Contents:
- Enhancing the Neighborhood...and the Environment
- A Commitment to Community
- Portals Bridge: All About Access
- North Avenue Bridge Design Chosen in Chicago
- Dewberry Earns Four "Best of 2004" Awards
- Project Briefs
- Zarrow Library a Hit with Young Residents
Enhancing the Neighborhood...and the Environment
Award-winning municipal and environmental engineering creates a better way of life for residents and business owners in a Queens neighborhood.
Year after year, the Springfield Gardens community of Queens, New York, has struggled with extensive flooding. Even minor rainstorms would send water racing through the neighborhoods and the local industrial park that serves nearby JFK International Airport. Businesses have often had to shut down for a day or two in order to clean up, and residents have repeatedly experienced flooding in their yards and basements.
Working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), Dewberry designed a master drainage plan that incorporates a new, larger storm sewer system; the creation of two acres of tidal wetlands; water main replacements; and comprehensive street, utility, and sidewalk reconstruction. The first phase of the work, which has alleviated flooding in the 50-block industrial park, has been completed. Construction on two additional phases, which will serve the residential areas, is now underway.
The chronic drainage problem–the result of an inadequate storm sewer system and deteriorated curbs, sidewalks, and roadways–was complicated by the density of the area. Existing development meant that a conventional in-ground stormwater management system could not be constructed; as a result, the drainage plan called for use of tidal wetlands to collect runoff for drainage into nearby Jamaica Bay. This solution, which optimizes use of the naturally occurring wetlands to redirect the water flow, included construction of a new channel from the sewer outlet to the tidal wetlands area.
The community's network of busy streets and the bustling activity of the industrial park meant that large-scale infrastructure improvements had to be carefully planned and phased in order to minimize disruption to the community. The design solution also avoided changes to the elevations of the existing street system, which would have severely impacted many of the industrial park operations.
"This is a project that has improved the quality of life in Springfield Gardens," says Jawad M. Assaf, project manager and assistant vice president for NYCEDC. "It is drastically reducing the drainage and flooding problems they've had for many years. There are new streets, new sidewalks, and new trees. The water quality is better. Property values will increase, and it will eliminate the need for flood insurance. It has enhanced the environment, and it's having a huge beneficial impact on this community.
Ronald L. Ewing, PE, RLS
Chief Operating Officer
Since I joined Dewberry three years ago, one of the things that has impressed me most is our work with communities throughout the US.
Every day, for example, hundreds of Dewberry employees are at work on large-scale state and federal contracts to help conserve, protect, and enhance communities. Our teams help develop emergency management programs, respond to and aid in the recovery from major natural disasters, design new facilities, and improve all types of infrastructure.
These efforts impact millions of people. Working at a federal and state level, where we contribute to national and regional programs and policy-making, is, in a broad sense, a central part of our business.
But to get to the real heart of our work, you also have to think locally. Springfield Gardens in Queens, New York, is one example. For many years, the residents and businesses of this urban community have suffered from repeated flooding. The result of what had become an inadequate storm sewer system and existing roadway conditions, the flooding has frequently impacted local neighborhoods and businesses. Dewberry worked closely with the community to engineer the best possible solution, which we're featuring on these pages.
The Springfield Gardens project was recently recognized with a major award. Most important to us are the relationships and friendships we've developed within this neighborhood. At the same time, we've reaffirmed our own commitment to community. Whether we're working with just one community or many communities at once, we strive for a single result: an improved quality of life.
Portals Bridge: All About Access
Complex Infrastructure Project Supports Major DC Development
It's appropriate that the cul-de-sac leading to the high rises of Washington, DC's Portals development resembles a key. Otherwise, the largest mixed-use urban renewal project in the Nation's Capital might not have been possible.
Spanning some of the East Coast's busiest rail lines, the elevated extension of Maryland Avenue has enabled Washington, DC-based Republic Properties to transform the once neglected adjacent parcels into one of the city's premier addresses. A mix of private and government tenants, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the US Departments of Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the headquarters for the Federal Communications Commission, are now located in The Portals' first two nine-story buildings. Three additional towers will bring the office space to more than 2.5 million square feet. The $1-billion development also includes the new 400-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington's only five-star hotel. Development activities are being led by Republic Properties Corporation and Eastcoast Development Corporation.
