Please take the time to review the following 2019 project highlights, many of which have been recognized with industry awards for their excellence and innovation.
The Star Lake Water System project, completed in January of 2019, underwent construction to implement improvements to their water treatment and distribution system, supplied by surface water from Star Lake. Following a groundwater investigation the Town's Joint Project Committee made the recommendation to focus efforts on the existing use of Star Lake surface water as the community’s future drinking water source. This transition required extensive water treatment improvements. Following evaluation of multiple treatment systems and pilot testing, the Town decided on membrane filtration as a treatment method because of its small footprint and automation.
Organic waste diversion and beneficial end use of source separated food wastes is an emerging technology that allows further conservation of natural resources. As part of this project, source separated organic materials are collected, processed to remove packaging and other contaminants and co-digested within a regional anaerobic digester where energy is produced and utilized. B&L provided the regional Authority with feasibility studies, assistance with grant funding programs and environmental permitting of the project.
The City of Annapolis is in the process of replacing water mains throughout the City based on a Water and Sewer Buried Asset Evaluation. The City needed assistance in implementing these design/build projects from bidding through construction. B&L assisted with two water main replacement projects as the owner’s representative in the Homewood/Germantown and West Annapolis communities. Tasks included project management support, construction management, full-time resident project representative services, and public outreach and education.
The County Route 24 bridge replacement project was selected under the first round of the BridgeNY program. A few months after the project began, a “red flag” was issued on the structure causing the bridge to be reduced to a single travel lane. The lane closing divided the community in half, requiring school buses, emergency vehicles and other large trucks to take long detours. To address this, B&L was able to accelerate the project schedule which allowed construction to be completed in 2019.
The Dunkirk waterfront is a haven for recreational visitors and a popular fishing destination for Lake Erie anglers. The project goal was to improve the pier’s appearance, safety, comfort, parking, and waterfront access while staying consistent with the City’s new branding strategy. The completed project included a balance between vehicle and pedestrian access, lighting and plantings, and a gateway arch feature that ties into the City’s transformative project for the City of Dunkirk and its future as a Lake Erie waterfront destination.
B&L was retained by Monroe County to design an accessible plaza to display their Frederick Douglass monument in a more prominent location. Historically located a few hundred yards from Douglass’s home, the monument had become obstructed by trees and foliage. The new location would be illuminated and showcase new metal pillars with constellations like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Cassiopeia which held significance in Douglass’s life; as the North Star was guidance for the Underground Railroad and the name of an anti-slavery publication he published while living in Rochester.
This phase of trail extension includes paving and connecting a recreational facility to the existing trail, adjacent to the New York State Fairground Orange Parking Lot, ending at the NYSDEC proposed Boat Launch. This segment crosses an Onondaga Lake tributary utilizing a designed concrete box culvert and navigating through hazardous materials, soil contamination, the 100-year flood plain of recreational waters, defined wetlands and on-going Onondaga Lake clean-up construction activities. The project took advantage of the expansive views of Onondaga Lake by locating seating areas for rest and logical points for overall wayfinding signage.
B&L provided Construction Management and Inspection Services to Anne Arundel County DPW-WMS at the Northern Recycling Center. The facility was required to increase the height of its public drop-off wall to comply with MOSH/OSHA standards. B&L’s services included: shop drawing conformance reviews, daily schedule coordination as well as inspection of demolition activities, rebar placement, structural steel welding, concrete and handrail placement, and materials testing for the new wall section which included seven different phases to maintain continuous facility operation.
In furthering the implementation of Ulster County’s trail system, the County utilized B&L’s expertise to provide a feasibility study and design services for the Ashokan Rail Trail, which extends along an existing 11.5-mile railroad corridor from West Hurley, NY, to Boiceville, NY. The work involved a comprehensive engineering assessment of the corridor, supporting infrastructure conditions, needs and constraints, survey, environmental assessments, alternative development, long-term phased planning, and preparation of cost estimates. Final design for the trail was completed in 2017, and construction was completed in 2019.
B&L was retained to investigate the cause of a chronic wet basement inundation circumstance, wherein a residential water customer of Baltimore City alleged that leaky utilities caused repeated basement floods. The property owner pursued a lawsuit, and our expert testimony resulted in a jury finding for defendant Baltimore City. Using forensic geochemistry and hydrogeologic analysis, we determined that the floods were of natural origin, caused by shallow natural groundwater and exacerbated by various basement sump installation and improvement efforts. A key element of our expert hydrogeologic testimony was that fluoride did not need to evidence City water because its concentrated presence in pet urine is equally, if not more, plausible.
