Construction Update

May 5, 2023

City Staff has been working with the Contractor to finalize the punch list for final completion. This includes looking at any small pavement patch work, erosion fixes, and final turf establishment / boulevard restoration fixes. It’s anticipated that the Contractor will be addressing punch list items over the next several weeks.

November 4th, 2022

During the week of October 31^st, the Contractor completed the majority of topsoil and seed & mulch placement. City Staff will work with the Contractor to develop a punch list of small items still needing to be addressed. This punch list will be completed during the spring of 2023.

October 28, 2022

On Friday, October 28^th, the Contractor placed the final lift of bituminous pavement. During the week of October 31^st, the Contractor will finish placing topsoil, seed, and mulch. The seed being placed is anticipated to be dormant over the winter and grow in the spring of 2023, as we are now past the growing season. Erosion control is also proposed to be left in-place over the winter, and will be removed in the spring of 2023, after the new turf has been established.

October 17, 2022

During the week of October 10^th, the Contractor began the soil corrections on 167^th Lane east of Armstrong Boulevard. The Contractor also tolerance the aggregate base on the west side of Armstrong Boulevard in preparation for new bituminous pavement.

During the week of October 17^th, the Contractor is scheduled to place the new bituminous pavement on the streets west of Armstrong Boulevard on Thursday, October 20^th. Residents are asked to avoid using the streets as much as practical and to be cautious of construction vehicles. The new pavement can be driven on after being rolled, but there may be 15 – 20 minutes during which access to individual driveways or streets is not available until after the rolling process is complete. On the east side of Armstrong Boulevard, the base course will tentatively start to be paved on Friday. 

The Contractor is scheduled to finish the soil corrections on 167^th Lane. The Contractor is proposed to start replacing the concrete driveways on the streets east of Armstrong Boulevard. Once the concrete is placed, it may not be driven on for 5 days, so residents should plan accordingly. Additionally, the Contractor will begin tolerancing the aggregate base on the east side of Armstrong in preparation for new bituminous pavement. 

Please contact me by email at JFeriancek@cityoframsey.com or phone (763) 433-9893 with any questions related to this project in general. For questions related to construction, please contact City project Inspector Aaron Madsen by phone at (763) 286-2579 or email AMadsen@cityoframsey.com.

October 7, 2022

To date the Contractor has installed all the new culverts crossing the streets, reclaimed the existing bituminous and aggregate base, and hauled off the excess aggregate material.

During the week of October 10^th, the Contractor is proposed to perform the soil corrections on 167^th Lane east of Armstrong Boulevard. The Contractor is proposing to perform this work one lane at a time to keep the street open to traffic, but Staff recommends avoiding 167^th Lane while the Contractor is performing the work if possible. The Contractor is proposed to begin placing new pavement as well, this will start on the streets west of Armstrong Boulevard. It’s unlikely the streets east of Armstrong Boulevard will receive bituminous pavement next week, but this will depend on how quickly the soil corrections and aggregate tolerances goes.

September 23, 2022

During the week of September 19^th, the Contractor began work on-site. The driveways set for removal were marked and sawcut, the removals are proposed to occur the same time as bituminous removal in a couple of weeks. The silt fence was proposed to be placed, but was pushed back to Monday, September 26^th.

During the week of September 26^th, the Contractor is proposed to remove and replace the culverts crossing the streets. The streets west of Armstrong Boulevard are proposed to be reclaimed (this process is grinding up the existing bituminous and underlying aggregate base). A roller follows the reclaimer, and after rolling the surface is drivable. Concrete curb & gutter is proposed to replace the existing bituminous curb on 167^th Lane, this work is also proposed to occur during this week.

September 16, 2022

On Friday, September 16, the City held a pre-construction meeting with GMH Asphalt Corporation, the Contractor performing the improvements. During the meeting City Staff and the Contractor reviewed the proposed schedule and discussed the proposed construction procedure, processes and requirements. A letter with the project schedule and other relevant information is being mailed to residents impacted by the project, and may be seen here. The Contractor is proposing to begin work on Thursday, September 22^nd. This initial work will include placing traffic control devices, erosion control and saw cutting driveway aprons proposed to be replaced as part of the project.

August 12, 2022

On Monday, August 8^th City Council awarded the project to the lowest responsible bidder, GMH Asphalt Corporation of Chaska, Minnesota. City Staff is working with the Contractor to execute the contract, and to schedule a pre-construction meeting. This generally takes 2-3 weeks to do. At 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 methods of construction, plans for traffic control, and other construction related information. An update letter was sent to residents affected by this project and may be viewed here. Once the pre-construction meeting is held, another update including a detailed project schedule will be sent out.

