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- Whispering Pines Estate Plat 3 St. Reconstruction, IP 23-10
Whispering Pines Estate Plat 3 St. Reconstruction, IP 23-10
September 13, 2023
To date the Contractor has completed installation of the new storm sewer culverts and has been working on restoration around the culvert ends in the ditches. On Wednesday, September 13 the Contractor began final tolerancing of the aggregate base, to bring the base to final grade prior to paving. This work is anticipated to be complete on Saturday, September 16. Please note that City of Ramsey Code allows standard working hours Monday thru Saturday (7am to 10pm) on all construction projects.
The Contractor is currently scheduled to begin paving the new bituminous pavement on Monday, September 18. Paving is anticipated to take 2 to 3 days to complete. During the paving operation, there may be short periods of access limitations to driveways and side streets, generally 10 to 20 minutes as the equipment passes. Once the pavement has been rolled and compacted, it may be driven on. After the pavement is placed, the Contractor will final grade the impacted boulevard areas with topsoil, and place hydro-mulch and seed to establish new turf.
August 31, 2023
To date, the Contractor has reclaimed the existing bituminous pavement and underlying aggregate base and has begun hauling off the excess reclaim material. The excess reclaim material is being stockpiled and will be re-used as aggregate base for the Central Park Main Parking Lot Reconstruction project, which will begin in September, after Labor Day. The remaining reclamation material not hauled off will be re-used on-site as the aggregate base for the new pavement. Shaping and tolerancing of the reclaim material is anticipated to begin September 11. This is anticipated to take 3 days to complete. Paving will occur after tolerancing is complete but has not yet been scheduled.
Additionally, the Contractor has been removing and replacing the storm sewer culverts under the streets. Most of the culverts have been replaced, and the work is anticipated to be complete by Friday, September 1.
August 15, 2023
On August 14, 2023, the City held a pre-construction meeting with Landall Services L.L.C., the contractor performing the improvements. The purpose of the meeting was to review the contractor’s proposed construction schedule, share contact information, review the status of permits, and discuss relevant construction-related procedures, processes, and requirements.
Pre-Construction Meeting Update
Construction Schedule – The contractor plans to start work on Tuesday, August 15, with preliminary items such as traffic control, construction staking and erosion control. The impactful construction is proposed to begin on August 21. The work will be substantially complete by September 29, 2023. To be considered substantially complete, the new bituminous pavement must be in place and the restoration of boulevards must be started. Please be aware that contractor schedules are subject to change due to many factors, including weather, construction interruptions, and possibly other project commitments.
Landall Services L.L.C. discussed the following main construction processes with the City:
Week Process (duration)
August 14 Project staking (1 day)
Gopher One State Locates (1 day)
August 21 Reclamation of the existing bituminous (2 days)
Street culvert replacements (5 – 10 days)
August 28 Haul off excess reclamation material (3 - 5 days)
September 11 Shape and tolerance aggregate base (3 – 5 days)|
Place new bituminous pavement (2 – 3 days)
September 18 Restoration of the disturbed boulevard areas (3- 5 days)
Miscellaneous clean-up (2 – 3 days)
These process timelines are estimates and some may overlap or expand.
Access to Property – during construction, access to driveways and streets may be partially restricted during regular working hours. During these times, walk-on access will be maintained to all properties by the end of each work day. The project does not propose the replacement of driveways or driveway culverts. If you have special access needs during construction, please contact the Engineering Department as soon as possible so we can work to accommodate your needs.
Irrigation / Invisible Fences – this work may impact private lawn irrigation systems and inground invisible dog fences. Relocating and/or repairing systems within the public right of ways as needed to accommodate construction is the property owner's responsibility. If you have a below-ground irrigation system or invisible fence, please mark your pipes, wires, and/or sprinkler heads with flags or stakes to assist the Contractor in preventing or minimizing damage to your system during construction. Free flags are available at the Engineering Department in the Ramsey Municipal Center, located on the second floor at the above address. To help ensure that your system will not be damaged during this project, please relocate sprinkler heads and other system components located within the construction limits, which City staff will identify for you upon request.
August 10, 2023
On July 25, the City Council awarded the construction contract for this project to Landall Services, LLC of Zimmerman, Minnesota, for $533,248.00. Property owners will not be assessed for any portion of this project. City staff has been working with the Contractor to execute the contract and has set up a pre-construction meeting for August 14.
During the pre-construction meeting, the contractor will provide information to the City, including; contact information for themselves and their subcontractors, a detailed project schedule, proposed work hours and construction methods, traffic control plans, and other construction-related information. Following the pre-construction meeting, Staff will share the Contractor’s proposed schedule, including the construction start date. From communications with the contractor, it’s anticipated that work will begin on August 15, which will be confirmed during the pre-construction meeting.
June 30, 2023
On June 27, 2023, the Ramsey City Council approved plans and specifications and authorized advertisement for bids for this project. Staff is proposing to open bids for the project on July 21, 2023.
Proposed Project Schedule:
- July 21, 2023, bids will be opened and reviewed to ensure they comply with all bidding requirements.
