High Street – 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N
The week City crews completed all underground utility work. Residents have access to homes on gravel although the street remains closed. 10th Avenue N reopened late Friday. Survey crews began staking for new curb as the City’s concrete contractor is expected to be here next week.
 
Wastewater force main river crossing
The boring for this project is complete. Crews are planning to pull the new 20” sanitary force main pipe across the river next Tuesday. The new plastic pipe is fused together located along the road right-of-way. Pepper Avenue, between Golf Course Road and 1st Street S, will be closed to through traffic, beginning
at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to be closed approximately one day. There will be a barrier down the middle of Pepper Avenue preventing bidirectional traffic; as a result, local traffic accessing Blue Heron Lane will use the west bound lane of Pepper Avenue and will need to access Pepper Avenue from 1st Street S. Local traffic needing to access Ridgewood Trail, Golf Course Road, and Country Lane will need to take Range Line Road.
 
West Side Lift Station
Crews set forms and reinforcement steel this week for the sump pit. The first concrete pour is scheduled for next Tuesday.
 
Wisconsin River Green Space and Recreation Project
This week Janke Construction completed the kayak launch area. They continued work on the concrete trail, north of the Riverview Expressway Bridge, and worked on miscellaneous sections of trail within the park. They also began grading and setting forms for the trail along 2nd Street just north of Mead Street and installed two sets of rock steps along the riverbank within Demitz Park. Next week Janke will continue working on sections of the trail within Demitz Park. They plan to pour footings for the shade structure located in the park and continue work on the 2nd Street trail.
 
High Street – 12th Ave N to 17th Ave N
Construction of this next segment of High Street is planned to begin mid-August. Work consists of reconstructing existing 36' wide roadway with 3.5" asphalt and 9" base course. New curb & gutter and sidewalk with be constructed on both sides of the roadway. Underground utilities including sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer and service laterals will also be replaced. Construction is expected to go into late fall.
 
Van Buren Street – 8th Ave N to 10th Ave N
Construction of Van Buren St. began Thursday this week. Van Buren St is closed from 8th Ave. to 10th Ave.

Project Update #13 (8-3-18)

​High Street – 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N
City crews completed underground work within the 8th Ave N and High Street intersection and removed the sidewalk and pavement on the 800 block. Road base was also placed on the 700 block. Next week, crews will cut a new trench though rock for the water main. High Street remains closed from 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N with no driveway access to residents in the excavation area on the 700 and 800 blocks.
 
Wastewater force main river crossing
Work continues on the new 20” sanitary force main pipe across the river. The river-crossing is expected to be complete by mid-July. Final connections and road closures near Blue Heron Ln, Pepper Ave, and Ridgewood Trail intersections are tentatively planned for the week of July 10th.
 
West Side Lift Station
Work is expected to resume in the near future.
 
Wisconsin River Green Space and Recreation Project
This week prime contractor Janke Construction completed installation of the water lateral. They removed existing storm sewer within Demitz Park and began site grading the parking lot and the multi-use trail within the park. They also finished installing concrete for the trail under the Riverview Expressway bridge. Lastly, they worked on pouring concrete for the multi-use trail on Mead Street. American Asphalt completed the paving on Riverwood Lane. Next week Janke will continue work on site grading in Demitz Park and riverbank stabilization within the park.
 
1st St N – Poplar St to North City Limits
American Fencing began placing decorative fence along the recreational trail Friday, June 22.
 
Washington St – 8th St N to 12th St N
Final restoration work should be complete next week.

