MEETING NOTES

April 15, 2008



HNTB Project No. 44353

KDOT Job No. 10-23 KA-0685-01

 

 

K-10 Bridge Replacement Team Meeting #2 held April 3, 2008

 

Location:                           City Commission Chambers, City Hall

                                                6 East 6th Street

                                                Lawrence, KS

 

Purpose:                          The purpose of this meeting is to review developed alternatives and decide on 2-3 concepts to further evaluate.  .

 

Attending:                       Kris Norton                                             KDOT, Road Design

                                                Glen Scott                                               KDOT, Road Design

                                                Sue Riley                                                  KDOT, Public Affairs

                                                Kim Qualls                                               KDOT, Public Affairs District 1

                                                Earl Bosak                                               KDOT, Area Engineer

                                                Michelle LaRoche                              KDOT, Bridge Design

                                                Gary Chan                                                KDOT, Bridge Design

                                                Shoeb Uddin                                          City of Lawrence, City Engineer

                                                Chuck Soules                                        City of Lawrence, Public Works

                                                Shelley Schupp                                   City of Lawrence, Utilities

                                                Keith Browning                                    Douglas County Public Works

                                                John Roane                                             HNTB Corporation

                                                Brenda Foree                                        HNTB Corporation, Bridge

                                                Eric Saggars                                          HNTB Corporation, Project Manager

                                                Katie Blakemore                                HNTB Corporation, Public Involvement

 

Eric Saggars began the meeting with an overview of the agenda and proceeded with introductions around the room.  He then gave the team a status update on schedule where we are approximately 6 to 8 weeks behind.  However, the time can and will be made up during the design phase where we have already begun to work on solutions and are farther along than expected.  We will still make Feb 2009 Field Check, ahead of KDOT’s 883 schedule.

 

Next, Katie Blakemore let the team know that a summary of the workshop had been emailed to all team members for review and gave a brief summary on the Landowner Workshop held on February 26, 2008.  Forty-three property owners, adjacent to the project area, were invited.  Eleven confirmed and ten people attended to speak with project team members about access, current conditions and concerns they may have about the project.  A few themes emerged from those comments:

à      Vehicular access under bridge – Haskell Indian Nations University was opposed to removing vehicular access under the bridge.  The current access is used by faculty, staff and students, especially during football games.  Multiple landowners mentioned their priority under the bridge is to have a pedestrian structure, no less than 10’ x10’ – length of the structure is a concern to the public as well as having the structure lighted.

à      Lowering the bridge profile – all users seem to approve of this idea for increase in safety as well as visibility to businesses along K-10.

à      5th Lane – landowners stressed the difficulty of making left-hand turns both to the east and west during peak times.  Having a 5th lane to be used as a turning lane would be an advantage.

à      Traffic during construction – summer months are seen as the best time for construction and keeping 2 lanes open in each direction.

à      Other items of discussion –

o        Provide a sidewalk on the south side – lots of foot traffic along K-10 throughout the day.

o        No median barriers as part of the design

o        Drainage issues in the area of 641 E. 22nd

o        Consolidating access for businesses along K-10 seems to work fine for most, with the exception of Bradley Animal Hospital who currently does not have enough parking for their current capacity and would not like to reduce it in any way.

 

Eric led the rest of the discussion topics:


Traffic Analysis

à         HNTB has not finalized the traffic analysis, but our preliminary recommendation is to carry two lanes of traffic in each direction throughout construction.  Analysis of turning movement or storage needs has not been completed.

à         If only one lane were carried in each direction, queues from the signals would back up into the shoo-flies.   HNTB is still fine tuning the model and will finalize that information before the next team meeting.

à         Also, due to the short distance between the adjacent intersections and the shoo-flies, the desirable lane drop spacing may not fit so it is likely that drivers will make lane changes before the signals,   This will affect the approach to Haskell Ave. and Barker Ave. both from the east and west.

à         Work on design solutions has proceeded with the two lane recommendation, prohibiting left turns on to K-10 from side streets such as Learnard Ave., etc. during construction.  Currently, left turns are prohibited during peak times in the project area.