- July 25, 2023, the lowest responsible bid will be presented to City Council to award the construction contract.
- August 2023, the contractor may begin construction. Before construction begins, the City and contractor hold a pre-construction meeting, during which time the contractor provides their proposed construction schedule. Another letter will then be mailed with specific construction information.
- September 29, 2023, the contractor substantially completes construction, including finishing all storm sewer culvert repairs and having the new bituminous pavement in place.
- October 13, 2023, the contractor completes the project, including project clean up and creating a punch list of minor items to be repaired or adjusted.
Proposed Improvements:
This project proposes to use the reclamation rehabilitation process, which includes; reclamation (grinding up) of the existing street and aggregate base, removal of excess reclaim material, and placement of 2.5 inches of new bituminous pavement, generally back to the existing grade. The new pavement is placed on the remaining reclaim material, which serves as the new aggregate base, which will generally be five inches thick. The reclamation rehabilitation process includes matching into the existing grades at the edge of the pavement and avoids driveway replacements, and causes minimal disturbance to the boulevards.
The project also proposes to replace the existing street crossing culverts with new concrete culverts, generally matching the same grade and locations. Replacement of driveway culverts is not included in this project.
Property Impacts:
Access to abutting properties will be maintained throughout construction as best as possible. City Staff will work with all property owners during construction to ensure they are informed in advance of any work that will affect and/or interrupt access to their property for any length of time. Access to emergency services will be maintained throughout construction.
This work may impact private lawn irrigation systems. Relocating and/or repairing private irrigation systems within the public right of ways as needed to accommodate construction is the property owner’s responsibility. If you have a below-ground irrigation system, you will be asked to mark your sprinkler heads with flags or stakes to assist the Contractor in preventing or minimizing damage to your system during construction. To help ensure that your system will not be damaged during the project, please relocate sprinkler heads and other system components within the construction limits. City Staff will mark construction limits for you upon request.
Project Funding:
The engineer’s opinion of probable costs for the proposed improvements is $721,855.54. Estimated costs include 23 percent indirect costs for administration, engineering, finance, and legal costs. The improvements are proposed to be funded using a combination of Pavement Management Funds and Stormwater Utility Funds. Again, property owners will not be assessed for these improvements. This is an estimate based on final plans and anticipated 2023 construction costs. The final project costs may vary depending on actual bid prices and quantities.
February 28, 2023
A public information meeting will occur from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in the Lake Itasca Room at the Ramsey Municipal Center, 7550 Sunwood Drive NW. The purpose of this meeting is to present information on the proposed projects to property owners directly impacted by this project, which is proposed to be reconstructed in 2023. View the letter online.
December 16, 2022
City Improvement Project 23-10 proposes reconstructing the streets within the Whispering Pines Estates Plat 3 subdivision, generally located west of Armstrong Boulevard between 157th and 158th Lane. The streets are 24 feet wide rural section, totaling approximately 1.72 miles in length. No municipal sanitary sewer or water exists in the project area, and utility extensions are not proposed. The existing drainage is through swales adjacent to the streets and crossing culverts. The neighborhood includes Whispering Pines North Park, a vacant low area servicing as ponding for the subdivision. All improvements to the park have yet to be proposed. View a summary of the streets included in the project.
On November 7, 2022, the Ramsey City Council accepted a proposal for a topographic survey of the project area from Bolton and Menk. Staff has received the survey, which is used during project design. A geotechnical report proposal from Haugo Geotechnical Services was accepted at this same City Council meeting.
On December 13, 2022, the Ramsey City Council ordered Staff to prepare plans and specifications for Improvement Project 23-10, Whispering Pines Estates Plat 3 Street Reconstructions.
Project Scope
The 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) reflects a street reconstruction of the subdivision using the full-depth reclamation process. This project grinds the existing bituminous and aggregate base, creating a new recycled aggregate product used as the new aggregate base for the pavement. New pavement is placed over this, generally to the existing elevation and alignment of the pavement. If the geotechnical report shows good sub-base conditions, this project would also be ideal for a reclamation rehabilitation project, which is similar but uses less bituminous pavement and matches into the existing ground and driveways at the existing elevations, as opposed to needing to go beyond the existing edge of pavement to blend in the improvements.
The project proposes to replace the existing street crossing culverts. The existing drainage swales adjacent to the streets are performing well. This will be explored further during the project design and review of the topographic survey. If minimal stormwater runoff slopes are not being met, some grading of the swales may be necessary.
The feasibility of increasing the size of the 66-foot diameter cul-de-sac on the south end of Eland Street will be explored during project design.
Funding for this improvement is proposed to come from the Pavement Management Fund ($968,800) and Storm Water Utility Fund ($96,880) for a total estimated project cost of $1,065,680, as identified in the 2023 to 2032 CIP.
Property owners will not be assessed for any of the costs for these improvements.
Correspondence
On November 14, 2022, residents impacted by the Whispering Pines Estates Plat 3 Street Reconstruction project were sent a project notification letter, including notice that a geotechnical crew will be performing soil borings and a survey crew will be performing a topographic survey in the area. View the letter online.