Airport:
• Airport constructions projects are progressing well.
Buildings and Grounds:
• Sprinkler systems have been repaired and are functional with the exception of Witter Field. Witter Field has a pump failure that will require a well driller and broken feed lines to outfield that will need repair by City staff.
• Splash pad is open and operational with the exception of the jets that are part of the “race” feature – there is a broken line that will have to be addressed by the installer.
• Bathroom interior painting is complete at Robinson Park and bathrooms there are open
• Summer help is trickling in and are being used for string trimming-mowing at this time
• 3 to 4 mowers are being dispatched most days to try and catch up with park-boulevard mowing
• Grass complaints are starting to come in for private property violations
• Zoo is operational and open
• Bathrooms at the Witter Warming house have been prepped and open for skate park use
• Expressway project for butterfly habitat is underway – mowing experiment has started
• New perimeter fence on last structure at zoo is complete
Engineering:
• 26 Permits/Applications for driveway grades, concrete pour inspections, storm water, excavating
• 347 Diggers Locates for Storm Sewer & Sanitary Sewer
• Completed High Accuracy Level Run to further complete elevation bench loop runs for future capital projects.
• Contracts – Contract documents for concrete and asphalt are being executed
• Sidewalk inspections are complete for 7th St (Oak to E Grand) and are 25% complete for the E Grand Ave corridor.
Traffic:
• MSA is nearing completion of the traffic study. The timing plans will be completed in May and are anticipated to be installed in June. In addition, the Lincoln Street/Expy and Lincoln St/Daly St., scoping is complete with preparations being made for design documents.
• One new camera was installed at STH 54 and Washington St intersection due to water damage.
• Speed Studies were conducted this spring with the following results:
- 85th percentile speed on 16th St S at Clyde Ave = 34.0 mph, max = 49 mph, 2108 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on 16th St S south of Township Ave = 33.0 mph, max = 45 mph, 1609 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on 16th St S at Lincoln HS = 34.0 mph, max = 54 mph, 2116 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on Washington St at Washington School = 33.0 mph, max = 44 mph, 887 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on Washington St at Washington School = 33.0 mph, max = 44 mph, 887 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on 1st St N at Strawberry Lane = 35.0 mph, max = 48 mph, 645 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on 2nd St at Mead St = 30.0 mph, max = 46 mph, 230 AADT
- 85th percentile speed on Baker St at 14th St = 34.0 mph, max = 47 mph, 4837 AADT
• Engineering met with Tracy Ginter, Principal at WRAMS and Eric Davens, Safety Officer, on 5/17/18 to discuss traffic concerns as they add 350 additional students.
Project Designs/Construction underway:
• 2nd Ave S DOT Project –Joint Finance Committee has approved the sale of the land at the DOT location. A conference call was held between the city, DOT and DOA to coordinate the sale. Sale ispending.
• E Grand Ave – Bridge to 8th St – Two properties, Parcel 17 and Parcel 31, are approaching thedeadline to have their own appraisals done. In order to stay on schedule to meet the August 1st, 2018 deadline to clear the real-estate needs the condemnation documents have been drafted. The acquisition of Parcel 9 is also behind schedule. Parcel 9 is federally owned and no communication has been returned about the documents and numerous phone calls have been attempted to reach staff locally.
• Centralia Parking Lot – on hold
• 1st St N from Poplar to City Limits – American Asphalt paved the recreational trail on 5-29-18.
• Washington St – Sommers Construction has completed the sidewalk work on Washington St. and City crews are finalizing the restoration.
• Quinnell Cr. Dredging – The Assessment Hearing is proposed for the June Public Works Meeting.
2018 reconstruction projects:
• High Street – 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N started May 14th.
• Engineering will be sending out documents to property owner to obtain real-estate on High St. between 12th and 17th Ave during the month of June.
• 29th Ave Storm Sewer Replacement was completed mid-May.
• A preconstruction walk-through was held with property owners on High St (7-10) and Van Buren St. on May 2nd at 5:00pm.
2019 & 2020 designs for reconstruction projects
• Structure Inspections are 90% complete for the 2020 design/construction projects
• Preliminary survey was started for 10th St from Grove to Airport.
E River Bank Recreational Trail
• Phase I – construction of the trail south of the Expressway is nearing completion. Work continues under the bridge and in Demitz Park.
• Phase II - 95% plan review meeting was held on May 23rd at City Hall.
Streets:
• Completed spring cleanup with sweepers of entire city
• Completed spring yard waste pickup (was challenging due to garbage trucks broken down)
• Completed May monthly brush pickup
• Finished storm sewer installation on 29th Ave North from Industrial to Jefferson
• Started High Street construction project 7th – 10th Ave. Installed 16’ deep manhole and made all connections and ran out 200’ of 36” storm (slow going due to rock, pipe that is poured in concrete and deep.
• Finished restoration and cleanup on Washington street (2017 construction project)
• Installed steps, finished graded gravel to prep for pavement on 1st street north
• Moved beam guard on 1st Street north on north end of project
• Repaired beam guard on STH 54, West Riverview Expressway and STH 34 that was damaged by snow plows
• Pulverized and Graded West Side Alleys
• Began miscellaneous aggregate grading
• Finished reshaping Police training range to allow for proper drainage at range house
• Poured concrete slab and moved communication building for Police Department from Eastside water tower to Westside water tower
• Finished plow damage caused by last 20” snow storm
• Catch basin repairs underway
• Catch basin rebuild caused by Fire Hydrant installationo Catch basin repair on 8th and Two mile and then concrete patch repair after catch basin complete
• Provide traffic control for multiple WWLC water main break asphalt patches
• Dressed Landscaped areas with fresh hardwood bark and have continued to pull weeds with summer help when opportunity arises
• Screened topsoil for first half of the season
• Got compost sites ready for the year
• Assist installation of new motor into new snow blower
• Repair on garbage truck due to water pump failure
• Completed buildout of Catch Basin Trailer
• Completed welding/repairs on numerous pieces of equipment from hard surfacing buckets, installing new floors in dump trucks, fixing plows, etc.
• Took delivery of 2 Scag 60” mowers and 1 Jacobsen 15’ mowers prepped for active service
• Removed snow fighting equipment and switched over to summer activities
• Fixed traffic control signs that were hit due to snow plowing or accidents from winter driving.
• Put up flags and banners for Memorial day
• Replace “No Parking” signs throughout the city that were faded
Wastewater:
• Plant staff has discovered a new chemical used for phosphorus removal and bio flocculation. Poly-Aluminum Chloral-Hydrate has shown bench top improvements compared to the current Ferric Chloride chemical P for removal and settling. If successful this chemical could help reclaim much of the plants clarifier capacity, and also reduce chemical P removal costs by 39%.
• Collection system crews have been cutting roots, cleaning catch basins, and televising sewers.
• A1 Excavating is in the middle stages of the West Side Lift Station Force Main replacement. The crew is 90% complete with the open cut trench pipe laying, and is 30% complete with the river-crossing direction drilling. A1 hopes to be complete with the project in early August.
• Plant maintenance staff has fixed several biogas generator exhaust leaks. This was inhibiting normal operation of the unit. After the fix, the generator is running at 300 KW once again.
• Summer months are busy time for septic tank pumping. So far this year the Utility has accepted 743,485 gallons of septic tank waste. A 32% increase from last year.
• Plant maintenance staff has installed a new centrifugal pump at the Washington Street lift station. This pump replaces the original station pump that was 32 years old. The new pumps will be more efficient and hopefully last just as long.
• The Wastewater Treatment Department has developed a mission statement:
“Our Resource Recovery Facility strives to efficiently and effectively reclaim water, make green power, and produce Exceptional Quality fertilizer.”
Other:
• Attended the APWA spring conference in Green Bay. Educational session attended include:
• Road and Street preventative maintenance strategies
• Erosion control: Survive a notice of violation
• Brace Yourself! Practices for bidding in a strong economy
• Civil engineering and trees
• Adaptive Leadership
• Milwaukee snow and ice control
• Ethics and making Visual Sense
• Currently working with the Mayor and staff using a research grant from Harvard in attempt to improve recycling
compliance prior to kicking off new refuse collection services
• Met with DNR Secretary Dan Meyer and the Secretary’s director, Dan Bauman along with Mayor Vruwink. We visited the projects that grants are helping fund and discussed how the City can be a resource for the DNR when needed.