à         No advantages were found to have three lanes maintained during construction, even with a reversible middle lane because peak traffic flows are not directional.

 

Design Alternatives

Handouts of all alternatives evaluated to this point were handed out.  The drawings were also shown in a large view by PowerPoint during the meeting.

 

Ultimate Condition of 23rd Street

à         5 lanes through project with curb & gutter

à         Sidewalk on both sides

à         Most of widening would go to the south, fits best with constraints at west end.. 

 

1A Option – Pedestrian Box Structure Only (4:1)

à         4:1 side slopes outside of clear zone.

à         Carry traffic on top while pedestrian structure is built, lower the roadway; and carry 2 lanes WB on north shoo-fly and 2 lanes for EB on north side of 23rd Street.

à         Significant retaining walls needed due to width increases; approx. <10’ height, but not studied in detail yet.

à         A 10’ x 10’ box structure, could be built between existing piers; 110’ long & lighted (it had earlier been mentioned that this may be undesirable in urban areas).

à         The building with the loading dock on northwest quadrant requires additional retaining wall and a large pad, to allow truck turnaround space.

à         Shoo-flys shown are conceptual only:

o        South side shoo-fly is less desirable than north because more work is probably needed at southeast tie-in due to existing parking lot and trees in the southeast quadrant.

o        No intention to leave any portion of shoo-flys in place after construction.  KDOT is not interested in keeping them and adding access points to 23rd Street.

o        It is possible to sequence construction with north shoo-fly only and carry two lanes on the existing bridge.

o        Pushed shoo-flys inward to keep limits of construction from west of Learnard and off from Haskell Ave.

 

1B Option – Pedestrian Only Tunnel (3:1)

à         3:1 side slopes outside of clear zone.

à         Reduced height and length of retaining walls needed (1000’ vs. 450’) due to steeper slopes.

à         Guardrails would need to be added depending on what is at the bottom of the slope using the 3:1 slopes

à         Pedestrian box structure is the same as 1A option:  10’ x 10’ tunnel structure, built between existing piers; 110’ long & lighted (undesirable in urban areas).  A taller box (12’) may be desired for comfort and would not affect proposed profile.

à         Profile -

o        Same for 1A & 1B – can be lowered by 8.7’ from the existing profile.

à         Truck movement

o        Assumed WB-62 truck to be conservative with turning movement required.

o        Additional cost associated with needing extra surfacing and a retaining wall to maintain truck movement at loading dock.

o        Dock would not be accessible during construction if north shoo-fly is used.  The building owner had earlier stated he would work with KDOT on this issue. He is trying to evict current tenant.  He is open to working around loading dock access during construction.

o        Turning movement with a truck from the northwest frontage road dock to EB 23rd Street in this scenario is difficult due to short spacing.  A turning truck would block vehicles coming and going from Learnard Ave...

 

2A Option – Pedestrian & Vehicular Box Structure (separate structures)

à         Two separate structures between spans

o        Ped - 10’ x 10’ tunnel structure, built between existing piers; 110’ long & lighted (undesirable in urban areas).

o        Vehicular – 28’ x 16’-4” – must go through existing longest span.

à         By adding the vehicular structure, retaining walls are reduced to placement between two structures and to the south side (shoo-fly).

à         Easier to construct during traffic than a combined structure but headwall and hubguard details need to be studied further.

à         Profile

o        Assumes 16’-4” vertical clearance in vehicular structure.

o        Profile lowered by 7’ from the existing profile.

o        Gets rid of dip in existing profile west of bridge, so still a significant improvement for sight distance.

à         The space between structures is a concern of the City – possible difficulty with compaction presents possibility of a bump emerging in 23rd Street.  Granular backfill would help with compaction and help avoid hard spot in the pavement.

à         Location of vehicular tunnel has implications for loading dock access during construction.

o        May need to pave more due to offset of vehicular structure.

o        Wing wall could be close to turning trucks and should be protected with guardrail or bollards.

