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Pettibone Road project reaches target date
(by Sue Reid - November 29, 2010)
Pettibone Road project reaches target date
By SUE REID
Before the Pettibone Road reconstruction began nearly two years ago, the City of Solon emphasized placing residents' concerns as a priority, said Courtney Norris, construction project engineer with Quality Control Inspection Inc.
"We were instructed by the city to put a high priority on resident concerns," Mr. Norris said last week. "There was a lot of information provided to residents, which helped them and allowed us to respond quickly to their concerns, and it minimized calls to City Hall."
Mr. Norris, whose company served as the inspector on the project, offered a reflection on it last week. The project is reaching its conclusion this month. The reconstruction of the 4.5 miles of road, which included full replacement of the roadway between its east and west corporation lines, is meeting its target date of substantial completion on Nov. 30, he said.
It is the largest project QCI has done in the city, Mr. Norris said.
City Engineer John J. Busch said it was one of the largest projects in recent years taken on by the city, since SOM Center Road (Route 91) was widened almost a decade ago.
The over $14 million project was paid for by city funds, with the exception of a federal earmark awarded to Solon of about $2.1 million. The contractor on the job was Kenmore Construction, of Akron.
Work on the road included new storm sewers, new waterline, new roadways, curbs, sidewalks, integral bike lanes and multipurpose paths.
Mr. Norris said one of the keys to the project's success was that problems were identified early on.
"We had problems early," he said. "We won't deny that. We were about six months into the job when a problem was recognized and actions were taken to fix it." The project was resequenced, and simultaneous phasing began last summer. That shaved a year off the construction time, he said.
"The only reason we are done today is because of that resequencing in June 2009," Mr. Norris said. "There was a recognition that the project would be delayed, and action was taken by the contractor and the city to make the resequencing happen."
Mr. Norris said the most challenging components of the project were the extremely poor subgrade condition of the road in all three phases, as well as maintaining the over 150 driveways during construction.
Mr. Busch also said there was a lot of underground utility work on the project. "You run into a lot of unknown issues when you do things below ground," he said. "You never know what you will get into."
Mr. Busch said the project pretty much adhered to its original design, which began in the mid- to late 1990s. There had been some discussion, he said, abut whether to include the Pettibone Road project with the previously completed Aurora Road (Route 43) east project, but ultimately it was decided to split the projects.
The project has been a learning experience, Mr. Busch said.
"It was definitely a large project, and keeping the residents informed, and the ability to quickly address resident concern was one of our top priorities."
Mr. Busch said this is the first project the city utilized e-mail messages to notify residents. "That took a lot of effort upfront to get as many e-mails upfront as we could, for the sole purpose of notifying them for project updates.
"Overall, that was really successful as a means to keep residents notified as well as getting comments or complaints from them and putting them into our system to get addressed," he said.
Ward 2 Councilman Robert N. Pelunis said communication was key in minimizing complaints. "Residents knew what to expect with the scope of the project and the length of time with it," he said. "I was happy the project did finish on time."
Mr. Pelunis said the contractor was very responsive to complaints that residents had during the project and addressed them in a timely fashion. "Overall, the residents in my ward did not have a lot of complaints during the project," he said.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Toni M. Richmond and Ward 1 Councilman Richard A. Bell agreed.
"I heard no negative feedback at all," Ms. Richmond said. "If anything, I've heard from a couple of residents that they thought the road looked really nice."
"Overall, I'm really pleased with the work that was performed and the fact that the deadline was met one month before it was expected," Mr. Bell said. "I've been advised that the company is working on the final punch-list items, most importantly the apron cuts and front-yard issues of the residents."
Mr. Norris said he was pleased with Kenmore's work. He said there are still some unresolved claims on their part.
The satisfaction of the project will "sink in soon," Mr. Norris said. "I'm thrilled that the traffic is open."
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