STH 42 - Village of Sister Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
Sister Bay and Wisconsin Department of Transportation / Door County, Wisconsin
Date Completed:
May 2016
Services:
Concrete Pavement, Earthwork & Grading, Underground Utilities
Construction Engineer:
REI Engineering
Award Won:
2017 / 28th Annual ACPA Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards
Project Summary:
STH 42 in Sister Bay serves as both a ‘travel through’ roadway as well as a ‘main street’ where both functionality and aesthetics are equally important.
Contract Amount:
$5,800,000
Project Length:
0.77 miles
By the Numbers:
- 20,389 SY of 8-inch Concrete Pavement
- 22,900 CY of Common Excavation
- 4,800 CY of Rock Excavation
- 13,720 Tons of Base Aggregate
- 8,040 LF of Concrete Curb and Gutter
- 40,953 SF of Concrete Sidewalk
- 5,900 LF of Storm Sewer
- 89 Sewer Structures
About the Project
Winding through the northern half of Door County along the shores of the Bay of Green Bay, the WIS 42 corridor is, for the most part, a 2-lane highway connecting many heavy tourism-oriented communities.
Many of the businesses along the project make their living in only a few months of the year and therefore, great consideration was given to balancing that with the need to complete roadway work. In order to accommodate the local business community and the corresponding heavy tourist and seasonal populations, construction was split into 8 separate stages, the first of which began in July 2015. Public outreach was a priority to keep the local Village & Town officials and businesses informed of the progress including weekly updates and Public Informational Meetings as well as day to day communication with the local business owners.
The entire Project Team was top-notch from WisDOT’s excellent design, planning & coordination with Village staff and local businesses, 18 different contractors that were extremely attentive to their work and sensitive to the local businesses, a Village Administrator that listened to and worked closely with the construction team and made timely decisions, and a construction engineering staff that understood and lived the intricacies and demands of this urban reconstruction. The project focused on safety enhancements, protection of the environment, minimizing future maintenance needs, and minimizing the disturbance to the local economy and tourism industry.
Simply put, this project defined what teamwork is all about. A true partnership was forged by WisDOT, the Village of Sister Bay, REI Engineering, Vinton Construction, and the business community do deliver a high quality concrete paving project. Through this synergy, several achievements were made that helped both the project and the community achieve a successful project with the least intrusive effort possible, completing 2-lanes of concrete paving an amazing 163 days ahead of schedule.
Every aspect of the project from conception to completion was carefully thought out, well executed, and a huge success. The Village of Sister Bay has a revitalized corridor which will service the community for many years to come thanks to the commitment of all parties involved in delivering a quality concrete pavement project with beautiful roadway aesthetics and amenities.
Noteworthy Project Details
- Sister Bay is located in the heart of Door County which is highly dependent on tourism year round. The original project schedule contained 8 - planned stages of a multi-year construction project to accommodate the various tourism events in the area with concrete paving work taking place in the fall of 2015 and the spring of 2016. There were a number of changes made or efficiencies practiced at various times that allowed for expediting the project and opening WIS 42 to 2-way traffic an unimaginable 163 days sooner than planned. The WisDOT, Village of Sister Bay, and REI were very cooperative and receptive to several proposed project staging revisions involving storm sewer, grading, rock excavation, and concrete paving.
- Vinton proposed a Cost Reduction Incentive (CRI) allowing for placement of HES permanent concrete pavement in lieu of temporary asphalt early in the project. This cost savings opportunity included eliminating some of the temporary asphalt and placing High Early Strength (HES) permanent concrete pavement in stage 2A. Vinton again expedited concrete paving in the fall of 2015 by requesting the use of additional HES concrete for portions of the work thus minimizing curing days, which allowed for subsequent concrete work to be completed in 2015. Although the contract required one half of WIS 42 be open to 1-northbound lane through the winter shutdown, both lanes of WIS 42 were opened in November 2015 rather than in May of 2016 as required by contract.
- Innovative construction included on site crushing of 14,000 tons of excavated rock and recycled asphalt thereby saving wear, tear, and congestion on local streets by reducing haul truck traffic. Although Vinton performed all concrete paving operations, they chose to provide a separate subcontractor to assist in completing much of the sidewalk work which helped expedite work schedules. Multiple rock blasting and storm sewer crews were used to ensure compliance with the strict project schedule. Pre-splitting of rock walls was required in an effort to minimize right-of-way acquisition and although presplitting proved to be ineffective, the project team developed a unique rock armored wall design to accomplish the intended work.
- Accommodating visitors to Sister Bay is a top priority for the local businesses and Village staff. Complicating the staging of this project was the fact that much of the work had to be done in extremely tight areas as STH 42 only consisted of 1 NB and 1 SB lane along with parallel parking spaces and sidewalks along each side of the highway. As many as 100,000 vehicles per week during the tourist season pass through this area. Emphasis was placed on generally maintaining at least 1 lane of traffic through the project as well as temporary pedestrian and vehicle access to the 38 businesses. Vinton continually sought ways to efficiently complete the work including working with the Village of Sister Bay to alter timing and use of detour routes and street closures to best accommodate work flow while minimizing public inconvenience.