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utility improvements
Poor drainage was causing accelerated deterioration along Hawarden’s Avenue L, which serves as the primary collector route to the town’s nursing facilities and the local hospital. When repeat efforts to patch and repair this critical stretch of roadway were only fleetingly effective, the City of Hawarden partnered with DGR Engineering to develop a comprehensive approach for improving Avenue L for the long-term benefit of the community.
The improvements included installing a new storm sewer system, making repairs to the existing water main and sanitary sewer, and taking steps to improve future drainage, all before installing new 6” concrete pavement.
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
This project consisted of street improvements on 4th Street from Clark Avenue to Garfield Avenue, which is the downtown business district in Dell Rapids. Also included in this project were improvements to the water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer in conjunction with street improvements. Street paving on 4th Street was with 8″ and 9″ concrete, with some asphalt concrete paving used on intersecting street tie-ins. All sidewalks were also reconstructed with the use of colored concrete inlays and the existing street lighting was replaced with decorative street lights.