Vertical Challenges
To create an elegant, 690-foot-long, 160-foot-wide gateway plaza, Dewberry's structural engineers developed a two-phase design addressing the challenges of the constrained urban setting without conflicting with the near continuous flow of freight and passenger railroad traffic. Dozens of utilities running through and alongside the rail corridor were identified and removed to make way for hundreds of piers required to support the steel girders and cast-in-place bridge deck, nearly 19 feet above the tracks.
In the first phase, completed in the early 1990s, contractors drove approximately 500 steel friction piles as much as 70 feet through southwest Washington's marshy soil. To preserve clear passages for the track alignments, the bridge's precast columns run longitudinally beneath the structure–a departure from the lateral pier layouts used for most conventional bridges. The columns supporting the landscaped traffic circle at the end of the Maryland Avenue extension form a circular pattern. The second phase, scheduled for completion later this year, completes the cast-in-place bridge deck to provide access to the new Portals III building, which broke ground in June 2004. Dewberry consolidated both projects' structural systems, with a corbel on the building wall supporting a portion of the bridge deck.
Finishing Touches
While many visitors to The Portals may never see the innovative engineering design beneath the Maryland Avenue extension, they will enjoy the tree planters, landscaped areas, and distinctive facades and pavers that complement the scenic views of the US Capitol and other landmarks. The Portals bridge is itself a landmark given that the project has enjoyed more than 15 years of productive coordination among the design and construction teams, railroads, Republic Properties, and the DC Public Works Department. The result is not only a successful layering of disparate transportation routes, but also a distinctive addition to Washington's street system.
North Avenue Bridge Design Chosen in Chicago
"Elegantly Simple" Scheme Selected from International Field
Competing against an international design field, a team of PSA-Dewberry architects recently won a prestigious design competition to replace the aging North Avenue Pedestrian Bridge in Chicago, Illinois.
PSA-Dewberry's architects submitted a scheme for a forward-looking structure–notably different from the existing bridge–that would serve as a distinctive gateway to the city for visitors approaching downtown Chicago along Lake Shore Drive from the north. The bridge would serve as a vital link between Lincoln Park and the popular North Avenue Beach, transitioning as an integral park element from the expansive green space to the sandy shorefront.
A series of low terraces set at the eastern base of the bridge along North Avenue Beach will serve as a gathering area for bikers and pedestrians. The bridge's sleek, sculptural design is intended to work harmoniously with nature. The path of the bridge and its canopy are shaped to track the movement of the sun as it rises over Lake Michigan and sets below the western skyline of the city.
A trellis, composed of a series of reflective metal louvers and photovoltaic panels, will create a self-sustaining "sail" that will provide energy for the bridge's lighting, effectively becoming a beacon for this gateway into the city at night.
The superstructure span across Lake Shore Drive will be constructed of precast concrete sections. Cast-in-place concrete, allowing for sculptural shaping, will be used along the substructure at the lakeside base. Designers noted that the monolithic nature of concrete was appropriate to the shore's sand dunes, while the airy trellis will allude to the grasses growing within the sand along the lake's edge.
The design competition was sponsored by the Chicago Department of Transportation. The city anticipates that construction will begin later in this decade.
"The winning design, with its sweeping, dune-inspired concrete deck, would make an elegantly simple but visually rich transition between the green spaces of Lincoln Park and the sand of North Avenue Beach. Yet it is no one-liner. The lakeside base of the bridge would offer terraces where crowds could sit and a canopy equipped with solar panels that might generate electricity to light the bridge at night. The design would thus be a living embodiment of ecologically sensitive, 'green' architecture. It took courage and vision for city transportation officials to select this plan."
Blair Kamin
Architecture Critic,
The Chicago Tribune
Dewberry Earns Four "Best of 2004" Awards
Northeast Engineering Projects Recognized by New York Construction
Four major projects engineered by Dewberry were recently recognized in New York Construction magazine's "Best of 2004" awards program. The citations were awarded to a diverse group of challenging projects in the northeast, representing work in community-based civil engineering, building structures, highway engineering, and complex site adaptation.
The first phase of the firm's Springfield Gardens project, a $31-million drainage improvement program in Queens, New York, earned Project of the Year in the Environmental category. The project involved the creation of tidal wetlands for stormwater retention, as well as a new storm sewer infrastructure, streets, and sidewalks. The completed phase serves the community's local industrial park, which serves JFK International Airport; additional phases, now under construction, will enhance flood protection in the residential areas. (See "Enhancing the Neighborhood... and the Environment" for more information.)
