Not all issues are foreseeable when it comes to reconstruction projects. When KL Engineering has a team member conducting construction oversight on a project, they often must solve unexpected problems on the job. The same can be said for the work completed on the CTH D Buffalo Lake Causeway Reconstruction Project, which was honored with APWA Project of the Year awards at both the national and state levels.
“We were expecting to find parts of the old corduroy road but not large concrete chunks of the old bridge. A game plan was put in place and the large object was removed with no impact to the budget or schedule.”
Dean Long was KL’s representative on the project, working with the community and with contractors to execute the best possible results. Dean’s proactive engagement, consistent field presence, and adaptive problem-solving highly benefitted the project, especially when things did not go to plan.
“We do our best to come up with plans that can anticipate issues before they arise on site. There are just times when things do not go as planned,” Dean shared. “That was the case when we came across old pieces of a concrete bridge while reconstructing the causeway. This isn’t the first time old materials were found while constructing a project, but it was very unexpected.”
Day-to-day challenges were met with collaborative problem solving with contractors on site, as well as with fellow construction engineers who had some similar experiences. There were also modified testing methods used on site, considering the unconventional use of woodchips as back fill. “Ensuring the wood chips were compacted enough was one issue. For typical materials we have a specification for ensuring proper compaction. For the wood chips, this was not the case. I had to use a modified version of testing compaction with the onsite drum roller and bulldozer.
“Another example is the pipe contractor’s method of keeping water out of the excavation trench. The cross pipes were installed without the use of a cofferdam surrounding the entire excavation area. The wood chip base is more porous than traditional materials, so the trench had a lot of water entering it. Working with the contractor, they were able to come up with a dewatering plan to mitigate this issue which saved the project time and money.”
Shared ownership of schedule performance was central to maintaining momentum under challenging site conditions. KL staff maintained a strong daily on-site presence during critical operations, including excavation, wood chip installation, and culvert replacement. Our hands-on approach allowed the team to quickly evaluate options and implement effective solutions without formal disputes, schedule impacts, or cost escalation.
We are proud that this project has been recognized as an APWA Project of the Year award winner for the Transportation Projects under $5 Million. It truly demonstrates how we deliver [A] Better Experience to the contractors we work with and the communities we serve.
