Spring 2014 - Start Back Soon?

We'll until I stepped outside of my house this morning I was under the impression winter was a thing of the past and Spring could begin in earnest, I guess I was wrong, at least for now!

Towards the end of March 2014 we met with the contractor, engineer, and sub-contractors to discuss the completion of the project since weather was improving.  The key elements that are left is the completion of the rain gardens in the residential areas and plantings and seeding along the project routes.  The seeding contractor was in attendance at the meeting and gave every indication that they would be onsite as soon as weather allowed for the seeding to occur.

Once the weather allows the priority for seeding will be the Sunrise Pointe Golf Course where the seeder will re-seed a few spots along the newly formed berms and also redo the planting of the plugs along the two ponds on holes #1 and 9.  They have a few trees to replace around the smaller pond by the condo's which should be done about the same time as the seeding at the golf course.

The concrete contractor will have a section of cul-de-sac to remove on Rose Lane this spring once weather conditions allow and the prime contractor will be finishing the rain gardens so that the seeding sub-contractor can plant those soon after they are done at the golf course.

Disruption to the general flow should be minimal during the remaining portions of work.  The work on the golf course will take at maximum two days and then some time where golfers will have to remain off of the areas that were newly seeded.  If work goes well and weather cooperates we should see quick growth and minimize the minor access restrictions on the course.

Likewise in the residential areas the work should cause limited disruptions with the majority of the impact being temporary while the contractor is onsite.  The biggest distraction will be the time required to remove and replace the portion of Rose Lane that could impact parking in that neighborhood for a week or two.

Sorry for the minimal postings during the winter months but there hasn't been a ton of things happening on the project.  Now that "Spring has Sprung" or so we hope city staff will work diligently with the engineer to ensure that the project is finished in a quick timely manner.  Thus posts will be more frequent as we progress as well.

Slow Progress of Concrete Work

Work continues in a slow manner as crews work to finish the paving of the cul-de-sacs and walls of the rain gardens.  The primary work occurring at this time is the paving of the east ends of Rose and Tulip Lanes.  Work is slower than normal as we have to let the concrete cure before crews can move to the next section of work.

Crews pouring a portion of Rose Lane

The work also is progressing on Tulip Lane with more removals starting later today and into next week.  Work will continue to be slow until all the concrete work is completed.

Storm Water protection is in place in most of the project areas and the seeding work is completed for the remainder of the calendar year.  Next spring during the qualified seeding dates the sub-contractor for seeding will be back in town to plant the rain gardens, reseed where necessary including potentially replanting the plugs at the golf course.

Crews pour the final portion of the Rose Lane 

Project Walk Through Notes

Yesterday (Monday, September 23rd) was our project walk through day.  These events occur at or near the end of the project and are a way for the owner, project engineer, and contractor to view the project first hand to determine any final adjustments and/or areas that need to be cleaned up or finished up.

While the project is still a little ways from being done, they are at about 80% completion at this time, we did the walk through now so that the contractor could start to deploy their resources to other projects.  They will still have a considerable sized crew (two crews actually) until they finish the project.

The walk through is also a great way to see the whole project and look at the fine details.  The contractor, Lundell has done some great work and there were a few minor things that needed touching up outside of the remaining pieces that have yet to be constructed.  From a major component side of things there are three major items outstanding at this time including: pouring of the two cul-de-sacs on Rose and Tulip Lane, building of the rain gardens, and seeding.

Contractor, city staff, and the Engineer review components of the project during a project walk through.

The sub-contractor was onsite on Monday forming the sections of half of Rose Lane for a pour later this week.  Once that section is poured they will let the concrete cure and then remove the forms and start removals on the opposite side of the street.  The contractor Lundell was working on the first of three phases for pouring back the cul-de-sac on Tulip Lane on Monday as well.

Contractor prepares the 1st phase of the cul-de-sac for paving on Tulip Lane

Many of the project areas have been seeded at this point but the seeding contractor is responsible for the growth so it is possible that if we don't see substantial growth in areas they will have to come back and reseed or over seed those areas in the spring.  The seeding sub-contractor was onsite Monday and will be here this week until they are able to finish the seeding work.

The following pictures show various parts of the project as they were during the walk through on Monday.

Pond #5 behind the railroad tracks.

Drainage swale on the west side of Rose, Tulip and Violet Lanes

Large pond south of the condo site with grass growing on the side slopes

Grass waterway coming from the golf course ponds to the ponds south of the condo site.

As noted earlier the next phases which started on Monday include the development of the rain gardens in the project area.  These rain gardens are specifically developed to filter water through a natural process using plants with long roots and then filtering the treated water into the storm water system.

Rain garden area at the corner of Ray Street and Richland.  The flags are all the utility locates in the area.

As work continues the City asks for the residents in the area of the Rose and Tulip Lane cul-de-sacs (East sides) for their continued cooperation and patience as we pave back those streets.  This part of the project may seem to be the longest due to the time that it takes for the concrete to cure but it is critical that we keep traffic off the new concrete to allow for it to finish hardening or we will have to come back again and replace which causes more access issues and high costs.  The City appreciates the efforts of the residents to this point.

Pipe Work Wrapping Up

Work is moving quickly on the project at this point and the majority of the pipe work is almost complete.  The contractor was finishing up the pipe work on Tulip Lane yesterday (Tuesday, September 17).

