PW-Design/Construction Quarterly Newsletter - March 2015

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CitySealBlack

The Design & Construction Connection

March 2015 

Design / Construction Division

Public Works Department


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The Design & Construction Connection is a quarterly newsletter to bring our subscribers up to date on Design and Construction projects that the Public Works - Design / Construction Division has underway. In addition to our website you can follow our projects and team on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Table of Contents

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Current Projects

 Street Projects

 Sidewalk Projects

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Design/Construction Links

Streets and Sidewalks Petitions Program

Streets and Sidewalks Improvements Requests

 

Staff Contacts 

Design/Construction Manager 

 

MyRaleigh Subscriptions

Sign up for Street and Sidewalk Public Meeting Communications

Sign up for Street and Sidewalk Project Update Communications

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Other Helpful Links

 

Public Works

 

Who Do I Call?

 

Annual Resurfacing

 

Traffic Calming Program

 

Transportation Planning

 

Report Street and Sidewalk problems

 

Bids and RFP's

 

NCDOT Projects

Official CoR Color City Seal
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Under Construction

Leesville Road inspection

Leesville Road Widening 

The Leesville Road Widening project is approximately 35% complete. The Contractor continues to make progress widening the road along the north and east side of the corridor, as well as installing a new water main and storm drainage facilities. 

There will continue to be major work in the vicinity of the Crestmont Drive and Renfield Street intersection as Leesville Road is lowered a few feet to improve sight distance at this high point of the roadway.  Please remember to exercise caution through the corridor and follow all traffic control signage for safe passage through the work zone.

When the project is complete Leesville Road will be a 4-lane median divided roadway from I-540 to New Leesville Boulevard.  The project includes bicycle lanes and sidewalks along both sides of the road, landscaping, and new LED street lighting.  

Please see the project web page for further details.

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Freedom Drive

Freedom Drive/ Rhyne Court

This project is scheduled to be completed this month. All curb and sidewalk has been installed along the corridor and construction crews are in the midst of finishing the final paving work. 

This petition project widened approximately 0.60 miles along Freedom Drive to a 41' wide facility with curb and gutter, sidewalk along one side, and storm drainage improvements.   

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Brookside Drive Plan

Brookside Drive Traffic Calming Project

This is a joint project with the City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department (CORPUD). At this time COPUD is replacing waterlines along Glascock Street, when this phase of the job is complete the contractor will start on the traffic calming portion of the job for Brookside Drive from Watauga Street to Glascock Street. The project will include installing landscaped curb bump-outs, landscaped medians, and curb cut ramps along the corridor. There will also be two new catch basins installed on Holden Street, and Glascock Street will have two catch basins relocated. The traffic signal at Brookside and Glasscock has been changed to a flashing red light, this will become a four way stop upon project completion, scheduled for this fall. 

At this time The City of Raleigh has closed the 300 to 700 blocks of Glascock Street between Watauga Street and North State Street. This detour is expected to end in 10-14 weeks. Portions of Glascock Street and side streets off of Glascock Street within this construction area will be accessible to local residents and local traffic only. Other motorists should avoid this area if possible. Traffic delays are to be expected, and please use extreme caution when traveling in this area.

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In Design

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As of the end of February we have seven street projects in the design phase. The design phase is a process that involves public meetings and City Council authorization and this part of the process can take a few months to a few years depending on the size and scope of the project. 

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Hillsborough

Hillsborough Street  Revitalization Project,    Phase 2

January and early February were full of activity relating to the Hillsborough Street Revitalization Project. In January there were numerous meetings relating to the project, and on February 3, 2015 City Council voted unanimously to authorize beginning the right of way and easement acquisition process and for plans to be finalized. 

Hillsborough Street Revitalization Project, Phase II is a $12.9 million dollar project aimed at continuing the reinvention of Hillsborough Street. This phase will modify Hillsborough Street from the existing configuration of a multi-lane undivided roadway to a two-lane road with raised a median, marked bike lanes and some on-street parking. This phase of the project will run from Gardner Street to the intersection of Rosemary and Shepherd streets, including proposed roundabouts at Brooks Avenue, Dixie Trail and Rosemary/Shepherd streets. 