August 5, 2022

Bids were publicly opened for this project on Wednesday, August 3^rd. Staff is presenting the lowest responsible bid to City Council on Monday, August 8^th for authorization to award the bid.

July 22, 2022

This project is currently out for bid through the Quest CDN website. Bids are proposed to be opened on Wednesday, August 3^rd.

 July 7, 2022

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Ramsey City Council approved the plans and specifications and authorized advertisement for bids for the Autumn Heights Street Reconstructions. Bids are being advertised on Friday July 1, and again on Friday, July 8, 2022 in the Anoka Union Herald and in Finance & Commerce. The City bids all improvement projects online through the Quest CDN website. The website will also make notice of the proposed project to contractors.

An update letter has been mailed to property owners with updates on the project status, it may be viewed here. Project scope exhibits for the proposed neighborhoods may be viewed in the letter.

Please contact Joe Feriancek at JFeriancek@cityoframsey.com or call (763) 433-9893 with any questions related to this project in general. For questions related to construction, including any special needs or requests, please contact City project inspector Aaron Madsen by phone at (763) 286-2579 or email AMadsen@cityoframsey.com.

March 25, 2022

Staff is currently developing plans for this reconstruction project. Staff encourages impacted residents to contact us with questions or input regarding this project. Please contact project design engineer Joe Feriancek by email jferiancek@cityoframsey.com or by phone at 763-433-9893.

Background 

On July 13, 2021, the Ramsey City Council ordered the City Engineer to request proposals for Topographic Survey, Geotechnical Evaluations and Utility Testing for proposed 2022 Pavement Management Program (PMP) projects, including IP 22-02. On August 8, 2021, the Ramsey City Council awarded a proposal to Hakanson Anderson for topographic survey, and Haugo Geotechnical Services for a geotechnical report of the project area.

Engineering Staff has completed an initial review of the topographic survey and geotechnical report, determining the requirements of the proposals have been met. The initial review of the geotechnical report revealed sub-base materials consisting primarily of poorly-graded sand and poorly graded sand with silt. These materials are generally well suited for street construction, though silty materials can be susceptible to frost-heave, particularly when the soils are unable to drain. Staff has done field visits of the site and the existing pavement appears not to have been negatively impacted by the silty materials for the majority of the project, though 168^th Lane southeast of 167^th Lane may require some corrections. The geotechnical report revealed groundwater closer to the pavement surface, approximately 5 feet below at time of soil boring, and these wet, less drainable soils likely a factor in the pavement appearing to rut, which is differential settling across the pavement surface. The report and any proposed improvements will be explored further during project design.

The streets within Autumn Heights subdivision were included in the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Pavement Evaluation performed by Braun Intertec. This data provides bituminous and aggregate base thickness information. .

The streets within Autumn Heights are 24 feet wide, rural section streets. These streets are proposed to be reconstructed to the City’s current standard residential street design, with a minimum 4 inches aggregate base and 3.5 inches new bituminous pavement. Due to the underlying soils, Staff is proposing to use the full-depth reclamation process, remove excess reclamation material leaving a minimum of 4 inches to be re-used as aggregate base, and place 3.5 inches of new bituminous pavement on top. The proposed street alignment and profile will generally be unchanged.

Municipal sanitary sewer and watermain do not exist within the project area, and are not proposed to be extended with this project. Stormwater runoff is handled through the existing drainage swales along both sides of the streets, with street crossing culverts connecting the ditches. Storm water is generally carried south towards Trott Brook. Staff is unaware of drainage issues or concerns with the existing drainage swales which would require re-graded. Beyond touch up work required do to replacing the street crossing culverts, grade changes to the swales are not proposed, however, this will be reviewed during project design.

Estimated project costs per the proposed 2022 – 2031 CIP are $984,000. Estimated costs include 23-percent indirect costs for administrative, engineering, finance and legal costs. Staff created the plans and specifications for the project in-house as part of their normal duties.

The street improvements proposed with this project are identified in the City’s current 10-year CIP, and can be funded using a combination of Pavement Management Funds, and Storm Water Utility Funds. This project would best be constructed as a stand-alone project and is necessary, feasible, and cost-effective from an engineering standpoint, and can be constructed as proposed herein.

Funding for this improvement is proposed to come from the Pavement Management Fund and Stormwater Utility Fund.

• (PMP) Street Project Cost      $895,000
• Storm Sewer Project Cost      $89,000
• Total Estimated Project Cost  $984,000

Staff encourages impacted residents to contact us with question or input regarding this project. Please contact project design engineer Joe Feriancek by email jferiancek@cityoframsey.com or by phone at 763-433-9893.