Construction Update No. 5

The contractor is continuing to perform work on Mill Street and Channing Avenue. All of the utility work has been completed on Mill Street and the contractor is currently working to subcut the remaining area of the roadway south of Bancroft Avenue to the southern project limits to shape the roadway up in preparation for paving. Crews are working on Channing Avenue and are proposing to complete the storm sewer work and remaining service connections by Wednesday August 22, 2012. Channing Avenue will then start to be subcut to begin preparation of the roadway in preparation for paving. Paving for the Arlington Area, Mill Street and Channing Avenue is currently scheduled for the end of the week of August 27, 2012.

The contractor will be shifting to additional portions of the project area next week. Reclaiming is currently scheduled to be completed on August 22, 2012 on Court Street – Channing Avenue to Vasa Avenue, Vasa Avenue – Court Street to Mill Street, and Alcott Avenue – Mill Street to Court Street. The reclaim material taken from these roadways will be utilized on Channing Avenue and the remainder will be stockpiled on Bancroft Avenue. Residents can expect that traveling throughout the internal project area will become more difficult as construction operations will start to be more focused on these newly reclaimed areas. Prior to commencing work in these new areas Mill Street and Channing Avenue should be open to the traffic with only minor disruption when paving operations are being completed in these areas. While parking and traffic flow will be limited in the construction areas, residents should be able to access their homes via Mill Street and Union Avenue. The contractor will continue to do their best to provide residents with access.

Utility work within the new areas are proposed to start on Court Street, then to Alcott and Vasa Avenues. It is expected that Court Street will take approximately 3 weeks to complete the necessary improvements, while Alcott and Vasa Avenues will take approximately 1.5 weeks and 1 week, respectively. At the end September/early October the Contractor will be moving to the remaining portions of the project area.

Residents can expect to see a dramatic shift in the locations the contractor will be working over the course of the next few weeks. There is likely to be overlap in the commencement of the operations as portions of the project are finished and new areas are started. As this process begins residents are urged to take additional time to get to and from their homes depending upon the locations of construction activity and the requirement to shut down portions of the streets during active construction. Your patience with this project has been greatly appreciated and we will continue to do our best to limit the headache of construction.

As always please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have. Many residents have completed and turned in the petitions for sanitary sewer service and water service replacement. We urge all residents to evaluate whether or not you feel that your service warrants replacement as a part of this project. If you have questions related to your options regarding service replacement please feel free to contact us.

Construction Update No. 4

The Arlington project area is nearing completion of the installation of utilities. The remaining water and sanitary sewer services should be completed yet this week. Following the utility installation, the contractor will turn back and shape up the roadway. It is scheduled to have the roadway shaped up and open to the traffic by next Wednesday, July 25^th. The roadway will not yet have the bituminous paving placed on it by this time, but will have the aggregate base in place. As soon as a paving schedule is determined it will be posted.

The sanitary sewer utilities have been completed on Mill & Channing Streets. The contractor is currently working on setting a deep sanitary sewer manhole mid block on Vasa Avenue. This work should be completed by the later end of the week. The contractor will then proceed to Alcott Street to install the sanitary sewer back towards Mill Street.

The water main has been installed on Mill Street between Vasa Avenue and Bancroft Avenue. The contractor will be proceeding through the intersection of Bancroft tomorrow and should complete the water main on Mill Street yet this week.

The water and sewer services and storm sewer manholes/catch basins will need to beinstalled on Mill Street and upon completion of this work the Mill Street roadway will start to be prepared for base material. The contractor will start to move the large piles of material around the site so that it can be utilized for base material beneath the roadway in addition to allowing the contractor to access certain areas.

Channing Avenue will be a major focus for the contractor over the next 3-weeks. The water main, water & sewer services and storm sewer still need to be installed in this area.

As the Arlington project area is finished up additional crews will be moving to the Mill Street/Channing Avenue project area. It is anticipated that the project area is going to be even more congested as work continues and the contractor is moving equipment and material around the project area. To date the work on Mill Street, Channing Avenue, Vasa Avenue (Mill Street to Court Street) and Alcott Avenue are proposed to get near completion prior to opening up additional portions of the project area.