Numerous “green” street concepts have been incorporated in the Hillsborough Street plans. The street will have more space for bicyclists and the improvements will create a safer, more walkable Hillsborough Street. The design includes benches, solar powered trash cans, recycling bins, and bike racks as well as an expanded tree canopy to help with the reduction of air temperature along the street and reduce the amount of surface water runoff.

Refer to the project web page  for updates and schedule information, as well as check out the project facebook page, which includes more details related to the project.

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BuckJonesRoad

Buck Jones Road Widening

Engineering design plans and contracts are being finalized and the right of way and easements acquisition process is winding down in preparation to advertise and bid the project this summer. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin this fall with completion of the project anticipated spring 2017. 

The road widening will begin at Farm Gate Road and extend to Xebec Way widening it from its existing 2-lane section to a 3-lane undivided roadway. The extra center turn lane will provide adequate turning traffic storage at driveways and intersections along the corridor. 

Included in the project are marked bicycle lanes, curb and gutters, sidewalks, landscaping, and new streetlights. Single lane roundabouts will also be installed at Farm Gate Road and Bashford Road intersections to improve traffic circulation and safety. Overhead utilities are being consolidated and transit stops will be upgraded to include marked crosswalks and pedestrian refuge islands. The project is fully funded within the City's Capital Improvement Program.

Be sure to check out the  project web page for further details, project schedule, and other information.

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SandyForks

Sandy Forks Road Widening

Right of way acquisition along the corridor is underway and engineering designs and contracts are being finalized, in preparation to advertise and bid the project. Utility relocation is scheduled to start this spring and construction is on track to begin late this summer or early fall.

The City of Raleigh will be reviewing applications this spring from experienced artists or artist teams to provide site-specific public art for the Sandy Forks Road widening project.  The goal established by the City’s Art and Design Board is for the artist or artist team to create a striking visualization that is directly tied to the historic development of water in Raleigh and modern water conservation and stormwater treatments. 

This project includes three water treatment devices called bioretention areas. A bioretention area captures runoff from impervious surfaces and allows the water to infiltrate through the soil. As the water infiltrates, pollutants are removed from the stormwater runoff through a variety of mechanisms including adsorption, microbial activity, plant uptake, sedimentation, and filtration. Some of the incoming runoff is temporarily held in the bioretention to be released through evapotranspiration or exfiltration to the ground water.

Be sure to check out the project web page for further details, project schedule, and other information as the project moves forward. 

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LenoirSouthTypicalSections

Lenoir Street/South Street Two-Way Conversion

This project is in the late stages of the right of way and easement acquisition phase. Construction is scheduled to start this summer and the project should be completed in the spring of 2016.

The project is part of the City of Raleigh’s Comprehensive Transportation plan and was funded in 2013 through the Capital Improvements Program. The project will convert the two roadways from their existing one-way configuration to a two-way configuration, add water and sewer replacements, storm drainage, traffic signal upgrades, and improve the facilities for pedestrians, bicycles, and transit.

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MitchellMill

Mitchell Mill Road Widening

Right of way and easement acquisition is underway along Mitchell Mill Road, between Louisburg and Forestville Roads. Owners along this section should anticipate survey staking that will assist owners and real estate staff in identifying the impact to properties along the corridor. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2016 with project completion scheduled for the summer of 2017.

Street Improvements will include a four-lane median-divided road, curb and gutters, sidewalks, bike lanes, streetlights on both sides, turn-lane improvements, culvert replacement at the intersection of Mitchell Mill Road and Forestville Road, a directional crossover at Neuse Crossing and Longdale Drive, and a new water main installation to connect existing sections currently installed along the corridor. 

For further information, please refer to the project web page for further details, schedule, and other information related to the project.

Transylvania Ave.

Transylvania Avenue

Transylvania Avenue is a petition project to widen the street from Hertford Street to Beaufort Street. The project will widen the road as well as add curb and gutters. There was a public meeting in January and the right of way and easement acquisition phase is underway. The project is tentatively scheduled for completion in the spring of 2016.  

