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Snelling Avenue North Street and Utility Improvements | City of Arden Hills PROJECT UNDERSTANDING AND APPROACH 5Project Understanding and Approach Project Understanding The City of Arden Hills is seeking professional engineering and construction staking/observation services to assist with design, bidding, final assessments, construction staking, construction inspection, and project closeout associated with the Snelling Avenue North Improvements project. Per the selected alternative from the feasibility report, as well as public testimony and city council discussion and direction we have listened to, the project involves:• Reclamation and resurfacing of Snelling Avenue North from TH 51 to CR E, Cummings Lane, and a short portion of Bussard Court immediately adjacent to Snelling Avenue• Watermain replacement along Snelling Avenue North from Bussard Court to Lametti Lane• Replacement of a CIP/VCP 8-inch sanitary sewer crossing of Snelling Avenue North at Skiles Lane• Replacement of a relatively short, failed section of storm sewer pipe and structure at the east end of Cummings Lane• Consideration and incorporation of measures to benefit the safety of non-motorized users of Snelling Avenue North We have reviewed in detail the full feasibility report, all appendices, and RFP. We do not intend to repeat all content from that review; however, notable features which make this project somewhat unique are listed to demonstrate our thorough project understanding: • Residents along and adjacent to the corridor energetically expressed their opinions of the improvements at the April 26, 2021, public hearing. We understand the challenging position the city council and staff face to find reasonable solutions. Along these lines: »We have carefully listened to the public testimony to understand the corridor's competing public infrastructure interests. Similarly, we carefully reviewed the written public input received prior to the meeting. »We understand the desire for a trail connection to meet the long-term need for a non-motorized network; we have reviewed the comprehensive plan to understand the desired connections. »In lieu of a trail and in response to public testimony, we understand the desire for non-motorized traffic safety improvements and reduced motor vehicle speeds. »We understand the dynamics associated with the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Snelling Avenue North with CR E. We have contemplated potential influences that project may have on this resurfacing effort related to the project limits, non- motorized connections, drainage considerations, and the watermain improvement limits considered for that separate project. We also understand support for this potential project is not unanimous, and consideration needs to be given to both the build and no-build aspects in this area. • Listening to discussion and direction of the city council, we understand the first step toward confirming the scope and direction of the project is to convene with the Municipal State Aid (MSA) Office. • We recognize the presence of contaminated soils, as documented in: »Initial soil borings by NTI (November 2019) »Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment by WSB (March 2020) »Field Investigation Report prepared by WSB (May 2020) »Response Action Plan by WSB (September 2020), emails between former Public Works Director Blomstrom and WSB, and the subsequent MPCA approval letter »Geotechnical recommendation memorandum by SEH (October 2020) • We understand the recycled aggregate to be used in the roadway will not require mitigation for reuse or removal/disposal. The presence of contaminated soil requires landfill for open trench utility installations. We noted this also presents a potentially significant cost risk to open cut utility construction, which should be weighed against trenchless utility alternatives. • Two separate layers of bituminous pavement, as shown in the November 2019 soil borings, separated by a varying thickness layer of aggregate base. It would seem that previous improvements along this corridor similarly chose to avoid the underlying soil and build up the roadway rather than reconstruct it. This separate layer of bituminous pavement, if rising into the upper 12 inches as indicated in SB-2 and nearly in SB-1, may require consideration of variable reclamation depth and additional quantify for pavement removal at open cut pavement locations.