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The City of Clear Lake, Iowa retained WHKS & Co. to make recommendations for improvements to a four-lane section of 4th Avenue S. in the vicinity of Interstate 35 (I-35). The four-lane section is approximately 8.5 blocks long and was constructed as part of the I-35 construction in the early 1970's. The existing street pavement consisted of a nine inch (9") Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavement. The existing pavement exhibited some distress - minor cracking, partial depth failures at joint intersections and some surface spalling. The pavement cross-section and transverse slopes were consistent without any pavement deflections or distortions. WHKS recommended a pavement rehabilitation project to include crack and seat the existing PCC pavement, and construct one-inch (1") hot mix asphalt (HMA) leveling and two-inch (2") HMA base, intermediate and surface courses. Milling at side streets and driveways was performed to provide good butt joints for the HMA resurfacing. Shoulder rock was added to the existing shoulders to accommodate the elevation difference resulting from the seven-inch (7") HMA resurfacing. Heartland Asphalt, Inc. of Mason City was the low bidder for the project and constructed the improvements in 2006. The construction cost for the completed improvements was $447,800. The Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa (APAI) recognized the 4th Avenue S. project as the winner of the Smoothness Award for the Municipal Street Resurfacing category. The award was presented at the APAI Annual Meeting held in November 2006. Heartland Asphalt, the City of Clear Lake and WHKS & Co. received award plaques for their roles in completion of the successful project.
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New Springfield, Illinois Office Location
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WHKS & Co. is excited to announce the addition of Scott D. Sanford, P.E., S.E., as the Office Manager of its new office location in Springfield, Illinois. Scott has 15 years of engineering experience, primarily in bridges, building structures and project management. He will be involved with the planning, design and management of roadway, bridge and structural projects in the downstate and Springfield areas. The Springfield office will also provide bridge and structural engineering support for our East Dubuque office on projects in the northern areas of Illinois.
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Scott has a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Scott also enjoyed 10 years with the Illinois Department of Transportation in the Bureau of Bridges and Structures. While employed at Illinois DOT, he held various positions and worked on a wide variety of bridge design, planning and repair projects throughout the state. Most recently, he was the Chief Structural Engineer for a consulting firm in the Springfield area. In addition to his extensive bridge engineering experience, Scott also has a variety of building structural design, geotechnical engineering, hydraulic analysis and project management experience. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois, Iowa and Colorado and a licensed Structural Engineer in Illinois.
Also joining the Springfield office is Cory W. Chamberlain, P.E., S.E. Cory has nine years of experience as a structural design engineer and project manager. Mr. Chamberlain has a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering (Specialization: Structures) from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Prior to joining WHKS & Co., he was the Structural Department Manager for another Central Illinois consulting firm where he participated in, or managed, a variety of bridge, roadway, building and hydraulic projects in Illinois.
The new office contact information is:
WHKS & CO.
Engineers, Planners and Land Surveyors
1905 Montana Drive, Suite 20
Springfield, IL 62704-7009
Phone: (217) 241-9457
Fax: (217) 241-9450
Scott can also be reached directly at ssanford@whks.com or by cell phone at (217) 638-6358. Cory can be reached directly at cchamberlain@whks.com or by cell phone at (217) 791-0702.
Engineering Achievement Awards
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WHKS & Co. won the following awards as the American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa presented its yearly Engineering Excellence Awards at its 50th annual conference and awards banquet in April of 2006 in Des Moines, Iowa
Engineering Achievement Award - Transportation Category
12th Street Northwest Overpass, Mason City, Iowa
The City of Mason City retained the firm of WHKS & Co. to assist the City in providing a solution to the traffic delays on 12th Street NW at the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks.
Services provided by WHKS included preparation of a feasibility study; preparation of funding applications; conceptual, preliminary and final design; preparation of construction plans and specifications; and construction staking, administration and resident observation.
The total project construction extended from Tyler Avenue to Madison Avenue - a distance of approximately 6½ blocks. The major focus of the project was construction of a 661 foot long overpass bridge structure. The bridge and associated roadway width provides for four traffic lanes. The structure and roadway section will operate as a three lane roadway until traffic flow requires four travel lanes.
