Small-Scale Street Project, Substantial Results: Lainson Avenue Rehabilitation

Residential Roadway Rehabilitation Project Improves Neighborhood

Lainson Avenue in Council Bluffs, Iowa is a short, dead-end, residential street extending to the west from the intersection with Harrison Street on the north side of town. It runs up a steep grade to conclude at a T-intersection with Lainson Court a mere 500' away. After years of receiving overlays as a stop-gap measure, the street pavement, along with the sidewalks, retaining walls, and the resident access staircases were significantly deteriorated. The rehabilitation project called for the complete demolition and removal of the existing street, sidewalks, and retaining walls. It was also necessary to reconstruct and replace the sanitary and storm sewers, as well as replace the utilities and water mains. New retaining walls, sidewalks with ADA ramps, driveway approaches, and lawn restoration were also needed to complete the project.

Challenging Staging for Street & Utility Reconstruction

Since there was only one entrance to the street, consideration had to be taken that allowed residents access to their homes during the entire project. In order to address this challenge, the project was divided into three construction phases which left one lane of the narrow street open at all times. This multi-phase approach also helped to facilitate the utility construction sequencing. In addition, many properties on Lainson Avenue are elevated above the street. This resulted in several properties having stormwater runoff and roof drains that discharged over the slopes or retaining walls. Snyder & Associates designed a drainage assembly connection located behind the replacement retaining walls to help move stormwater to the storm sewer system without unsightly above-ground piping. Cleanouts were placed within the retaining walls to access the drainage assembly in the event that it becomes plugged with debris. With a total project cost of $550,000, Snyder & Associates provided numerous services that contributed to the project’s success, including:

• Topographic survey
• Coordination for geotechnical consulting and reporting
• Sanitary, storm sewer, and roadway design
• Coordination for water main design
• Bidding phase services
• Construction staking
• Coordination for construction materials testing
• Construction observation
• Project management

Because all of the street pavement, sidewalks, and retaining walls were replaced on Lainson Avenue, the overall look of the neighborhood was drastically improved as a result of the project. This street rehabilitation is the perfect example of how Snyder & Associates can tailor their services to meet the needs of any size project.