As the construction starts to move closer to the residential area, traveling around the site will be more difficult. We ask residents to be patient as construction moves forward. Residents will not always be able to get directly to their homes and there may be a few days where access is limited as the work proceeds past your area. It may be frustrating for residents to see the contractor digging past their home, only to turn back and dig past again and again. The reason for this is that different utilities are being installed each time the contractor goes by. The contractor will do their best to maintain access for residents as much as possible. If residents have upcoming events please notify us as far in advance as possible so that we can do everything possible to accommodate you.

We will focus on keeping residents informed of project progress as much as possible and will attempt to contact residents which may be directly impacted by construction. If you feel that you are being neglected or have questions pertaining to the project please, feel free to contact us so that we can try to make the situation better if possible.

Construction Update No. 3

Arlington Project Area
The Contractor is scheduled to complete the utility work in this area around Tuesday July 10^th. This will complete the water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer utility improvements. The Contractor will then start to re-shape the roadway. Within a few weeks the roadway should be re-opened to traffic, paving in this area will not be completed until Mill Street & Channing Street are also ready to be paved. This is estimated to be sometime in August.

Mill Street/Channing Street
The Contractor is anticipating to complete the sanitary sewer utilities on Mill Street this week. It is anticipated that water main utilities will also start to be replaced on Mill Street this week. Sanitary sewer utility replacement is expected to start on Channing Avenue next week. The Contractor is expected to start at Mill Street and work towards Union Avenue to the West.

The Contractor will be moving material around the project area in anticipation of the move from Mill Street to Channing Avenue. Street closures will be randomly happening as the Contractor is moving around. It will also be anticipated that multiple crews will start working in the Mill Street and Channing Avenue areas. The estimated timeline to complete the utility work in the Mill Street and Channing Avenue areas is early August.

Construction Update No. 2

The Contractor is actively working within the project area and to date Mill Street (between Vasa Avenue and Channing Avenue), Channing Avenue (between Union Avenue and Mill Street), Arlington Street (between Alcott Avenue and Vernon Avenue) and Vasa Avenue (between Sheridan Street and Arlington Street) have been reclaimed and the streets have been bladed and re-compacted.

Arlington Street (between Vernon Avenue and Alcott Avenue): The contractor is currently working in this area for the remainder of this week through the end of next Monday (June 18^th, 2012) to install sanitary sewer and water main utilities.

Vasa Avenue (between Sheridan Street and Arlington Street): Tuesday (June 19^th, 2012) the contractor is anticipating starting the sanitary sewer and water main utility work and is hoping to finish these utilities by the end of next week. The contractor will then start to replace the storm sewer in this area which will consist of the replacement of the manholes.

Mill Street (between Vasa Avenue and Channing Avenue): The contractor is currently working in this area to remove the existing roadway material in preparation of sanitary sewer work starting on Monday (June 18, 2012). The work beginning on June 18^th will be primarily focused in the Channing Avenue/Mill Street intersection. It is anticipated that this work will be completed by Thursday June 21^st and the contractor will move up to the intersection of Vasa Avenue and begin installation of the sanitary sewer along Mill Street to the south toward Channing Avenue.

Channing Avenue (between Union Avenue and Mill Street): The work in this area will primarily consist of utilizing the block between Court Street and Mill Street to stockpile roadway material. Efforts will be made to allow residents access to their homes, but traffic will not be able to utilize Channing Avenue as a through street toward Mill Street. The remainder of this area should not see any major activity for approximately a week.

