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Categories
site development
Site Development, Utility Impr.
public support for
public safety in alton
Project Owner:
City of Alton, IA
Key Experience:
- Long term coordination with the City of Alton to plan for the future needs of the area
- Successful coordination with local contractors
- Local design partnerships with CMBA and EDA for the building addition project
Key Features:
- Long-term City planning outlook- 2015 street project, 2022 Fire Station Addition project
- Community support, $2M bonding bill supported by 97% of voters
- Local contractors bids add to the community feel
DGR Engineering (DGR) continues to support the City of Alton, IA in planning and design for their long-term infrastructure needs, including a new fire station. As part of that process, a multi-phase plan for infrastructure projects was developed, splitting the project work into two phases to meet budgetary and approval constraints. Phase 1 (2015) involved a street reconstruction project, including updated sanitary sewer and water infrastructure with new road surfacing (PCC). Phase 2 (2021-22) included new (PCC) driveway and sidewalk, grading and building utilities adjacent to the new building addition.
Driveways, sidewalks and utilities for the 11th Street project (2015) were planned while keeping in mind the challenging ADA site for the future fire department expansion project (2021).
To add to the public support sentiment that surrounded this project, both publicly bid projects featured area contractors. The 2015 street project was completed by Jellema Construction of Alton, and the building general contractor was Poppma-Sikma of Sheldon. The design group included DGR as the civil engineering consultant for both projects, while the building addition (2021-22) was designed by CMBA Architects and Engineering Design Associates (EDA) as design partners.
Based on the design, bidding and construction time frames, the building addition project experienced the early effects of recent economic inflation. The City and design team selected project materials and changes as needed to meet the project budget. The project overwhelmingly passed in the bonding vote, including an additional parking paving bid alternate that was not included in the final project.
Challenges
As with most projects, challenges presented themselves throughout the course of the two projects. The primary concern from a site perspective was constructing a single floor elevation building addition adjacent to a roadway with 4' of fall, while maintaining fire truck passable driveway slopes and ADA required sidewalk grades.
The City provided early indication of their future building plans, allowing DGR engineers to design street grades that would meet the municipal street needs and allow for an ADA accessible route to the new community asset.
In the end, successful communication, planning and flexibility culminated in two successful projects for the community of Alton, resulting in a singular infrastructure upgrade.
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Northwest Iowa
DGR Engineering (DGR) worked with the City and the project architect for all aspects of the project including topographic survey, site design, construction survey, construction observation and administration. With the goal of limiting impacts to the Floyd River, existing storm sewer outfalls from previous site developments were utilized along with bio-retention cells placed throughout the parking lots to improve storm water runoff quality. Parking lot and building designs were specifically matched to the irregular site shape for efficient use of the space. A parking lot along the south side of the building will provide for a shared parking option with future developments.
Site elevations were set to provide adequate surface drainage as well as pedestrian-friendly grades for building visitors and event goers. The final design utilizes the city’s proposed recreational trail adjacent to the site which will provide a pedestrian path to the building from the north parking lot. Truck turning movement modeling was used in parking lot design to provide for semitrailer routes around the building and to the proposed recessed loading docks.
DGR coordinated closely with the project’s landscape designer to develop workable solutions for complex areas of the design including acceptable height and placement of the landscape wall, as well as front entrance features which needed to allow adequate sight distance for the main parking lot and building driveway.
DGR Engineering performed the boundary and topographic surveying as well as the site design of school building addition as a subconsultant of Architecture, Inc.
The school facility addition design included storm sewer upgrades, pedestrian facilities to multiple building levels, enhanced and expanded parking, as well as significant embankment work to match the existing site constraints.
The addition cut off an existing overflow drainage path so an enhanced storm sewer system capable of draining runoff from a 500 year storm event was designed and constructed.
This project required working with a building design team and ownership group to overcome design challenges and communicate with all project stakeholders. The facility was completed and opened in late fall of 2015 for the Central Lyon Community School District.
Sioux Center Community Hospital relocated their hospital facility, which required the completion of several smaller projects in conjunction with the overall hospital construction project.
The new hospital facility design included City utility connections, accounting for the increased traffic on the local road system, mass excavation to accommodate the side hill construction and walk-out basement, a storm water study to analyze the adjacent natural drainage creek, a new helipad facility, a decorative garden overlooking the retention pond, as well as a mobile MRI parking bay. The facility opened in the spring of 2014.
DGR Engineering performed the boundary and topographic surveying as well as the site design of school building addition as a subconsultant of Architecture, Inc.
The school facility addition design included storm sewer upgrades, pedestrian facilities to multiple building levels, enhanced and expanded parking, as well as access road design to facilitate the future campus growth.
The design also included realigning water main and sanitary sewer main beneath the building link to avoid proposed footings as well as a rainfall harvesting system to collect and recycle rainwater from the building roofs.