B&L has been hired to assist PLAN Architectural Studio with completing the Steamboat Square Master Plan for the client, Albany Housing Authority. To support a series of phasing diagrams from PLAN that illustrate infill locations and new development within the Steamboat Neighborhood, B&L created a strong conceptual master plan design consisting of complete streets, green infrastructure, public art, pocket parks, and urban agriculture.
The Western Boulevard Construction Project constructed a new connector road from the Western Boulevard entrance road into Stateway Plaza to the Gaffney Drive intersection. This corridor is now a public thoroughfare, has improved access to existing commercial properties and increased future economic growth opportunities. Western Boulevard, once a wide-open “sea of asphalt" was designed to accommodate vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. A single-lane modern roundabout replaced the existing stop controlled Gaffney Drive intersection allowing for safe and efficient multi-modal traffic flow.
The clock is ticking for U.S. water systems to comply with the American Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 requirements for Risk and Resilience Assessments and Emergency Response Planning. B&L’s Asset Management Team assisted OCWA with characterizing their assets and assessing risks to comply with the new regulation before the March 31, 2020 deadline.
B&L partnered with King & King Architects to provide the North Syracuse Central School District with design, bidding, and construction administration for a fleet fueling station at the District’s transportation center. The project included geotechnical borings and excavation and removal of poor soils. B&L provided design and bidding of the environmental, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering for the fueling stations at each site.
Robert H. Treman State Park’s existing 114-foot long fordway crossing of Enfield Creek was replaced by a single span bridge structure that provided improved access for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Aside from allowing year-round access across the creek, removal of the fordway also allowed for the stabilization of the channel and bed of Enfield Creek upstream and downstream of the bridge. The natural valley slope was restored through the 380-foot stretch of Enfield Creek; this returned aquatic organism passage to the reach and enhanced the aquatic habitat.
B&L’s Community Planners guided the Village of Pittsford on an updated comprehensive plan while concurrently revising the Village’s zoning codes.
The resulting documents provide an unprecedented level of coordination between planning and zoning in the Village. The process benefited from facilitating an energizing, vision-based conversation with the public, which also informed and shaped the regulatory tools needed to achieve that vision. The Plan and Code also provide an unparalleled level of protection of local historic character, implementing context sensitive design and use standards throughout the entirety of the Village recognizing its designation as a historic district at the national, state, and local level.
Columbia Greene Community College teamed with B&L and JMZ Architects to develop a new building to house their Construction Technology Certificate Program. B&L provided site/civil, structural, mechanical, fire protection and electrical engineering design for the new 7,700 square foot classroom and lab learning. The facility includes a classroom, construction Lab, instructor offices, kitchenette, and student resource/lounge area.
The Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) operates a water system encompassing a five-county area within Central New York. B&L assisted OCWA in the design and construction to renew water storage assets at two storage facilities; the Southwood tank site and Skyview tank site.
The project involved replacing welded steel ground storage tanks with concrete storage tanks. Given the similarities in the planned improvement for both sites, it was decided to bid and construct each of the improvements under one construction contract. Both sites utilized one set of construction details, design specifications, submittals, and common material suppliers and construction crews for the two sites. This approach yielded improved economy in both the administrative aspects of the construction and contractor productivity.
B&L assisted the Village in securing a $3,000,000 grant for water system improvements. Our hydrogeologists recommended drilling locations to install a new water supply well after the Village’s largest well was designated as being under the influence of surface water. The new well intercepted a highly productive confined aquifer with clean coarse gravel and cobbles. The well has a short-term pumping capacity of over 1,000 gpm and safe yields near 250 gpm.
B&L worked with Rockland County to replace the existing Samsondale Avenue Bridge and provide improved vertical clearance over CSX Railroad. The new structure utilized a micropile foundation and a multi-steel girder superstructure. As a gateway into the Village of West Haverstraw, the new bridge included decorative concrete/brick parapets that utilized locally produced bricks. The design effort was collaborative as members of our Facilities Practice Area designed the decorative lighting system, our Water Practice Area completed utility relocation design and our Environmental Practice Area assisted with contaminated soil remediation.