The completed project has become an integral part of the 12th Street corridor which is a major east-west transportation route in the City. The project provides important social and economic benefits through the enhancement of traffic operations and safety of vehicular traffic in the vicinity of the railroad tracks.
The project was successfully completed due to the extensive coordination with City Staff, DOT officials, railroad personnel, utility companies, and the construction firms. The work was completed within the defined construction contract period and within the overall project budget.
The project included aesthetic features such as long bridge spans to provide a more "open" structure, rustication on the concrete bridge columns and retaining wall panels, and installation of decorative railings and lighting.
Bridge Project in Pottawattamie County
WHKS & Co. was retained by the Iowa Department of Transportation to provide design services for a new bridge on Iowa 988 in Pottawattamie County providing vital access for the community of Crescent, and uninterrupted access during construction. The Project involved survey, concept development, preliminary bridge and hydraulic design, drainage design, preliminary roadway design, right of way design, and public forum exhibits. WHKS also reviewed and approved structural metalwork shop drawings that were submitted by the Contractor or fabricators during construction. Preliminary analysis also included a paved, over-winter detour utilizing portions of County Road LI-19 (152nd Street) and Joslin Avenue. The detour included a bridge over the Pigeon Creek Ditch. Different alignments and roadway issues were investigated. The proposed construction staging was affected by the proposed detour and was reviewed as a part of the analysis.
The bridge is a 1273'-4" x 44'-0" Prestressed Pretensioned Concrete Bulb Tee Beam Bridge spanning the UP Railroad, Pigeon and Lapworth Creeks and 152nd Street alongside the existing bridge while traffic continued to utilize the existing bridge. The bridge consists of eleven spans with ten piers with pier heights up to 49' tall. The bridge was constructed with 3,434 cubic yards of concrete, 409 tons of reinforcing steel, 60.5 tons structural steel, and 81,070' of piling. Slightly over one mile of new roadway was also constructed to reconnect the roadway to the new bridge. While the superstructure is a typical design, the substructure created some unique design challenges due to the soils conditions at the site. Large settlements were predicted for the approach fills, in addition to the very deep rock layers, requiring much longer than usual piles.
Although alternate detour routes had been evaluated in the concept design phase so that the new bridge could be constructed at the location of the existing structure, alternate detour options were costly, (temporary bridge over Pigeon Creek) or too long. The ultimate concept selected for design allowed for uninterrupted traffic flow during construction, saved construction costs and did not require commuters to traverse a long out of distance detour route. Monitoring of vertical and horizontal movements on the existing bridge was required to ensure public safety during construction while maintaining traffic. The new structure utilized only two joints, one finger joint at each abutment. Internal joints were avoided thereby reducing future maintenance costs.
The construction of the new bridge directly contributed to the safety and welfare of the 5,220 vehicles per day that use this structure. The old bridge was in poor condition with posted legal loads. The relocation of two side roads, Joslin Avenue and 152nd Street, to tee into the new alignment, provided improved sight distance that had been a past, voiced public concern.
The substructure created some unique design challenges due to soils conditions at the site. The high embankments constructed on alluvial soils resulted in both settlement and slope stability challenges. The solution to the problem was the use of wick drains, along with staged construction of the high embankment, which significantly added to the complexity of the design and construction. An alternative solution was reviewed to construct stability berms on the south side of the abutments, but this alternative was rejected because it would have required more land acquisition.
The project was successfully completed on schedule and within budget implementing a bridge design that will minimize future required maintenance and operating costs. The estimated construction cost of the project was $5,900,000.
Engineering Achievement Award - Special Projects Category
University of Dubuque
The University of Dubuque identified the need for a new South Campus quadrangle, a mirror image of an existing North Campus quadrangle, to create a new spatial core for the campus. To access the new spatial core and improve the sense of entry into the campus, a new site roadway, University Park Drive, needed to be designed and constructed from US 20, north to Bennett Street. WHKS was selected to provide topographic and land surveying, preliminary and final design, construction staking and construction review services for the project.
The University Park Drive project involved the design and construction of a 1,413 foot long, private two-lane roadway alignment. The horizontal alignment was constrained by existing University housing for seminary students, private homes, and athletic fields. The difficult terrain and soil conditions required extensive soil remediation and the staged construction of four cast in place retaining walls and two segmental block retaining walls. All but one of the retaining walls is on a curved alignment. The project required over 24,000 cubic yards of excavation (including 10,000 cubic yards of wasted material). Approximately 22,000 square feet of retaining walls, with a maximum height of 24 feet, were constructed, and 1,650 feet of piling were installed.
