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Mayor Rea Announces Opening of New Riverwalk Section
April 24, 2008
Mayor Jeff Rea announced today that the long-awaited opening of the Mishawaka Riverwalk section connecting Battell Park and Central Park will be officially open to the public starting tomorrow, April 25.
The project includes 1,500 linear feet of a 10-foot high retaining wall formed by 6,000-pound concrete blocks, overlook nodes with benches, stair connections to Main Street, and alterations to the eastern end of Battell Park. This $3.7 Million project was awarded to Northern Indiana Construction in the summer of 2006. The completion of the project, originally scheduled for the fall of 2007, was delayed in part by the contractor’s involvement in the construction of the Logan Street Bridge, high river elevations, and additional work requested to be performed by the City.
The project had some significant challenges to overcome, including steep unstable banks, the river's location, with construction in the floodplain, modification of Battell Park (the oldest City park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and the permitting requirements identified by the Department of Natural Resources. The project removed all the vegetation along the north bank of the river between Battell and Central Parks. The entire bank was re-shaped to accommodate the walk and provide a stable slope for long-term maintenance. Although over 45 large trees were removed, the City re-established the bank with native vegetation, including the planting of 226 canopy trees. With the restoration, it is estimated that the modified bank will actually, over time, be a more viable habitat for birds and small river mammals than what previously existed.
Mayor Rea said, “The Mishawaka Riverwalk continues to be the cornerstone for many of our downtown redevelopment efforts. It connects neighborhoods and parks, and takes advantage of our greatest natural resource, the St. Joseph River. The Riverwalk adds value to existing homes and neighborhoods, and ultimately will be a source of pride of our community for generations to come.”
Temporary Access to Beutter Park
April 17, 2008
Due to various construction projects in progress in the vicinity of Beutter Park, pedestrians are advised to use caution while accessing the park from the Spring Street parking lot. Pedestrians must stay on the temporary aggregate pathways marked by the orange snow fence. For Safety reasons, children are to be accompanied by an adult while in this area. Pedestrians must not stray into any construction areas.
Jefferson Boulevard Project Update
March 4, 2008
On Monday, March 10, Walsh & Kelly, Inc. is scheduled to close East Jefferson Boulevard between Byrkit Street and Capital Avenue/SR 331 to all through traffic. Local residents will have access to their homes. Emergency vehicles will have access at all times. The detour for Jefferson Boulevard is as follows:
• Westbound Jefferson Blvd. traffic will proceed north on Capital Ave., west on McKinley Ave, and south on Byrkit Avenue, returning to Jefferson Blvd.
• Eastbound Jefferson Blvd traffic will proceed north on Byrkit St., east on McKinley Ave, south on Capital Ave./SR 331, returning to Jefferson Blvd.
Local school bus, mail, newspaper and trash services will be coordinated with each entity. The contractor anticipates this closure to last until mid-July 2008, when the project is scheduled for completion.
Questions may be directed to Dustin Hilary, Area Manager for Walsh & Kelly, at 574-288-4811.
Main Street Underpass Project Update #2
February 28, 2008
DLZ Indiana of South Bend, the City’s consulting construction engineering firm, has completed their evaluation of several pavement restoration options for the Canadian National Railroad crossing and also for the repair of the pavement settlement on Main Street north of the railroad, which was caused by the installation of temporary sheet piling.
After discussing several alternatives at length with Rieth-Riley Construction, the contractor for the Main Street Underpass Project, they both agree that the best option for repairing this pavement is to use hot mix asphalt. Depending upon weather, hot mix asphalt plants typically begin production work about April 15.
Since this would necessitate Main Street remaining closed until this time, Rieth-Riley Construction has proposed a phasing change that would allow all Main Street work south of Broadway, as well as the work on Broadway, to be completed in its entirety by May 2, 2008. This change in phasing will result in a better “end-result” work product, completion of work in a shorter time frame with less disruption to the local residents, and with a cost savings to the City of Mishawaka due to the installation of less sheet piling.
To accomplish this phasing change to the contract, North Main Street will remain closed until Friday, May 2, 2008.
Main Street Underpass Project Update #1
February 15, 2008
Main Street between Broadway and Jefferson was closed to traffic on October 22, 2007 for construction of the temporary railroad runaround by the Canadian National Railroad (CN). The Main Street railroad crossing continues to remain closed to all traffic. This work was completed, but prior to opening Main Street, CN notified us that the railroad runaround had been installed incorrectly, and that it would have to be removed and reconstructed to correct for proper curvature. This work was completed during December 2007 and January 2008.
During this same time period, our contractor began installation of the temporary sheet piling to protect the railroad tracks and existing Main Street pavement during excavation and construction of the underpass. This sheet piling extends approximately 200 feet east of Main Street, along both sides of the railroad runaround, as well as both north and south of the tracks along Main Street. Vibrations from the installation of the temporary sheet piling unexpectedly caused excessive settlement of the surrounding soil, which resulted in the existing Main Street pavement between Broadway and the railroad to settle between 12” to 18” in places. This section of pavement south of the tracks was repaired with asphalt early in December as the sheeting south of the tracks was installed first. As a result of this settling on the south side of the tracks, similar settling to Main Street on the north side of the tracks was anticipated. Main Street was not reopened to traffic, pending the completion of that sheeting installation.
In January 2008, installation of the temporary sheet piling north of the tracks began. This work was completed last week and, as with the south section, has caused settling of the eastern edge of the existing Main Street. Unfortunately, pavement repairs are not possible because hot mix asphalt plants are closed this time of the year. Because repairs to the settled pavement on the north side of the tracks and the track crossing surface itself have not been completed, Main Street cannot be reopened to traffic, as these repairs are necessary to ensure the safety of the motoring public.
Several pavement options for the crossing and Main Street are currently being considered and evaluated in an attempt to complete the installation of pavement and reopen Main Street. Concrete pavement between and around the railroad tracks is not a viable option as the railroad does not allow this. CN Railroad has been contacted to evaluate and recommend additional crossing repair options that may be permitted.
Our engineering consultants have indicated that they should have a final recommendation by the end of next week concerning the timeframe for reopening Main Street. Thank you for your patience as we evaluate this situation.
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