Water Service
The Contractor has been going door to door today to notify residents that water service will be temporarily disrupted tomorrow June 15, 2012. The water main at the intersection of Channing Avenue and Mill street needs to be turned off in order for the work to be completed in this intersection. It is anticipated that the water will be turned off between 9:00 a.m. – 10:00a.m. and the work is expected to be turned on before 5:00 p.m. It is likely that areas as they are completed will be restored with water and the Contractor will be working as fast as possible to get the water service restored. Due to the configuration of the water system a large area will need to be isolated extending beyond the project area, if there are any residents that absolutely cannot have their water turned off for a duration of time are asked to contact Lyle Hanson at 218-849-1055. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

We will continue to try to keep residents informed as fast and as accurately as possible of the upcoming construction schedule. The timelines laid out now and throughout the duration of the project are approximate and will vary depending upon weather or unforeseen conditions as they arise. The streets which are currently open to local traffic are safe to travel on but residents are urged to be cautious when driving in these areas – if the roadway does not appear safe to travel or if barricades are in place the roadway should not be utilized. The contractor will be closing additional roadways throughout the project area at various times depending upon construction activity. Residents are urged to utilize alternate routes around the project area and not to park on the streets where the roadway has been disturbed.

Safety is a major concern throughout the project area. Residents are urged to avoid areas where there is active work. If residents are in the vicinity of active construction please maintain a safe distance to avoid any accidents. Parents are also urged to talk to children about playing around or within the construction area whether there is active work or not.

Again, we appreciate your patience and we will continue to move this project forward as fast as possible and welcome any questions or comments from residents regarding the project.

Welcome – Construction Update No. 1

Welcome to the Street, Sanitary Sewer, Water Main & Storm Sewer Improvements project entitled City Project No. 5948 in the City of Fergus Falls! The purpose of this blog is to keep residents informed of the construction activity taking place in your neighborhood, and provide contact information for any questions or concerns you may have.

Project Area
The City Project No. 5948 project is comprised of the following areas around Fergus Falls:

• Arlington Street – Vernon Avenue to Alcott Avenue
• Vasa Avenue – Union Avenue to Mill Street & Sheridan Street to Arlington Street
• Alcott Avenue – Union Avenue to Mill Street
• Bancroft Avenue – Union Avenue to Mill Street
• Channing Avenue – Union Avenue to Mill Street
• Court Street – Vasa Avenue to Channing Avenue
• Mill Street – Vasa Avenue to Channing Street

A project area map is also provided on this blog for residents to better identify the project area.

Project Team
The City of Fergus Falls has awarded a construction contract to Mark & Brenda Construction dba Delzer Construction of Fergus Falls to perform the project improvements. Moore Engineering, Inc. will be managing engineering duties and working with the City and Contractor on this project.

•First Point of Contact•
Resident Project Representative – Lyle Hanson: 218.849.1055

•Delzer Construction•
Nathan Lukken: 218.731.5850
On Site Superintendent – Paul Sonmor: 218.770.0918

•Moore Engineering, Inc.•
Project Manager – Tyson Hajicek: 218.998.4041

•City of Fergus Falls•
Public Works Department: 218.332.5435
Anne Martens / Dan Edwards

 The above contacts are listed for residents of the project area in order to provide a contact person to call with project specific questions or problems. Resident project representative Lyle Hanson is the best person to initially contact with questions as he will be in the field for the duration of the project. Lyle can typically meet with you on site to answer questions, or attempt to resolve any problems that may be occurring.

Project Timing
The contractor is scheduled to begin work the week of June 4th, 2012. Initial construction operations will include the installation of traffic control devices, delivery of materials to the site, and the reclaiming of a portion of the roadways within the project area.

The initial project area where work will begin are the areas described as follows: Arlington Street – Vernon Avenue to Alcott Avenue, Vasa Avenue – Sheridan Street to Arlington Street, Mill Street – Vasa Avenue to Channing Street, and Channing Avenue – Union Avenue to Mill Street. The project location map also denotes these areas.

