SCHOOL DISTRICT OF NEW BERLIN, WI
Project Description
The paved surfacing at the Eisenhower Middle/High School campus had reached the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced. Like most school districts, New Berlin did not have the funds to replace the 10 plus acres of pavement at one time. The School District of New Berlin hired Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) to develop a plan to replace all paved surfacing over an extended period of time. The plan considered existing pavement condition, budgets, building access, athletic field access, short construction windows when school is out of session and impacts of construction traffic.
Project Highlights
R/M developed a plan that defined pavement area boundaries and evaluated the condition of each area. Each area was ranked according to its condition. The evaluation confirmed that 97% of the pavement surfacing needed improvements with some areas being more critical than others. Using several criteria, a plan was developed to systematically replace the deteriorated surfacing over a five year period.
Phase 1 of the plan was successfully completed in 2013. The School District then decided to replace the remaining surfacing by implementing a second project with staged construction occurring in 2015 and 2016. Design challenges for the second project included:
Extremely poor subgrade soils
Flat topography
Poor surface drainage
Reconfiguration of the visitor parking area to improve pedestrian safety
High traffic flow on site and on adjacent public streets
R/M was able to develop a pavement cross section to stabilize the subgrade and optimize pavement performance while minimizing cost, and develop an effective drainage plan with minimal asphalt slopes and storm sewers. The team improved pedestrian safety with a reconfigured visitor parking area, and improved traffic flow with a new school operational plan and new traffic signals at Sunnyslope Road.
The construction window for pavement improvement projects at most schools is short. Extra-curricular activities, events, and staff assignments during summer months can shorten construction windows even further. R/M was able to complete the design and bid the projects on time to maximize the allowable construction time, which in turn minimized project costs by providing greater scheduling flexibility for contractors.
In addition, R/M worked with the School District and the contractor to allow a staged early start of the 2016 construction to provide a greater assurance that the project would be done before classes resumed for the next school year.
“What I enjoy about working with R/M is that they are very detail orientated and they are creative thinkers. When working with R/M you are not treated like a customer, but more like a partner.”
The project also provided the opportunity to improve pedestrian movements throughout the campus. A combination of raised concrete speed humps, painted crosswalks, and signage were included as part of the project.
Services Provided
Pavement Condition Evaluation
Parking Lot Reconstruction Concepts
Design and Construction Phases
Unstable Subgrade Evaluation
Pavement & Sidewalk Design
Culvert & Storm Sewer Design
Grading
Exterior Lighting
Coordinate Traffic Signals
Pavement Markings
Bio-retention Facility
Restoration