 

2B Option – Pedestrian & Vehicular Box Structure (combined)

à         45’ x 16’-4” Conspan structure – aligned with existing roadway beneath bridge

à         Could construct footings and stem walls before demolition of existing bridge, thus reducing construction time.

à         South retaining wall still required

à         Long pedestrian structure eliminated and comfort level of user is likely increased.

à         Structure is too wide to construct under the existing bridge between piers.

à         If utilizing 2 shoo-flys during construction, with traffic on both

o        Bridge taken down in one phase and a new structure built

o        Cost of additional shoo-fly

o        Contractor must work between traffic

à          Utilizing 1 shoo-fly

o        would allow bridge to be taken down 1/2 at a time

o        temporary shoring needed (= increased cost)

o        build con-span structure to carry 2 lanes, and north shoo-fly would carry 2 lanes

à         Cost implications for scenarios still need to be studied/evaluated

à         Profile – can not be lowered by as much as 2A, but still about 5’ depends on Conspan geometry.

o        Shoulder width in lower roadway through the structure needs further study – with low traffic volumes, could it withstand 2’ shoulders?  May be limited in standard sizes available from Conspan.  Look at cost of both 42’ and 48’ wide openings

o        nice aesthetically – stamped, etc.

o        Build cast-in-place stem walls and foundations entire width in Phase 1.  Place precast conspan units on south 1/2 only during Phase 1.

à          

 

Option 3 – Open-span Bridge

à         3-span bridge structure, accommodating both vehicle and pedestrians

à         KDOT’s past bridge concept study needs further refinement of spans and location

à         2 walls at frontage roads are still needed on south side

à         Can be constructed in phases with 1 or 2 shoo-flys similar to 2B.

à         Cost of second shoo-fly could be as much as extra cost of phasing construction – need to evaluate before next team meeting.

à         Profile – lowered by 3.4’

o        Conservative estimate based on prestressed concrete beam bridge

o        Shallower structure type can be used to lower profile more – RC slab or steel beam (profile would be similar to 2a & 2B options)

o        Construction time can be decreased - Cost needs to be studied

 

 

Design Criteria

à         6:1 (20’ clear zone) vs. 5:1 (25’ clear zone) at 50 mph

o        City asked to consider use of 45 mph (as posted) in this setting

o        Consider using a 5:1 slope in the clear zone and 3:1 beyond the hinge point to minimize retaining walls and grading limits.  This tends to be counterproductive.

o        KDOT prefers 6:1 vs. having to add 3’ tall barrier to protect clearzone.  Wall is preferred along frontage roads rather than up along K-10.

o        Need to look at sight distance from driveways due to guardrail along K-10.

à         Sidewalks

o        Current design has 6’ sidewalks on both sides of 23rd Street.

o        City of Lawrence designs for one side to be 10’ of multi-purpose and the other to be 6’ f sidewalk.

o        If sidewalks are designed for both sides, can carry one side across the structure – for example, carry sidewalk across the south side, and have sidewalk on north go down to connect to the trail, and then carry sidewalk back up to 23rd St.  Would possibly cut down on cost of walls if guardrail is put in – needs to be evaluated.

o        City of Lawrence – need the sidewalks to connect to trail.

o        During phased construction, south sidewalk could be used for vehicles.

à         City asked if lane width could be narrower – they use 11’.  KDOT requires minimum of 12’ lanes.

à         Aesthetics

o        City of Lawrence commented that the users viewpoint is missing.  Typical sections do not include aesthetics for users, walkers, etc – sidewalks too close to roadway, guardrail, etc.

o        Lawrence Master Plan for 23rd Street have intermittent medians, curb & gutter with soil/landscape & lighting.  5th lane is needed for phased construction, however it does not have to remain after construction and can be filled in and landscaped as a City project.

o        Chuck Soules would like the team to consider a raised median on K-10 to break up the pavement width. The median could be landscaped, stamped pavement, or brick pavers. Need to evaluate lane widths and the total pavement width to determine the typical section for the raised median section. (Note: Check 127th Street project in Overland Park as an example )

o        KDOT thinks something could be added to medians after the phased construction.  City wants to landscape the median as part of this project so it does not appear to the public that they are tearing up new work.   

o        Details can be taken up by the City after Field Check plans are submitted.