High Street – 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N
Storm sewer replacement on the first block of the project is complete, but not after cutting, scraping and hammering though rock. KS Energy also encountered rock during their excavations for the new gas main on 8th Ave N and High Street. Next week the City ditch crew will work in the 8th Ave N intersection replacing manholes. Then work can begin placing new storm sewer on the 800 block from 7th Ave N to 8th Ave N. Rock is not expected to be encountered for the remainder of the project. The Street remains closed from 7th Ave N to 10th Ave N with no driveway access to residents in the excavation area on the 700 and 800 blocks.
 
Wastewater force main river crossing
This week A1 Excavating finished the open cut trench work along 2nd Ave S heading south. Ellingson Trenchless is continuing the directional drilling beneath the Wisconsin River, hoping to have the pilot hole complete next week. When Ellingson has completed the directional drilling, a new 20” force main pipe will be pulled across the river. The river- crossing is expected to be complete by mid-July. Final connections and road closures near Blue Heron Ln, Pepper Ave, and Ridgewood Trail intersections are tentatively planned for the week of July 10th.
 
West Side Lift Station
No work this week as calculations are being done to evaluate the rock excavation required to facilitate the lift station structure. Work is expected to resume as soon as the geotechnical evaluations are complete.
 
Wisconsin River Green Space and Recreation Project
This week prime contractor Janke Construction, Inc. set forms to construct the trail and installed the sloped pavement under the Riverview Expressway bridge. The concrete trail was formed, poured and finished along portions of 3rd St S. They also began filling areas within Demitz Park for trail construction. Subcontractor Revi Design was onsite seeding and placing erosion mat over completed areas. Next week Janke will work on storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water lateral services. They also plan on completing the trail under the bridge. Trail construction within Demitz Park is slated to begin late next week. Subcontractor American Asphalt is scheduled (weather dependent) to pave Riverwood Lane next week.
 
1st St N – Poplar St to North City Limits
City crews completed placing topsoil and seeding this week. Fencing the trail at the retaining wall and narrow portions of the trail is all that remains. This work is anticipated to be done next week.
 
Washington St – 8th St N to 12th St N
City crews are 90% done with the final restoration and should finish the work for this project next week.