work may impact traffic on Expansion BLVD slightly for periodic periods of time.  Individuals traveling in this area should be prepared to reduce speeds and take extra precautions within the construction area.

As the crew moves closer to the intersection of the pipe with Expansion Blvd. they will close Expansion Blvd. at this point (access to the adjoining businesses will be available) while they remove the road, install the pipe, and put the road back.  The closure period could be up to two weeks in time depending on weather.

Large Pond South of Condo Area in completed form.

Work will continue to progress and it won't be long before we are inside the neighborhoods of Rose and Tulip Lanes.  As we get into the more residential areas of the project information will be changing quickly and the best opportunity to get the most up to date information will be through this blog.  Please check back often and let your friends and neighbors living in the project area know about the blog, if they don't know about it already, so they can get updates on the project in a timely manner.

Update - Schedule Update East 4th Street Work

Late Friday the contractor notified the City that the delay on the work along East 4th Street will be longer than original expected and that crews will not likely start at that location until the first week in August 2013.

That means the following potential schedule:

• Phase 1 of that work will start on or around August 4th and run through August 15th
• Phase 2 of that work will start on or around August 15th and run through August 23rd
• Phase 3 of that work will start on or around August 23rd and run through September 6th

Crews finished the week installing storm water pipe running north to the railroad tracks.  Work on this stretch should be completed middle of next week weather pending.

Crews install a manhole structure and the storm water pipe under a piece of sanitary sewer force main

Additionally the digging crew has finished the work on the large pond on Sunrise Park Road and has moved over to the smaller pond which is moving along quickly.  The contractor anticipates being done with that work Monday or Tuesday next week at the latest.

Progress on the small pond along Sunrise Park Road

Additional complaints about dust on Friday especially from the City's Spoil Containment Site where the contractor is hauling the dirt from the ponds.  The contractor is aware of the issues and is working on a solution to help reduce the dust.  They shut down hauling operation on Friday early to reduce the dust issue and plant to try and remove the top layer of dirt which has become so fine from all the trucks rolling over it on Monday prior to starting to haul again.  If they water the area down they track the dirt out on to the street which isn't good either.  They hope that by removing the loose dirt they can get down to packed dirt that will reduce the dust for the remainder of the hauling work. 

Dirt from the other ponds around the project area will NOT becoming to this location so once the small pond is finished (again the contractor is anticipating this to be done Monday (7.15) or Tuesday (7.16) at the latest) then the amount of traffic in this area will be greatly reduced.

The City will continue to monitor the dust situation as work continues.

Finally, residents in that area and anyone traveling along HWY 7/East Lakeshore Drive should note that beginning on Monday, July 15th, the State of Iowa will be closing HWY 71 at the Railroad Crossing just north of the lighthouse to facilitate repairs to the tracks.  This closure will result in to town a detour of traffic in along HWY 7 to Radio Road and then North.  Congestion will increase and drivers are encouraged to reduce speeds and take extra precautions.

Progress Moving Forward South of RR Tracks - North Starts Up Next Week

Work continues to move forward . . . some faster than others but progress is being made!

The ponds south of Sunrise Pointe Golf Course are nearing completion with the large pond almost complete and the smaller pond making good progress.  Crews will most likely be brought in next week or early the week after to install the pipe between the two ponds and the outlet pipe to the lake from the large pond.

Large Pond at 95% Completion

Crews Starting Excavation on the Smaller Pond

Work on the pipe installation along East 4th Street was slowed this week following delivery of equipment and pipe due to a staffing issue for the contractor.  They should be back and ready to go to work on this phase of the work starting on July 15th.

Due to the delay the schedule for the street closures has been modified to account for the week delay in schedule.  You can see the newest schedule and map showing the closings and detour routes on the project web page (look at the links on the right hand side of the page) or by clicking here.

We would like to remind residents that this schedule is still an estimate of time and subject to changes.  For the most up to date information please check back to this blog and/or the project web page.  We will post updates as we know them.

Work on the installation of the piping from the golf course north to the railroad overpass continues to move forward at a good speed.  Crews were busy this week installing the arched storm pipe.  The arched pipe has the same capacity but allows for the pipe to be installed at a slightly higher elevation which was necessary in this case to avoid other underground utilities in the area.

Crews lowering the arched pipe into place

As the contractor gets closer to the railroad crossing and the ponds just north of that location we will see more storm water running through the system.  Relief in the Rose, Tulip, and Violet Lane area will not occur until the piping work is installed in that are but we are getting closer.

Finally we have had some complaints about dust coming off the construction sites and the areas where dirt is being hauled as well as complaints regarding tracking of mud on to the streets and highways due to transporting dirt from the pond construction.  We continue to work with the contractor, who has been very responsive, to getting these issues addressed in a timely manner.  The problems are sort of a catch 22 as in order to eliminate the dust we have to water down the dirt which creates tracking issues.  Regardless both are valid issues and we will continue to try to stay on top of them moving forward.

Hope you enjoy the updates.  If you have specific questions or things that you would like to have covered in the blog please let us know by sending an email to Justin Yarosevich.  Have a great weekend!

East 4th Street Work To Begin Monday, July 8th

Work will begin on the pipe installation along East 4th Street from Ray Street west to the old railroad right-of-way area on Monday, July 8, 2013.  Work will begin at the intersection of East 4th Street and Ray Street on Monday afternoon.

On Wednesday, July 3, 2013 the City sent informational letters to the residents and property owners in the construction area with a map.  Both are available on the project web page on the City's web site which can be located here.

This work will require that portions of City streets be closed while construction occurs.  The City and the contractor, Lundell Construction have worked together to try to minimize the inconvenience of the project to the residents and businesses in the area but street closures are unavoidable.  A map showing the street closings and the general timing of them as of the start of the work is available here.

Residents should note that the timing indicated both in the letter as well as the map are estimates and subject to change based on weather conditions and underground conditions encountered once the crews start working.  It will not be possible to update everyone with a letter with updates once construction starts so residents and property owners are encouraged to check back with this project blog and the project web page to get the latest information.

Finally, residents and others traveling in the project area are strongly encouraged to take extra precautions during the construction time frame and to reduce speed in the construction area be alert for construction workers and equipment.

This phase of the work is expected to take the better part of a month to complete and the timeline is subject to change.

First Week of July Progress Update

Things continue to progress with a great week of weather for construction.  The dirt work crew continues to work on the digging of the ponds just south of the vacated condo area and are slightly over halfway done with the southern most pond.

Southern Pond as of July 3rd

Crews continue to have unique challenges with this pond due to the make up of the material, old dredge spoil  from a previous dredging operations.

The main pipe crew continues to move north as well this week encountering a couple of old foundations that were in line with the pipe alignment as originally designed.  We will have to move the pipe alignment slightly to the west to avoid the existing 15 foot deep foundations from the old Storm Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant.  

One of the 15 foot deep footings

The change in location will require a small change order on the project for the addition of a structure where the pipe will change direction but shouldn't affect the overall design of the project or the benefits to the community.

Setting Pipe North of East Lakeshore Drive/HWY 7

Work will continue moving forward next week with a second pipe crew coming in to work further north in the project area on East 4th Street.  See the next blog post for more information on that phase of the work and the related street closings.