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Sidewalk Projects

Sidewalk on Freedom Drive

Many pedestrian improvement projects around the city are starting to ramp up for construction to begin this year. 

The passing of two transportation bonds in 2011 and 2013 created a large influx of funding to support pedestrian projects around the city. 

The Design/Construction Division is currently working on designs of over 25 sidewalk projects, some funded locally and some through shared grant funding through CAMPO.

February saw two sidewalk public meetings. On February 12 a public meeting was held to discuss sidewalk improvements to West Millbrook Road near Town and Country Road, Bloodworth Street near Worth Street, South Blount Street near Hammond Road and Oakwood Avenue near North Fisher Street. Then on February 26 a public meeting was held to discuss plans for sidewalk improvements along New Hope Church Road between Atlantic Avenue and Wake Forest Road.

The construction drawings for the I-40 Bridges Pedestrian Retrofit Projects (Buck Jones Road, Avent Ferry Road, and Rock Quarry Road bridge locations) and the Six Forks Road Sidewalk project (Coleridge Drive to Wake Forest Road) are complete and the City is awaiting final construction authorization from NCDOT so the projects may be advertised out to prospective bidders. We hope to advertise both projects in April with construction starting this summer.

Please see the sidewalks web page for more information on all of our current sidewalk projects.

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Traffic Calming

trafficcalming

The team currently has three traffic calming projects in the design phase, Kaplan Drive which is scheduled to be complete this fall, Glascock Street scheduled for completion next spring, and Milburnie Road to be completed by next summer.

Traffic calming projects are funded by the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP).  Major traffic calming projects are those projects that require more intensive measures than simply speed bumps to promote a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicular traffic within the City's neighborhood streets. This may include installation of curb bump outs, raised medians, mini-roundabouts, channelized intersections, chicanes, or other measures to create an atmosphere that is less conducive to speeding traffic.  Many of these measures also create safer accommodations for pedestrian crossings at intersections or mid-block crossings.

Please refer to the streets web page for further details on our current traffic calming projects.  If you wish to see how you can petition for traffic calming improvements in your neighborhood, please refer to the traffic calming program web page for further details.

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Meat the Team

We were happy to have two new employees join the Design / Construction team in January, Richard Dickey and Tiffanie Mazanek. 

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Staff image, Richard Dickie

Richard joined the team in January 2015 as a Project Engineer II.  His responsibilities include design and project management for existing City roadways that will provide new sidewalks and install traffic calming measures. Additionally, Richard will coordinate and manage more complex projects that require private design consultants. 

Before joining the City, Richard worked for five years with the Public Water Supply Section in NC DENR as a plan reviewer and as a loan administrator in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for the ARRA stimulus. Prior to that, he worked for over 24 years in private consulting engineering firms, primarily in site development design, permitting and construction.

Richard attended the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and received a degree in Earth Sciences with a Surveying Concentration.  Following a period of working as a surveyor in the swamps around Wilmington, he attended North Carolina State University and received a degree in Civil Engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer, with active licenses in North Carolina and Virginia.

Richard grew up playing sandlot sports in Wilmington North Carolina and he still gets out on the softball diamond with some regularity. He is an amateur juggler who has juggled in ten countries on four continents, including performing in the Wake County Resources for Seniors Golden Jubilee.

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Staff photo, Tiffanie Mazanek

Tiffanie started with our team the first full week of January as our Web Services Specialist. Tiffanie will maintain and update our web pages with new project information, announce upcoming events and meetings, write our quarterly newsletter, and manage our social media.   

Prior to joining the City Tiffanie worked for the State Archives of North Carolina in the Digital Access Branch for over 6 years. At the Archives Tiffanie did everything from working with their online Digital Collections to writing blog posts and designing both print and digital promotional materials. Prior to the Archives Tiffanie had worked over 15 years in retail management, providing her a wealth of branding experience as well as customer service and communication knowledge. 

Tiffanie has an associate’s degree in Graphic Design and is now attending East Carolina University to complete her bachelor’s degree in Communications. In her spare time you can find Tiffanie with her husband and their daughter working on their 1880’s home, in one of Raleigh’s historic districts, or outside gardening.