FAR FROM STANDARD
“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity,”
said Dave Solberg, city engineer. “We
put right in the Request for Proposal that
consultants responded to that it wasn’t
going to be just a bridge replacement with
a sidewalk on each side. This was going to
be something that would not only address
our transportation needs but also serve as a
recreational resource.”
Having worked with Ayres on multiple
projects previously in his five-year tenure
with the City, including bridge inspections,
bridge rehabilitations, and other bridge
replacement projects, Solberg said he found
familiarity and a comfort level with the Ayres
team.
“The City had a good track record with
Ayres,” he said. “So when we were evaluating
consultants for the Causeway project, and
Ayres emerged as the top-rated consultant,
we had confidence that they would be able
to follow through on their proposal.”
During the interview phase, City decision-
makers appreciated the visualization tools
the team brought to the presentation.
“That’s what put Ayres over the top,” Solberg
said. Having detailed renderings and “fly-
through” animations helped stakeholders
visualize the finished product and all it could
one day be, including the proposed multi-use
trail that would replace the simple existing
sidewalk, the on-street bike lanes that
would be incorporated into the causeway’s
widened footprint, and the fishing
accommodations that would be created to
comply with Americans with Disabilities Act
standards.
The graphics were beneficial later, too,
helping communicate ideas in public
outreach efforts and during the permitting
process with the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) and other
regulatory agencies.
“When you’re talking about lakebed fill to
create a wider street, a picture is worth a
thousand words,” Solberg said. “It was such a
help to have them see, ‘All right, you have
this minimalist roadway going through there
with people crawling on the banks to get
down to fish and causing erosion, and, when
you’re done, you can safely accommodate
and possibly eliminate erosion out there as a
result of recreational use if you design it that
way.’ ”
COMPLEXITIES START
TO SURFACE
Chris Willger, DNR transportation liaison
at the time of the project, elaborated on
the degree of permitting required and
explained that, under state statute, the
DNR has authority over project proposals
with possible impacts to the state’s public
waterways. The bridge and causeway
replacement project on Half Moon lake
required DNR approval, under the Wisconsin
DOT/DNR Cooperative Agreement, to protect
the lake and ensure that the work did not
impact the public trust.
“Bridges can affect aquatic habitat,
sensitive species, navigation, recreation, and
the aesthetic value of our public waterways,
and they need to meet applicable state
standards,” Willger said.
Because of the bridge’s deteriorated
condition, the project was eligible
for funding through the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation’s Local Bridge
Improvement Assistance Program. But
qualifying for state funding also brought
with it special coordination and design
considerations, said Project Manager Dan
Sydow, a structural engineer at Ayres
Associates. For example, extensive and
varied types of fishing accommodations
were a requested component of the design,
including creation of a fish habitat near the
banks of Half Moon Lake.
AyresAssociates.com
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