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Infrastructure Week Day 3: Transit

City of Kingston Greenkill Avenue Bridge Replacement

Public transit is a staple of our nation that continues to grow yearly, although remains neglected and radically underfunded.

American transit systems carry billions of people a year via trains, commuter buses, ridesharing services, and more. These systems mainly provide transportation in urban areas, but are vital in many rural areas across the country.

In the past few years, we’ve seen major train derailments, non-passengers killed in transit-related accidents, and damaged infrastructure as a result of natural disaster. The resilience of outdated, unreliable infrastructure is tested day by day.

For full functionality of national transit systems, we need not only transit vehicles, but also sufficient infrastructure like traffic signals, train tracks, and roadways to successfully carry and guide these vehicles. However, with lack of funding, years of deferred maintenance, and aging infrastructure, our public transit systems continue to suffer.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), our civil engineering services include roadway and highway design, traffic engineering, lighting design, and other services to maintain and improve transit operations.

With projects like Gowanus Expressway Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Emergency Repairs, Greenkill Avenue Bridge Replacement, and Route 9D Pedestrian Improvements, KC has provided construction inspection for replacement of bridge and mounting tube railings, design assessment for rehabilitation of railroad bridges, and traffic calming and street lighting design.

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Infrastructure Week Day 2: Water

DCWWA Shore Haven Water Pipe

Water is a vital resource, but with a rise in deteriorating infrastructure and underfunded programs like the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), we’ve run into a nationwide problem.

In recent years, we’ve witnessed water crisis on a national scale in places like Flint, Michigan, whose citizens haven’t had access to clean water in nearly four years; Texas, Florida, and especially Puerto Rico, where last year’s hurricanes damaged municipal water services; and the Southwest United States, where drought conditions continue to worsen.

Over one million miles of pipes work to deliver water around the country, most of that aging infrastructure having been laid numerous decades ago. Now more than ever, America requires government action to upgrade insufficient water infrastructure. Clean, reliable drinking water is a commodity that everyone, without exception, should have access to.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), our water supply group works to create sufficient, long-term resolutions to provide safe drinking water. With a group of skilled water, wastewater, civil, and environmental engineers, KC is able to provide lasting solutions to various municipalities, residential developments, and many more.

With projects like the Wallkill Water System Interconnect, Kosuga Well 7 Development, and LaGuardia Airport Trunk Main Relocation, KC continues to play a vital role in ensuring the functionality of filtration systems, water resources, and water treatment.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • 0 Comments

Infrastructure Week Day 1: Bridges

Replacement of the Route 59 Bridge over MNRR

How do we resolve a problem as widespread as nationally deficient bridge infrastructure?

Year after year, America’s deteriorating infrastructure is so critically neglected that now, in 2018, we face a multi-billion dollar backlog for the rehabilitation of bridges, a vital facet of the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

While the number of structurally deficient bridges in the United States is down significantly from years past, according to an Infrastructure Report Card provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers, around 188 million trips were taken across these deficient bridges in 2017.

Rehabilitation needs for bridges are backlogged as much as $123 billion, an investment of over half of the funding already provided. These high repair and rehabilitation costs pose a nationwide challenge to state transportation agencies pursuing the construction of reliable infrastructure.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), structural engineering remains an integral part of our corporation’s contribution to providing safe, sufficient bridge infrastructure.

With projects like the Design and Construction of Emergency Repairs of the Park Avenue Viaduct at 118th Street, Replacement of the Route 59 Bridge over MNRR, and the Greenkill Avenue Bridge Replacement, KC is continuously able to provide survey services, design assessment, and structural analysis for the replacement and rehabilitation of damaged, deficient, and extremely vital bridge infrastructure in various counties of New York State.

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Utility Improvements Contract 3.1 Sanitary Sewer Pipe TV Inspections and Cleaning Project

As part of ongoing CWSRF improvements, KC prepared bid documents for Contract 3.1, Sanitary Sewer Pipe TV Inspections and Cleaning, and obtained the required authorizations from the NYSEFC and the Village of Wappingers Falls, led the bidding process, provided inspection services, and summarized results and recommendations in an engineering report.

The Village authorized Fred A. Cook, Jr., Inc., the Contractor, to perform Contract 3.1. The purpose of Contract 3.1 was to conduct a TV inspection of the remaining sewer pipes that have not been replaced or recently lined in order to identify optimal uses of the remaining CWSRF funds. Sewer cleaning was completed to provide access for the TV inspection. TV inspection was completed in 2017.

The Contractor provided reports and video logs of the pipeline assessment to the Village. The reports included detailed information about defects and observations witnessed during the TV video inspection, and every pipe run included a ratings summary. KC was present for the TV inspection work and watched the video footage in real time, along with the Contractor, for the purpose of assessment and coding. Coding was completed consistent with the NASSCO Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP). KC also developed an improved sewer map for Village use.

The TV inspection of the sewer pipes provided the ability to assess pipe condition and make recommendations for improvements. The results of Contract 3.1 were summarized in a report by KC. The engineering report and the detailed TV inspection report provided by the Contractor provided significant information for reference for planning of current and future capital sewer infrastructure improvements.

Collectively, the sewer improvement efforts continue to improve function of the Village of Wappingers Falls sewer system, reduce infiltration and inflow (I&I) in the sewer system and to the Tri-Municipal Sewer Plant, and extend the useful life of the sewer infrastructure.

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Wallkill Water System Interconnect Project

The Town of Wallkill is located in close proximity with two adjoining municipal water systems. During emergencies, the City of Middletown and the Village of Goshen share their water. KC, as the Town of Wallkill Engineer, located a suitable grant and successfully pursued the grant application that provided a 25% grant with zero interest loan for the construction of municipal water interconnections.

Upon receipt of the grant, KC worked closely with the Town in negotiations for an intermunicipal agreement between both the City and the Village, as well as assisted the Town with securing the required permits and approvals. All municipalities required the interconnections to function as full-flow connections with bi-directional meters and pressure-reducing valves. The interconnections also needed to allow the interconnection pits to be isolation points.

The connection with the Village of Goshen was configured to allow water to be sourced at one municipality’s well field and treated at the others’ treatment plants, which are located in close proximity to each other. Two connections were made with the City of Middletown to feed the two zones in the City and three zones in the Town of Wallkill due to its proximity to the Town’s booster pump station. KC designed metering vaults and site plans for various locations, as well as prepared contract documents and technical specifications for the project. The connections, once installed, will be able to provide service to three water districts from a combined total of 27 sources benefitting a combined population of over 50,000 people.