City of Muskegon Spring Street Sewer Re-Route

Week 21 Update:

Lots of progress this week to report.  8-inch sanitary sewer was constructed between Clay and Webster Avenue and storm sewer was installed in the Clay Avenue intersection.  Domestic and fire suppression water services were installed to the proposed Samaritas development project located west of Spring Street.  The water main between Clay and Webster is being installed using nitrile gaskets and polywrap.  The nitrile gaskets are high performance gaskets that are resistant to petroleum contaminants and other contaminated chemistries. The gaskets and polywrap were specified in this area due to the underlying poor soils and groundwater chemistry. JMC also began utility investigations in the Webster Avenue intersection and started removal of the concrete box sewer and concrete box storm sewer between Clay and Webster to make accommodations for the new utility placement and construction of the roadway.  Helical pier installation continued in the Webster Avenue intersection.

Above:  Storm sewer installation in the Clay Avenue intersection

Above:  Helical pier installation

Above:  Poured concrete pier cap and reinforcement

Above:  Storm sewer construction in the Clay Avenue intersection

Above:  Removal of the existing concrete box sewer that was protruding up through the roadway of Spring Street.  The box sewer was constructed on timber piles (due to the poor soils) so as the roadway settled the sewer stayed put and ultimately came up to the surface of the roadway.  Most drivers likely thought it was just a section of concrete roadway.

Above:  Placement of water valve and sanitary manhole

Above:  The existing old brick box storm sewer that was removed.

Upcoming the Week of May 3:

Sanitary sewer, water main, and storm sewer construction will continue on Spring Street between Clay and Webster.  The work in this location was always anticipated to be the most time consuming given the conditions: poor underlying soils, high groundwater, required groundwater treatment, helical pier work, and the abundance of existing utilities to work around.  We anticipate 1.5 to 2 weeks more of utility work in this corridor before we are clear of those conditions and move up the hill on Spring Street towards Muskegon Avenue.

Week 20 Update:

The Contractor worked primarily in the intersection of Clay Avenue in an effort to get the utilities wrapped up so access could be maintained to the United Way.  Crews began Monday placing a sanitary manhole in the Clay intersection on the concrete pad constructed previously.  The concrete pads need time to cure prior to placement of the manhole structures.  In order to accommodate the room necessary to place the new utilities, portions of an abandoned 36-inch sanitary force main and old water main were removed from the Clay intersection.  Crews continued to place 18-inch sanitary sewer and 8-inch, 12-inch, and 16-inch water main within the Clay intersection.  Underlying soils in the eastern portion of the Clay intersection consisted of wood material which slowed the operations down slightly.  Towards the end of the week additional helical piers were installed in the Webster intersection to support proposed manholes and catch basin structures due to the poor underlying soils.  JMC worked on Saturday morning to get the Clay Avenue intersection completely opened up for full access.

Above:  Placing a sanitary manhole and 18-inch sanitary sewer.

Above:  Poor underlying wood and organic material between Clay & Webster

Above:  Placement of 16-inch water main and 8-inch sanitary sewer

Above:  Helical pier installation

Above:  Stockpile of excavated wood material for disposal at a landfill

Upcoming Week of April 26:

Crews will continue with underground utility work placing storm sewer, water main, and sanitary sewer between Clay and Webster Avenue on Spring Street.

Week 19 Update:

The Contractor began the process on Monday of drilling helical piers which will be utilized to support concrete manholes in the stretch of Spring Street between Clay and Webster due to the underlying poor organic materials.  The piers are drilled into the ground until they reach the contract specified torque.  On Tuesday, the crews placed sanitary sewer at the north end of Spring Street and set a manhole structure in the roadway.  They continued laying 18-inch sanitary sewer in Spring Street from the curve to Webster Avenue towards Clay Avenue.  On Thursday the concrete pier caps were placed in the intersection of Clay Avenue.  The storm and sanitary manhole structures will be placed on top of these pier caps to ensure no settlement occurs.

On Friday, the crew from JMC repaired a leaking water main that was discovered during construction.  The Contractor exposed the area and placed a sleeve at the leak point.

Above:  Drilling of helical piers

Above:  Placement of 18-inch sanitary sewer and manhole.

Above:  Construction of the concrete helical pier caps

Above:  Water main leak repair

Upcoming Week of April 19th:

The Contractor intends to complete the remaining sanitary sewer and storm sewer work in the Clay Avenue intersection so that can be opened back up for the United Way to access their larger parking area.

Week 18 Update:

The contractor completed water main installation into the Clay Street intersection and moved on to sanitary sewer installation near Western Avenue.   The work required a large sanitary sewer junction chamber to be removed and replaced which required heavy equipment and a wrecking ball to remove the large concrete structure in pieces.  An old abandoned storm sewer was found in the vicinity (riveted steel pipe) that likely conveyed water to Muskegon Lake prior to development in this area.

