Briefing No. 19
Pioneer Way Reconstruction Project

June 17, 2011

Good afternoon,

The discovery of human remains on Thursday during the street excavation between Ireland and Ilwaco Streets has definitely dominated the latter part of this week. Many of you have asked how this might alter Strider Construction’s work schedule and the substantial completion date. The short answer for the moment is that it is too soon to tell. The determination about how the remains will be handled is in the hands of the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) who will in turn coordinate with the tribes if the remains are indeed Native American in origin. City staff will be meeting on-site with representatives of DAHP on Saturday morning and we may know more after that meeting. As we learn about the next steps, we will get that information out immediately.

In the meantime, work continues on the project with most of the work focused in Phase 2. With the uncertainty created by the human remains discovery, this week’s briefing provides fewer details on when we expect specific tasks to be started or completed. Please feel free to contact us at any time or plan on attending our regular Tuesday morning open house for the latest information.

Phase 1 Update

The completed sidewalks between Ely and City Beach Streets were sawcut to create the grid pattern selected for Pioneer Way. Puget Sound Energy/Potelco continued the process to pull electrical wires through the new underground conduit and all of Phase 1 is now charged. Work continued to prepare planting areas and street edges.

Phase 2 Update

Despite the forced closure of the block between Ireland and Ilwaco Streets, Strider was able to continue with street excavation at the Midway Boulevard end of the project and to begin preparing for curb, gutter and sidewalk on the Dock Street end. It will soon become evident that the sequence of street work for Phase 2 will differ slightly from Phase 1. Instead of completing each task for the full phase before moving on to the next task, the contractor plans to continue working assembly-line fashion down the street from Dock to Midway until each block has been completed through sidewalk installation. In other words, you may see street excavation happening in front of Whidbey Coffee while sidewalk bases are being prepared in front of The Rusty Chandelier. This approach is intended to make Phase 2 move along a little more swiftly, but it will also be more of a challenge for us to keep you briefed on what is on tap for the next few days. The following may help to understand the basic construction sequence:

1. Street Subgrade Excavation – This task essentially removes the top 18-24 inches or so of dirt from all areas to be covered with asphalt. Once excavated, a non-woven fabric is unrolled on the surface and approximately a foot of gravel is placed on top of the fabric.

2. Prep for Curb and Gutter – This step begins with a survey that allows Strider to grade the street base. With the survey in place, the contractor is able to set markers as a guide for the concrete crew to begin forming and pouring the curb and gutter.

3. Form and Pour Curb and Gutter (likely to begin on Wednesday) – The curb and gutter work is actually performed by a concrete subcontractor, S & S Construction. Typically, this is a fairly large crew that first sets the curb and gutter forms and then, with the arrival of concrete trucks, pours concrete into the forms. Finish work and tight corners are crafted by hand.

4. Set Utility Vaults – As can be seen by walking down most sidewalks, there are number of vaults or boxes that are placed flush with the sidewalk. Each of these must be placed and leveled prior to pouring the sidewalk. The finished sidewalk will have visible lids that will provide access to City utilities (water and sewer), electrical, telephone and cable lines.

5. Sidewalk Subgrade and Prep – This step establishes a base for the new sidewalks by leveling the existing dirt, importing gravel to provide a structurally sound base and then compacting everything. In some places, additional irrigation pipes are installed.

6. Spread and Roll Gravel Top Course – The “top course” is the 6 inches of crushed gravel that is placed on top of the gravel from Step 1. This gravel is specifically mixed to allow the subsurface material to lock into place when rolled prior to paving.

7. Form and Pour Sidewalks – As with the curb and gutter, the sidewalks are constructed by S & S Construction beginning with forming the areas to be poured. Once formed, the concrete trucks begin arriving and a crew is there to spread, smooth and brush the fresh concrete in manageable sections. Once dry, the concrete is sawcut to create the grid pattern selected for Pioneer Way.

Once the sidewalks are completed, the street will be ready for paving. The first layer of asphalt is about 3-4 inches deep and will be followed with a final layer of 2-3 inches across both Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Scheduled Gatherings

AM TUESDAY COFFEES Every Tuesday morning – 9:00 to 10:00 am
Pioneer Way Information and Construction Office
Have a cup and pastry, hear what’s on the schedule for that week

Key City Contact People

These are your go-to City staff for issues connected to the construction project:

Larry Cort
Project Manager
360-914-7107
lcort@oakharbor.org

Joe Stowell
Project Engineer
360-279-4520
jstowell@oakharbor.org

Rhonda Severns
City Utilities
360-914-7256
rhseverns@oakharbor.org

Other Places for Information

Pioneer Way Web Page - http://www.oakharbor.org/page.cfm?pageId=379

Pioneer Way Project Blog - http://pioneerway.blogspot.com/

Pioneer Way Art Project Blog - http://cohpioneerwayart.blogspot.com/