Work on the installation of storm water pipe on Tulip Lane.

With the pipe work almost complete the remaining work is related to getting the cul-de-sacs back, finishing the dirt work and rain gardens, and seeding.  The seed sub-contractor should be on site tomorrow (Thursday) and working on the plantings in the ponds at the Golf Course and then moving up the project scope seeding the other areas that are finished.

Work on the paving back of the cul-de-sacs should be starting this week.  The main contractor will remove sections and then a sub-contractor will come in a pave the sections.  The goal of the staging is to provide access to the residential areas throughout the project.  The City urges residents and others traveling in the area to take extra pre-cautions and to ensure that they are alert to construction equipment.  This phase will take some time to complete due to the phasing but it is the only way to accomplish the repaving while still providing access.

A complete paving schedule for each cul-de-sac is available on the project web page.

Street Closing Updates August 28, 2013

Work continues to move along with the two pipe crews working on the project currently.  With that we are in the middle of the major road closures portion of the project and so this entry into the blog is an update with the latest information on street closings related to the East Central Storm Water Project.

Expansion Blvd.
The section of road taken out on Expansion Blvd. by the Radio Tower site has been replaced and was opened back up to traffic last week.

The section of road taken out at the intersection of East 4th Street was poured back on Tuesday, August 27th and pending positive test results on Friday should be opened on Friday or Saturday morning.

Richland St.
A portion of Richland Street at the intersection of Ray Street was removed late last week and crews should be through the area and ready for pouring back that section yet this week.  Curing time on the concrete will take us into next week before the road will re-open (hopefully around the middle of the week).

East 4th Street
Once they have reopened the section of Expansion Blvd. at the intersection with East 4th Street they will close down East 4th Street at the old railroad tracks area.  This will require traffic to route around East 4th Street using Richland to Expansion and then into the Rose, Tulip, and Violet Lane areas.  Based on the current schedule we would anticipate that East 4th Street will be closed down at the earliest on Friday, August 30th or for sure on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Rose Lane (East Cul-de-sac)
Work will begin next week on the installation of storm water piping in the Rose and Tulip Lane areas.  For this work the cul-de-sacs on the east end of those streets will be torn out and replaced following the installation of storm drain pipe.  Rose Lane will be the first of these streets to see construction.  Emergency vehicle access will be maintained and a paving schedule has been developed which is available on the project web page.  Residents affected by this closure are asked to keep vehicles off of the street during the construction process and until the road is paved back.

The best guess for work to begin on Rose Lane would be Wednesday (9.4) and Thursday (9.5).

Tulip Lane (East Cul-de-sac)
Work on this cul-de-sac area will follow the work on Rose Lane and should be about two (2) weeks behind that project's start.



In Addition - 
The dirt crews are also back working on the remaining ponds and shaping ditches where the pipe crew has finished installing pipe.  They will be hauling more dirt off the project site including hauling dirt to the City's spoil containment facility across from McKenna Drive.

The last time we had hauling to that area we had issues with dust and the contractor has been reminded that they need to keep the dust under control.  The project inspector will also be keeping an eye on this as well.

Project Keeps Rolling Forward

Things continue moving forward on the project front with construction aspects in the northern half of the project going full steam ahead.

Junction of several Storm Water Lines along East 4th Street.

The above picture is a junction area for intakes coming in from the various directions along East 4th Street and for me anyway it really is a symbol of all the various things occurring with this project including flood relief and cleaning of storm water all combining for relief and cleaner water.  In order for everything to work it takes multiple angles and lots of dedicated people to make this project work, both now during construction but after construction is complete as well.  We will need the help of residents to help keep trash and grass out of the storm water to help prevent the system from clogging up and debris from getting into the ponds and other treatment facilities.

On the construction side work continues with two crews working on the installation of piping.

Pipe crew installs pipe along Richland Street

Crews are now past Expansion Blvd at the intersection of East 4th Street and working west.  The next big closure there will be the closing of East 4th Street.  Expansion should be open at that point.  

An additional closure will occur on Richland Street near the intersection with Ray Street.  That closure could occur next week as well.  Expansion Blvd should be open near the radio tower at that point.

Work is also proceeding with the seeding of the southern project areas.  The seeding sub-contractor was back in town last week and some this week to reseed the berms at the golf course and the areas around the ponds with blue grass.

Seeding contractor is tilling up the berms on the golf course for reseeding

The seeding contractor has ordered the plugs for the ponds at the golf course and should be back in Storm Lake after Labor Day to start planting those ponds.  

With the reseeding on the berms at the golf course the best results are going to come from the least amount of traffic on the berms.  Thus the City is asking golf patrons to refrain from driving golf carts and walking over and on the berms.

Expansion BLVD at 4th Street To Close Monday

The contractor continues to move along and Expansion Blvd. at the intersection of East 4th Street and Expansion will close on Monday morning.  The closure is anticipated to last for about a week and a half at this time.

Traffic will still be able to travel East on East 4th Street and then North onto Expansion so that access to the Rose, Tulip and Violet Lane areas is still available.

The first line of work will be field verification of a water line that feeds the Rose, Tulip, and Violet Lane areas.  If the line needs to be moved water to the sub-division will be disconnected for a few hours.  Please check back to this blog for further updates.