Propel Northside Site Improvements

Sci-Tek Consultants, Inc. (Sci-Tek) provided geotechnical and civil engineering services for renovations to 91,000 SF elementary school on the Northside of Pittsburgh.   The project included expanding the parking lot, demolishing an unused and deteriorated playground area, and reconfiguring the entrances to improve parking and traffic flow on the site.

The site civil work involved the replacement of the existing parking lot located behind the school as well as the removal of an existing ball field and the design of a new vehicular entrance and a new parking lot with capacity for approximately 89 parking spaces, a bus staging area for 12 buses, and a new access roadway between the parking lot and Irwin Avenue.  The current front entrance, which is located on Buena Vista Street, had limited parking and consisted of a bituminous paved play area and concrete retaining walls for hand ball.  The concrete walls and the bituminous paving were to be demolished and the area seeded and mulched.  Stormwater for the site is to be collected through a series of inlets that are routed to two underground stormwater detention systems that connect to existing PWSA combination sewers. Sci-Tek’s scope of services for this project included:

• Site topographic survey.
• Site civil design services, which included:
  • Site grading of the site and associated details and drawings,
  • Parking area planning and installation details, and
  • Utility coordination (water, sanitary, gas, telephone, electric, cable) and connection support, including waterline and sewer tie-in applications as appropriate.
• Erosion and sedimentation control plan and NPDES permit to the Allegheny County County Conservation District (ACCD).
• Stormwater management plan to Allegheny County Conservation District for addressing stormwater on the site.
• Electrical design services.
• Plan drawings and specifications for the geotechnical, site-civil, and electrical design portions of the work for review and comment.
• Submissions to the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission and other regulatory agencies for project approval.
• Bidding and construction phase services, which included:
  • Attendance at a bid meeting,
  • Provision of written responses to civil and electrical questions,
  • Review of construction submittals,
  • Site visits, and
  • Processing of change orders for site work.
• Construction materials testing services for:
  • Grading and earthwork for the upper playground and parking lot areas,
  • Stormwater detention, and sanitary and stormwater sewer installations,
  • Curb, sidewalk and miscellaneous outdoor concrete construction, and
  • Asphalt pavement installation in the new parking lot.