More on Marinette Marine
Marinette Marine began in 1942 with a contract to build five
wooden barges. Today the firm is a world-class shipbuilder serving the
United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, among other clients.
One measure of the firm’s success is its steady growth.
Employment has grown 60 percent since 2009. The size of the
facility has increased: a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 20, 2013,
commemorated more than $73 million worth of improvements and
expansion. The facility now includes more than 550,000 square feet of
manufacturing, warehouse, and receiving space.
Ayres was there for Marinette Marine during a previous
expansion shortly after the turn of the century that resulted in a ship
launch facility that went from 225 feet long to 400 feet long. The 3-footthick launch pad can handle ships weighing up to 4,000 tons. Ayres also
helped with dredging the Menominee River 10 feet deeper to a depth
of 35 feet to accommodate the larger ships the launch pad was able to
support. The project received a 2004 Engineering
Excellence State Finalist Award from the American
Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin.
Use the QR code or go to http://tinyurl.com/nbslfbh
to see video of the 2003 launch of a Coast Guard ship
from the expanded launch pad.
in the morning and students were
released in the afternoon, so traffic
impacts were going to be significant.
There were also two other large
employers in the immediate area that
had similar shift change schedules,”
Kolaszewski said. “Moving traffic
efficiently was key.”
Ayres’ study looked at historic and
projected traffic loads and patterns,
other land use activities in the project
area, and pedestrian activity in the
City’s downtown. Considering all
these factors, new traffic signals were
installed at three intersections along
Main Street and one intersection on
Ely Street. Another set of intersection
traffic signals on Main Street was
upgraded. The intersection at Main
and Ely streets, which is the main
access to Marinette Marine, was
reconfigured to increase traffic
efficiency.
14│TRENDS
“The lights are synchronized to
accommodate traffic loads at the
various times of day,” Kolaszewski said.
At the same time, aging underground
utilities needed upgrading. Some of
the storm sewer needed significant
upgrades to meet the needs of the
area. Marinette chose to maximize
long-term benefits from the upgrades.
All streets needed replacement of
storm sewer, water main, and sanitary
sewer. But Ely is heavily traveled
by vehicles and pedestrians, so the
City decided to utilize a concrete
pavement roadway and added
sidewalk and improved decorative
lighting, trees, and plantings to make
the street more welcoming. Stanton
and Main Streets were resurfaced
with concrete pavement – a more
expensive option at the onset, but
the surface will last longer under
the increased truck and vehicle
traffic in the project area. However,
improvements to Main Street went
beyond underground utilities road
surfacing.
“Main Street now has beautiful street
lighting, colored concrete, and bike
lanes,” Miller said. “We created a
corridor that is very pleasing to the
eye.” Hopes are that more commercial
ventures will invest in Main Street
properties as the plant expansion
brings more people through the area.
Stanton is a dead-end street that
provides the only means of ingress
and egress to two other major
employers, and providing access
during construction was important.
“Staging traffic to accommodate these
big employers was a tremendous
challenge,” Kolaszewski said. “There
are also a lot of businesses along
Main Street that required access. We
used phased construction for traffic
to maximize access to businesses and
services at all times.”
Communication was key, Miller said.
“Ayres did a great job with constant
communication. That was important
to us. This project was large; it
was complex. Ayres did a great job
of minimizing the effects on the
community.”
Construction took more than a
year, but now Marinette has the
infrastructure to support its major
employers and improvements that
benefits residents and visitors.
“Everything turned out well,” Miller
said. “We are always receiving
favorable comments.”
Street redesign brings new life to
Milwaukee suburb
By Jason Sweet
Or at least that’s the way it seemed
up until recently. For decades, far too
many forlorn storefronts sat amidst
the street’s 1920s architecture. They
signified a stagnant business district
in the “East Tosa” area of Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin, an inner suburb of
Milwaukee.
thought the street itself impeded
economic development, that its
“chicane” design moved traffic too
quickly. In theory a traffic calming
strategy, a chicane design creates
a serpentine flow of motorists by
using left-turn lanes and curb bumpouts. Ironically, it has the potential
to increase traffic speeds because
there are no enforced stopping
mechanisms.
According to Bill Porter, City director
of public works, many in the area
If a street’s design can negatively
affect an area’s economy, that also
T
he heyday of North Avenue
was a long time ago.
suggests a design can have a positive
effect. So what would such a street
look like?
Answering that question would