Salo Engineering, Inc.

The construction season is now over.  Despite an extremely wet October and the presence of ledge rock, we were able to complete Stage 1 of the project by November 6.  This is within one week of the original completion date of November 1.  The Contractor has removed all traffic control and detour signs until next May.  The one exception is the stop sign at 4th Street and 24th Avenue East.  This is a temporary sign that will remain through the winter and 2010 construction.

Ulland’s schedule for next year includes resuming construction in mid-May, once the road restrictions are lifted.  At that time, we will place the detour route as we had it this year.  The detour will remain in place until work is complete through the intersection with St. Marie Street.  We will then move the detour to Wallace Avenue from Arrowhead Road to St. Marie Street.  At that point, Woodland Avenue from 4th Street to St. Marie Street will be open.

As spring approaches and construction comes closer, we will be updating this blog with a start date and schedule.  We will also be holding a resident/business meeting to discuss the 2010 construction schedule.
Salo Engineering, the City of Duluth, and Ulland Brothers would like to extend our appreciation and thanks for everyone’s patience throughout the project.  The open communication between owners/businesses and the construction team allowed for a successful and safe project.  We look forward to being back in your neighborhood next year to complete Stage 2 of the project.

If anyone has any comments, questions, or concerns, please notify David Bolf or David Salo with Salo Engineering at (218) 727-8796.

See you next year!

Greetings, everyone!

Thank you all for being so patient and considerate to everyone involved in the reconstruction of Woodland Avenue.  As the construction season winds down, a lot has been accomplished in the last few weeks.  The remaining work for this season will be completed this week.

Progress

Ulland has completed all utility work and has rebuilt the roadway up to Norton Street.  Last week, the concrete curb & gutter was placed from Griggs Place to Norton Street and the last lift of blacktop was paved from Kent Road to Clover Street.  Earlier this week, the sidewalk and driveways were being replaced.

Schedule

Ulland is currently working on the base course of blacktop from Griggs Place to Norton Street.  This will be complete on Wednesday, 10/28/09.  They will pave the final lift of blacktop on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  AJ’s Landscaping will finish the sod and yard restorations.  Blacktop driveways will be restored on Thursday, 10/29/09.  Ulland will stripe the roadway and install traffic signs, and we anticipate lifting the detour within a week.

Ulland Brothers will be paving the wear course on Woodland Avenue tomorrow morning, 10/24/09, between Kent Road and Clover Street.  This section of road will be closed during the morning and should be back open around 1:00 p.m.

Progress

Ulland has completed all underground utility work for Phase I of the construction.  They have also finished subcutting from Griggs Place to Norton Street.  They are currently backfilling this area with sand and class 5.  Landscaping has been done between Clover Street and Griggs Place.  The curb & gutter and sidewalk is complete up to Griggs Place.

Schedule

Week of 10/12:  Continue backfilling road subcut; pave base course from Clover Street to Griggs Place.

Week of 10/19:  Finish concrete curb & gutter and remaining driveways; place remaining base course from Griggs Place to Norton Street.

Week of 10/26:  Finish landscaping; place bituminous wear course; project clean-up.

Week of 11/2:   Remove detour; open roadway to public.

Greetings, everyone!

Salo Engineering, the City of Duluth, and Ulland Brothers are continuing their efforts to improve your neighborhood and business community.  We thank all residents and business owners for your support and patience during the construction season.

Progress
To date, Ulland has progressed quite well despite the rains in July and encountering ledge rock.  All the sanitary sewer mains have been installed.  The watermain is complete, with the exception of the crossing at Elizabeth Street.  Storm sewer work and curb & gutter up to Griggs Place are complete.

Remaining Schedule

Week of 9/21/09:    Ulland to continue on storm sewer work between Norton and Elizabeth Streets, place sidewalks from Clover Street to Griggs Place, shape class 5 for paving, and place water & sanitary services from Griggs Place to Norton Street.  During this week, Ulland will be working on the storm sewer between St. Marie and Norton Streets.  This will require Woodland Avenue to be closed between those streets for 2-3 days.  Traffic will be able to cross Woodland Avenue at Norton Street, with a half-day closure to bring storm sewer across the intersection.  There will be temporary bituminous, curb, and sidewalk placed in this area, which will be removed next spring and rebuilt with the new roadway.

Week of 9/28/09:    Finish all storm sewer and utility services, pave bituminous from Griggs Place to Clover Street, and subcut roadway from Griggs Place to Norton Street.

10/5/09 – 10/30/09      Complete curb & gutter, sidewalk, bituminous paving, and landscaping up to Norton Street.

11/1/09    Project under winter suspension and detour route is lifted.

5/1/10      Construction resumes and detour route is back in place.

Progress

During the last 2 weeks, Ulland has been working on the sanitary sewer main and watermain between Griggs Place and Norton Street.  The sanitary main is complete in this area, and the watermain is scheduled to be complete by September 11, 2009.  The intersection of Clover Street and Woodland Avenue has been opened, and the signal system is operational.

Schedule

Following is an update of the remaining schedule:

September 8-12:  Ulland will finish watermain work up to Norton Street and begin placing water and sewer services from Griggs Place to Norton Street.

