Des Moines River Downtown Closure Improvements Project
The contract was awarded to Shekar Engineering (SHEKAR) by US Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island Corps District. The project is located along the banks of Des Moines River in Des Moines, Iowa. The project included construction of flood control measures at 7 different locations. USACE identified these locations as Closures. Three of these Closures were built across the existing railroad. SHEKAR worked with two different railroad companies, Union Pacific (UP) and Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS). In addition to railroad companies SHEKAR also worked with the City of Des Moines as they are one of the stakeholders in this project. The scope of work varied at each Closure.
| Contract No. | W912EK-15-C-0050 |
| Client | US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) |
| Contract Type | Fixed Price |
| Prime / Sub | Prime |
| Final Contract Price | $4,807,889 |
| Contract Start Date | 9/18/2015 |
| Final Completion Date | In-Progress. About 80% Complete |
| Contracting Officer (CO) | Justine Womboldt Ph: 309-794-5488 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District 1500 Rock Island Drive Rock Island, IL 61201 Email: Justine.A.Womboldt@usace.army.mil |
| Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) | Richard M. Busch, P.E. Resident Engineer, Western Resident Office Work: 515-276-4656 X6557 Fax: 515-276-4659 Cell: 309-948-4622 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District 5301 NW 78th Avenue Johnston, Iowa 50131-1707 Email: Richard.M.Busch@usace.army.mil |
DM-51 Closure is located on Carlisle Road near Wastewater Treatment Plant. SHEKAR raised the existing road above the flood level. The scope of work also included:
- Removing and replacing granular pavement,
- Importing soils, grading and compacting,
- Installing storm sewer mains,
- Removing and replacing chain link fence,
- Installing new access gates, and
- Seeding
I-235 Closure, which is located immediately south of the I-235 underpass along the Robert Ray Drive. The scope of work included:
- Demolishing a portion of the existing bridge retaining wall,
- Removing and replacing the existing fence,
- Installing approximately 5,250 SF of sheet piling,
- Constructing 310’ long concrete flood wall,
- Installing 310’ long guard rails, and
- Earthwork and seeding
DM-45 Closure is located at the Mile Post 72.76, Trenton Sub Division in Des Moines, Iowa. The scope of work included building a concrete flood wall as well as installing a flood gate across the existing railroad. SHEKAR was provided with two 8-hour closures of the railroad (RR) traffic. During the first RR closure, SHEKAR completed the following:
- Removed tracks and ballasts,
- Excavated to expose existing sheet piling,
- Placed temporary retaining structure,
- Backfilled against temporary retaining structure,
- Placed rails and ties.
During the 2nd RR closure, SHEKAR completed the following:
- Removed tracks and ballasts,
- Removed temporary retaining structure,
- Installed precast concrete sill beam,
- Placed ties and rails.
The Scope of Work also included:
- Installing 770 LF of H-Piles
- Building concrete flood wall,
- Installing a swing gate,
- Importing soil,
- Site grading and seeding.
DM-79 Closure is located at the intersection of E Walnut and E 1st Street. DM-81 is located at the intersection of E Court and E 1st Street. The scope of work encompasses the entire city block between E Court and E Walnut Street. Therefore, these two Closures are discussed together. At these Closures, SHEKAR completed the following:
- Traffic Control,
- Demolition of the existing sidewalk, curb and gutter, and removing existing levy,
- Installing 3150 SF of sheet piles,
- Installing 500 LF of concrete flood wall,
- Building sidewalks and Curb and Gutter,
- Limestone Veneering of flood wall,
- Earth work and site grading,
- Installing a swing flood gate
- Sodding