The water treatment facility was setup in Webster Avenue to treat groundwater that was detected with levels of Mercury that exceeded the amount to be discharged directly to surface waters.  The area with Mercury is located between Clay and Webster.  The water will be routed through this facility to treat the Mercury and discharged to surface waters after adequate treatment.

The crew also begin the process of drilling helical piers underneath proposed storm and sanitary sewer manholes.  The piers are necessary due to the poor structural integrity of the underlying soils.  The piers are being drilled 40-50 feet in depth to extend past all of the organic soils, including wood and sawdust, and for proper torque to be achieved.

Above:  The water treatment facility units

Above:  Water main work is completed and helical piers are being driven to support manhole structures.

Above:  The existing junction chamber removed and replaced with a precast concrete manhole

Above:  Typical underlying soils (wood and debris) located under Spring Street

Work Upcoming the Week of April 12:

The Contractor will continue to prepare manhole and catch basin structure locations for helical piers.  Due to the high groundwater levels and poor soils the preparation work for the piers has been a slow process.  The Contractor will continue with sanitary sewer installation at the connection point near Western and extend easterly towards Clay Avenue.

Week 17 Update:

The Contractor began construction of the 16-inch ductile iron water main on Spring Street from near Western Avenue to the middle of the Clay Avenue intersection.  The existing utilities located within this section of roadway are numerous and care had to be taken to not damage the utilities which ultimately slowed the installation process.  The water main was completely installed by the end of the week and the crew began taking measures for testing this section of water main.

Upcoming the Week of April 5:

The Contractor will begin sanitary sewer installation on Spring Street beginning near Western Avenue at the connection point.  The preparation work will also begin to drive helical piers into the subgrade in order to properly support the concrete manholes.  The Contractor will also begin preparations to setup a water treatment center due to the presence of Mercury that was found in the groundwater via testing during the geotechnical portion of the design phase.  The dewatering process to install utilities will require the groundwater is treated to remove the Mercury before discharging to surface waters.

Week 16 Update:

The Contractor re-mobilized equipment and began site preparations.  The surcharge (sand) material was removed from the roadway between Clay and Webster.  The surcharge was intended to accelerate consolidation of the organic material and woody debris that was observed in the geotechnical work during the design phase.  The survey work conducted this spring confirmed the surcharge was effective in its application as we achieved a settlement depth of 4-6 inches.

The crew began performing removals of the pavement, curb and gutter, and sidewalk in preparation for water main installation next week.

Upcoming Week of March 29:

The crew intends to construct water main on Spring Street near Western Avenue and extending east to Clay Avenue.  Once water main is installed they will begin the process of performing pressure and bacterial testing.  The crew may look to place sanitary sewer in this same location once water main is complete.

Construction on Spring Street has resumed this week and is expected to be completed by early June.  Detour routes are in effect for Spring Street, Muskegon Avenue, and Webster Avenue.

Week 14 Update:

The top course of asphalt paving was placed on Yuba Street this week and will be the final major item of work done this year on this project.  Restoration work and tree planting will still be completed yet this year.

The crews also removed the surcharge material from the Spring and Clay intersection so that traffic can move freely over the winter months.

Upcoming Week of November 23:

Final restoration, seeding, and mulch on all disturbed areas will be completed and the Contractor will begin to de-mobilize equipment and materials for the winter.

Work on Spring Street will resume in the Spring of 2021.

Week 13 Update:

Work continues on Yuba Street as they look to fully complete the roadway prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.  After successfully passing testing requirements on the water main, the connection to the existing 8-inch water main was constructed in Spring Street near Yuba Street.  Concrete sidewalk and ADA sidewalk ramps were placed early in the week along Yuba Street.  The roadway was fine graded and the base course of asphalt paving was placed towards the end of the week as the roadway starts to come together.

Upcoming the Week of November 16:

The contractor will be adjusting castings in the roadway up to final pavement grade, working on parkway restoration, and placing the final top course of asphalt pavement.  The intent is to have Yuba Street open to traffic prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Week of November 2:

Storm sewer and water main were constructed at the intersection of Spring Street and Yuba Street.  The water main was pressure tested and disinfected.  The connections to the existing water main will take place after the bacterial testing has come back acceptable which should be next week.

The roadway on Yuba Street was fine graded in preparation for curb and gutter and asphalt.  The concrete company was on site Friday morning to place curb and gutter along the entire stretch of roadway.

Week of November 9:

Crews from JMC will complete the water main connections at the intersection of Spring Street and Yuba Street.  Base course of asphalt paving is scheduled for Wednesday on Yuba Street.  Remaining concrete work, including minor curb and gutter, sidewalk, and driveway approaches will take place on Yuba Street, and a small location on Pine Street, later in the week.  Lawn Restoration in the parkway is also on-going.

Once the base course of paving is complete, JMC will raise castings on manhole structures in preparation for top course paving.  The final course of paving is tentatively scheduled for early in the week of November 16.