The project was constructed in three phases, with the first project on an aggressive schedule to remediate an existing embankment that was sliding towards newly constructed housing. The need to facilitate the required soil remediation presented an extraordinary challenge for the roadway design. The expertise of the WHKS staff and the extensive coordination with University staff and the design team members were critical to the successful completion of the project. The project was completed in time for the fall semester in 2005 at a construction cost in excess of $ 1,900,000.
Engineering Excellence Award
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WHKS & Co., Engineers, Planners and Surveyors, received the Engineering Excellence Award in the Large Budget category for the U.S. Highway 151 over the Maquoketa River bridge project. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa sponsored the competition, and presented the 2004 awards at ACEC/Iowa's 48th Annual Conference on April 1 in Des Moines. The Project involved construction of dual steel girder bridges on a new alignment along the 4 lane divided highway corridor, also known as the Monticello Bypass. Each of the structures was 1,073 feet long by 40 feet wide with pier heights up to 90 feet tall. The bridges were constructed with 65,060 cubic yards of concrete; 750 tons of reinforcing steel; 2,110 tons of structural steel; and 11,000 feet of piling.
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The project was on an aggressive schedule in order to integrate with planned construction of adjacent portions of U.S. Highway 151. Over 1,600,000 vehicles annually will travel across these bridges. U.S. Highway 151 traverses the Maquoketa River on a horizontal curve, which presented an unusual challenge for the bridge designers. The expertise of the design staff and extensive coordination with the Iowa Department of Transportation were critical to the successful completion of the project.
The Iowa Department of Transportation retained WHKS & Co. to provide conceptual, preliminary, and final bridge design services. Conceptual services provided as part of the project included revising and checking the Type, Size, and Location (TS & L) of the structures. The selected concept was dual five span steel girder bridges. The non-standard design incorporated two span lengths of 172 feet and three span lengths of 243 feet.
The newly constructed bridges will become an integral part of the improved U.S. Highway 151 corridor and provide important social and economic benefits through the enhancement of traffic operations and safety for travelers and industry between Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. These bridges allow traffic to bypass Monticello which reduces congestion and improves safety in town.
The project complexity resulted from the curved horizontal alignment, an aggressive construction schedule, a considerable difference in elevation between both ends, and the exceptionally long bridge spans required to cross the channel. The complex "kinked" steel girder design utilized straight girders rather than custom fabricated curved girders to minimize production time, thereby reducing project costs and expediting construction. The use of straight girder segments and nine splices resulted in a framing plan that cost-efficiently accommodated the horizontal curvature of the roadway.
The project was successfully completed on schedule and within budget. Bridge design was completed to minimize future required maintenance and operating costs. WHKS' extensive coordination with the Iowa Department of Transportation was a major component to the successfully constructed project.
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Low Impact Development
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Low impact developments feature innovative storm water management methods and larger green spaces than traditional developments. Storm water runoff is slowed to encourage infiltration rather than flowing directly into streams. Low impact developments not only positively affect water quality, but also add value and beauty to the neighborhood by featuring natural areas instead of hiding them. Low impact may very well be the development of the future.
WHKS & Co. has designed and completed projects utilizing many low impact design elements. WHKS & Co. has successfully incorporated infiltration trenches into parking lot designs, allowing storm water to seep into the ground. Storm water runs off the pavement directly into the grassed infiltration trenches. The water then infiltrates into the ground via these the trenches, which consist of a mixture of sand, peat, and compost. Since water does not go directly into the storm sewer system, the volume of storm water runoff is reduced while the water quality is increased.
Other WHKS & Co. developments feature series of vegetated waterways instead of long stretches of storm sewer. Storm water runoff travels overland through these vegetated areas, slowing storm water runoff before leaving the site. The green areas contain wetland type plantings, which aid in cleansing of storm water runoff. These green areas create other benefits as well. Homes back onto these green areas, therefore creating more separation between homes and, in effect, produce larger backyards. Extensive trail networks wind through these large green areas, inviting residents out of their homes and into the neighborhood.
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