Atlantic Terminal, featured in the July/August 2004 issue of Dimensions, earned an Award of Merit in the Office category. Dewberry provided structural engineering for the complex, an $82-million mixed-use office/retail center built by the Forest City Ratner Companies over the historic Flatbush Terminal in Brooklyn, New York. The design incorporated parts of a century-old foundation and ensured that rail and subway lines would remain operational throughout construction.
Dewberry's work on the Route 31 Dualization project for the New Jersey Department of Transportation won an Award of Merit in the Highway category. The highway improvement project in Raritan and Reading Townships successfully addressed floodplain and safety issues. The work included the construction of retaining walls, bridge piers, and wingwalls with concrete tinting and ashlar stone finishing. The Route 31 project was featured in the March/April 2004 issue of Dimensions.
The Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center in New Haven, Connecticut, earned an Award of Merit in the K-12 Schools category. The project, which has been featured in Urban Land and Civil Engineering magazines, as well as the November/December 2003 issue of Dimensions, involved construction of a new 40,000-square-foot aquaculture center using the foundation of a former sewage treatment plant along New Haven Harbor. Dewberry served as prime consultant and engineer of record.
As Raleigh, North Carolina, experiences a promising public/private downtown redevelopment effort, Dewberry is helping to ensure that the city's sanitary sewer system can accommodate the forecasted demands. The firm recently concluded an extensive sanitary sewer capacity study of a 12-square-block area for Raleigh's Public Utilities Department that assessed the remaining capacity in the system's components–some of which are more than 100 years old–and the effect of potential development. The project included a field survey to verify the connectivity of the current system, projection of future sanitary demands, hydraulic modeling, and analyses under current and projected loads. Dewberry prepared recommendations to help the city meet its development goals.
In a separate project for the same client, Dewberry is conducting a detailed evaluation of sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) events throughout the city. Field surveys identified more than 30 overflow locations with continued maintenance needs such as sewer sections with debris and structural flaws, flat or negative slopes, and other infiltration/inflow deficiencies. Dewberry is also working with the city to revise SSO policy that will help address future SSOs more efficiently and meet future regulatory requirements.
Building Engineering Sciences and Technology Team (BESTT), a joint venture among Dewberry, PBS&J, Greenhorne & O'Mara, and URS Group, has been awarded a five-year Technical Assistance and Research Contract from the Emergency Preparedness and Response division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). BESTT will provide technical assistance and research to identify the causes and solutions for property, economic, and social losses resulting from natural, manmade, and technological hazards. The team's professionals will perform disaster-related research and develop reports to help architects and engineers, building owners, government officials, and the general public minimize the risks of natural hazards through design. BESTT will also perform post-disaster forensic investigations nationwide.
PBDewberry, a joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Dewberry, is working with Dyron Murphy Architects PC of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to achieve Silver LEED certification for a new student residence building for the US Job Corps Center in Albuquerque. Currently in design and registered with the US Green Building Council as a Sustainable Design project, the two-story, 136-bed dormitory will include a variety of resource conservation features such as re-using "gray water" pre-heat inflow to the building's water heater, and for campus-wide irrigation; energy-efficient front-loading washers; and a mix of insulation materials including light concrete block and modular straw bales. PBDewberry, the US Department of Labor's lead contractor for Job Corps facilities program management nationwide, plans to use the Albuquerque dormitory to demonstrate the feasibility of applying green design and construction principles to future Job Corps construction projects.
Zarrow Library a Hit with Young Residents
Renovated Building Features Innovative Spaces for Children and Teens
A recent renovation of the Henry Zarrow Regional Library in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has more than doubled the children's reading and activity areas and created a new Teen Center, the first of its kind in the regional library system. The library was expanded by over 6,000 square feet and given a new, more visible entrance.
Highlights of the remodeled space include the "Story Time Depot," which includes a railway station entryway, crossing signal, and colorful train cabinet to house the library's story time collection. The teen center, a prototype for the Tulsa City-County Library System, includes lounge chairs, a bank of computers with Internet access, and a large-screen TV. "We wanted to create a place for teens to study comfortably," says Managing Librarian Barry Hensley. "We also wanted a place where they can just relax and hang out. We've also had special events there that have been a big hit."
Both the interior and the exterior of the building reflect the region's history and economy. "Southwest Tulsa has a rich history of oil and trains," says Linda Saferite, CEO of the library system. "Dewberry's resulting library themes, designs, and colors honor our past and celebrate our future. The result is a crowd-pleaser."