 

 

Utilities

Shelley Schupp with City of Lawrence Utilities Department was present to discuss the location of existing lines.  From the design alternatives shown at today’s meeting, the bridge or combined structure would work best to avoid utilities.    Eric said that utility lines were picked up in the survey, but he would check against the GIS materials that Shelley provided.  Shelley indicated that the survey should be used as the main plan, with GIS used only as supporting materials.

 

Other issues that were brought to the team’s attention:

à         Water line is located along the south portion of where designs indicate a shoo-fly and a retaining wall, immediately north of the Douglas County Shop buildings on the north side of the frontage road..

à         Any retaining walls will be an issue for future maintenance when access to repair a line is needed.

à         None of the utilities (water, gravity, force) are currently cased and an evaluation of additional embankment loads would be necessary.

 

Shelly asked about schedule and it was explained that there is no funding for construction at this time.  The project team will be coordinating with City Utilities when field check plans are submitted, in Feb 2009, and funding has been secured for construction.  If funding is secured, the earliest potential letting date would be October 2011, with plans complete earlier in June 2011. 

 

In the meantime, Eric Saggars (and team) will plan to attend a regular scheduled utility coordination meetings as field check plans near submittal date.  Utility meetings occur on the first Tuesday of each month.  Eric will coordinate with Shoeb Uddin or Shelley Schupp to get on the agenda prior to the scheduled meeting.

 

 

 

Design Concepts for Further Study

Kris Norton suggested to the team elimination of 1A and 2A from further consideration.  KDOT and the team selected the following concepts to move forward to study and evaluate costs:

 

2B, 3, and 1B

à         1 B is a big change and less desirable to landowners.  More discussion needs to take place with HINU, and Lawrence Police Department in order to evaluate vehicular needs under the bridge.

à         Modify 1B to have a 12’ x 10’ structure, as well as using 4:1 without 6:1 in clear zone.

à         A connection needs to be provided from the bike trail (multi-use path) on K-10 to the rail trail below.

 

 

Next Steps

à         HNTB Corporation will study the selected design concepts over the next 6 weeks, and will present cost comparisons at Team Meeting #3 to be scheduled for the last week of May ’08.

 

à         Presentation of recommended solution to the KDOT Program Review Committee (PRC) – early June

 

à         Presentation of concepts/recommended solution to Lawrence City Commissioners – 3rd week of June

 

à         Public Meeting – last week of June

 

à         Douglas County Commission – If the preferred solution is a pedestrian box only, the team will need to present to the County Commission.  Keith Browning suggested that if there were no big changes to the operation of the vehicular access, there is no meeting needed.  Keith will keep the Commission informed of the information on the project.

 

à         A second presentation to the PRC should occur following the completion of field check plans (Feb/Mar 2009)

 

 

Action Items

à         HNTB will schedule a meeting/lunch with HINU to discuss and obtain feedback design concepts.

à         HNTB will meet with Lawrence Police Dept. to discuss the potential elimination of the underpass and the potential impacts on traffic and accidents.  (detour traffic during football and other local games held at HINU.)

à         Kris Norton will check on status of existing Right-of-Way and contact Eric with the info.

à         Eric will schedule a meeting/teleconference with KDOT and City of Lawrence to discuss design criteria further

o        45 vs 50 mph, etc.

à         HNTB will schedule a meeting with Lawrence transit, and JoCO/Haskell bus system to discuss access and routes to be maintained during construction.

 

 

 

This is our understanding of items discussed and decisions reached.  Please contact Eric Saggars if there are changes or additions.  esaggars@hntb.com or 913-312-4805.

Submitted by,

HNTB CORPORATION

Eric Saggars

Project Manager