A reclaiming machine will be brought in to grind up the existing roadway surfaces. This ground up material will be re-compacted and left in place until excavation operations begin, which is scheduled to start the week of June 11th, 2012. The roadways will be safe to travel with a vehicle or pedestrian traffic during this time. Although these streets are safe for travel we ask that residents do not park on the streets in these areas if at all possible and utilize other routes around the project area. No parking signs will be installed over the weekend prior to the start of construction notifying residents of areas where parking will be restricted. We ask that no parking in these areas is followed as vehicles will impede the contractor’s ability to perform work in these areas. As construction continues to various areas of the project these signs will be utilized in advance to forewarn residents.

What to Expect
The improvements will ultimately consist of street, sanitary sewer, water main and storm sewer improvements throughout the project area.

Pursuant to City policy existing water services encountered that are constructed of lead, steel, or iron pipe, located within the right-of-way, must be replaced as a part of this project. In those instances, the water service will be replaced in conjunction with the water main replacement and a new water service will be installed to the right-of-way/property line where it will be reconnected to the existing water service. If City records indicate that individual water services are something other than copper pipe residents should have received a letter regarding this in October, 2011. Where the water main is being replaced temporary water service will need to be extended to the homes which are impacted. There may be times when water service will be unavailable to homes, but construction activity will be coordinated so that this disruption is temporary. The temporary water service will resemble a hose that is strung across the boulevard and over the ground where it is connected to the houses. The contractor will ramp the hoses where they cross individual driveways and streets so they are safe to drive over by vehicles. Additionally, when the water service is reconnected after testing and disinfection of the main line, residents are urged to run the water within the house or an outside faucet for 15-20 minutes to flush out the lines of any residual chlorine.

Sanitary sewer services which are located within the right-of-way may be replaced (owner option) as a part of this project. Please consider replacing your sewer service if you are having problems with your sanitary sewer or want to avoid a possible unplanned replacement in the future. Unless an individual homeowner elects to have the sanitary sewer service replaced, the existing service will be reconnected to the new main.

During the initial week of construction, Lyle Hanson (resident project representative) will be on site attempting to contact individual homeowners door to door and will have additional information related to the sewer and water service replacement options. In the event that he is unable to catch homeowners this information will be left in the door. Any residents wishing to participate in the service replacement can also contact anyone on the contact list to obtain further information or schedule a time to meet.

All work on this project will be performed by open trench methods, which means that the contractor will be digging in all areas of the project. The contractor will need to periodically close portions or all of the streets during their construction operations. Temporary detours will be implemented to give the residents availability to reach their homes. At some point(s) during construction not all residents will be able to reach their homes with their vehicles, parking areas will be designated and this inconvenience will be temporary.

Additional work which will be performed throughout the project area will be the replacement/addition of storm sewer mains, replacement of areas of curb and gutter, sidewalk improvements at intersections, and street improvements. All streets are scheduled to have the underground work completed and have the base course of pavement completed by October 19, 2012.

General Information
We anticipate the project to go smoothly and will do everything possible to keep the residents informed and limit any project inconveniences to as little as possible. If there are any residents which have any medical problems or need to have 24-hour access to their homes due to medical reasons, please contact Tyson Hajicek at 218.998.4041 so that the contractor can be made aware of the situation and construction operations can be coordinated accordingly. Any residents who are planning gatherings or events out of their homes this summer are also encouraged to contact Tyson ahead of time so that arrangements can be made to accommodate these functions.

Garbage containers will be marked specifically to the individual residences. Residents can bring garbage containers to the curb normally throughout construction, if construction activity prevents the garbage truck from getting to your house the contractor will coordinate the containers in these areas to ensure they are dumped and returned back to the curb for residents to collect.

Safety is a major concern on the job-site. The contractor will take precautions to help with safety at the site. Parents, please be extra careful and ensure your children are not climbing or playing on or around construction equipment. If you do notice safety issues, please contact anyone on the project team so it can be quickly resolved.

Construction Updates
All future construction updates will be available online. A link to this blog can also be found at mooreengineeringinc.com or the City of Fergus Falls website. Weekly updates will provide residents with construction progress, estimated timelines and what to expect as the project advances. Print outs will be made available at City Hall for residents without internet access.