KL Engineering has partnered with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) since 2017 to replace duct banks in various areas of the City of Madison. The most recent project is highlighted here.
The Wilson and Doty Street Project was important to MGE because it delivers larger and newer infrastructure to serve downtown businesses and residents. Approximately 554 feet of duct bank was replaced on Wilson Street and 820 feet on Doty Street. The project also included 4 new manholes, each approximately 10 feet in diameter.
The project presented a highly complex design challenge due to the extremely constricted area and the presence of numerous existing utilities. To locate the utilities, the KL team reviewed all available as-built information and coordinated with private utilities and the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA). KL coordinated, oversaw, and documented more than 140 Utility Line Openings (ULOs) to verify the location of existing underground infrastructure. KL also worked closely with nearby landowners and coordinated extensively with the City of Madison’s traffic, engineering, water, sewer, signals, and metro transit departments.
Most of the duct package was a 12-duct configuration, measuring approximately 2.25 feet wide by 3 feet deep. Some sections were even larger, using 15-duct configurations. The KL team wove the duct package over, under, and around existing utilities beneath the streets of downtown Madison. KL also worked with several utility providers to relocate their facilities and make room for the new duct package. The duct package conflicted with a few areas of water main and laterals that KL helped redesign for the City. Permitting the water main and laterals was also coordinated with the City project.
KL developed traffic control plans that kept these streets open during construction. These plans included bus stop relocations and ensured access to parking garages and businesses. KL also provided construction staking and observation, and coordinated with City of Madison utility staff to relocate several water and sewer service lines.