September 14-19:  Storm sewer will be placed from Elizabeth Street to St. Marie Street.  Hovland Masonry will place curb & gutter and sidewalk from Clover Street to Griggs Place.  The high pressure watermain crossing at Elizabeth Street will be done.  We will notify affected parties 48 hours in advance of the watermain shutdown.

September 21-26:  Ulland will be rebuilding the roadway from Griggs Place to Norton Street.

September 28 - October 24:  Remaining curb & gutter and sidewalks will be placed, along with bituminous paving and landscaping.

The contractor has a completion date of November 1, 2009 for this segment of the project.

Progress
This past week, ledge rock was encountered in the sanitary sewer trench between Elizabeth and Norton Streets.  Ulland continues to move slowly through the rock section with the sanitary sewer.  In addition, Ulland has begun placing watermain from Griggs Place north toward Elizabeth Street.  We anticipate some small disruptions in water service between Elizabeth and St. Marie Streets.  All affected parties will be notified at least 24 hours in advance of any disruption.  Salo Engineering and the City of Duluth Engineering Department continue to keep the Duluth Fire Department informed about accessibility to the east end of Elizabeth Street.  At the request of several business owners, we ordered a construction sign with all business names in the Mount Royal Center.  This sign will be displayed at the intersection of St. Marie Street and Woodland Avenue.  As construction progresses toward St. Marie Street, the sign will be moved accordingly.

Schedule

There are no changes to the project schedule posted last week.

Progress:

Ulland has made great progress on Woodland Avenue.  We opened the roadway from Kent Road to College Street on August 6th.  College Street to Clover Street will open the first week of September prior to the opening of Woodland Middle School.  The signal system at Kent Road was turned back on this week.  Ulland began the work on the sanitary sewer from Norton Street to Griggs Place early this week.  They will continue with the sanitary until it is complete, then switch to the water main construction.  Ulland is also building the road section from Clover Street to Griggs Place.  We have kept the pavement at the Elizabeth Street intersection as long as possible.  This will be removed within a week.  When work starts in the intersection of Elizabeth Street, the contractor has been directed to keep one lane of traffic open at all times.  Salo Engineering has invited the Duluth Fire Department to attend the last three construction meetings.  We have kept them informed of the upcoming construction activities and the accessibility to the end of Elizabeth Street.

Schedule:

Here is a quick look at the remaining work items.

August 13-28 - Ulland will be placing water main, sanitary sewer & services between Norton Street and Griggs Place.  They will also be building the roadway section from Clover Street to Griggs Place.

September 1-11 - Ulland will be placing new storm sewer from Norton Street to Griggs Place.

September 14-25 - Ulland will be rebuilding the roadway from Norton Street to Griggs Place.

Curb & gutter, sidewalks, bituminous paving, and landscaping will start in middle of September.  These operations will continue through October.  The contractor has a completion date of November 1, 2009 for this segment of the project.

Progress:
Hovland Masonry placed curb from Kent Road to the south side of the Clover Street intersection.  Ulland finished the select granular borrow and graded the class 5 for curb between Kent Road and Clover Street.  The sanitary sewer is complete from Kent Road to Griggs Place.  The watermain is complete to just north of Griggs Place.  The storm sewer is complete from Kent Road to Clover Street.  Work is continuing to the north.  API Electric set the cameras at the Clover Street and Kent Road intersections, and they completed Qwest’s conduit through the Clover Street intersection.  A solar lighted sign (”Caution Hidden Driveway”) was installed on Wallace Avenue.

Schedule:
Ulland is currently backfilling behind the curb and placing forms for the new sidewalks.  The sidewalks will be placed on Friday, July 24th.  Bituminous paving of the street will take place on Thursday, July 30th.  They are continuing with the work on the storm sewer and placing services between Clover Street and Griggs Place.  Ulland is on schedule to begin work at the Norton Street intersection on Monday, August 3rd.  New business and access signs will be erected by then for Phases 3-5 (Norton Street to Griggs Place).  As always, the schedule is dependent on the weather.

Construction of the watermain is complete between Clover Street and Griggs Place.  The contractor will continue working on the sanitary sewer and storm sewer in this segment for the remainder of the week.  The road-building process has begun to take shape between Kent Road and Clover Street.  Class 5 is being placed, and curb & gutter is anticipated next week.  Bituminous surfacing will follow.  The contractor is on schedule to open Woodland Avenue between Kent Road and College Street on August 1, 2009.

We are anticipating that the contractor will start working on the Norton Street to Griggs Place segment, Phases 3-5, on or about July 27, 2009.  The anticipated schedule is as follows:

July 27                New traffic signage will be placed beginning at 6:00 a.m.

July 27-28           Bituminous and concrete removal from Norton Street to Griggs Place.

July 28-Aug 3      Temporary water service and new watermain installation.

Aug 3-14            Sanitary sewer main, water and sewer services installation.

Aug 18               Tentative Informational Meeting

Aug 17-28          Storm sewer installation - St. Marie Street to Griggs Place.

Aug 31-Sept 11  Roadway Reconstruction

There will be some temporary water shut-offs during the watermain reconstruction.  There will be 24 hours’ notice when these shut-offs occur.  Access across Elizabeth Street will be open during business hours, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The contractor will be doing all utility work after 5:00 p.m. or on a Saturday.  Once the roadway work begins, the intersection will be done half at a time with one lane of traffic open.