Oklahoma City is growing, but among all the exciting new construction and building expansions, there are also many existing structures receiving a facelift. One of the most anticipated developments currently underway is Project 180 located in downtown Oklahoma City. Project 180, which began in 2010, is a redesign of downtown streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas constructed to improve the aesthetic appearance of Oklahoma City’s historic Bricktown in order to make it more accessible and enjoyable for pedestrians. Other additions include landscaping, public art, marked bike lanes, decorative street lighting and on-street parking spaces to accommodate the growing area.
Chamberlin recently completed the restoration of the streetscapes portion of the project on Robert S. Kerr Ave. and N. Robinson Ave., a high traffic area of the city. Surface water from street level was making its way through a failed caulking joint to a basement directly underneath a commercial building. The leaks were causing the concrete above the basement to severely deteriorate. To remediate, Chamberlin performed a scope of work that consisted of patching existing damages to the concrete above the underground basement, surrounding areas and sidewalks, along with new waterproofing installation.
The damage to the concrete on top of the basement was very extensive and required the entire sidewalk to be demolished and removed. Chamberlin also removed all of the old waterproofing and buffed out all bulges and imperfections as well as patched existing holes with a cementitious filler to ensure the waterproofing would be installed properly and adhere to the substrate. Once prepared, a liquid membrane was applied to the concrete followed by the installation of sheet waterproofing.
As this is a beautification project with a lot of landscaping, the placement of root systems from trees was taken into consideration during the waterproofing installation. Chamberlin strategically maneuvered material around the current tree roots in order to prevent possible future root penetration through the completed waterproofing.
Upon completion of the scope, it was necessary for Chamberlin to ensure the installation was water tight. Water tests were performed on the area over a 24-hour period by creating water dams and allowing a two-inch pool of water to sit during that stretch of time. Chamberlin precisely measured the standing water to ensure there was no penetration into the basement below. Chamberlin’s work proved to be successful with no leaks detected during the water tests.
Soon after the completion of the water tests, Chamberlin installed a drainage board thus allowing concrete to be poured by a third party in order to complete the entire streetscapes scope of work.
Project 180 was one that proved challenging and rewarding for Chamberlin’s crew as they rose to the occasion to complete the work with the surrounding areas still very much in use. Shane Allen, project manager for the general contractor, Rudy Construction, was impressed with Chamberlin’s ability to meet challenges and work together.
“I have been thoroughly impressed with Chamberlin's field and office personnel. They have been very responsive to performing the work on the streetscape projects. Their communications have been superb. When building such high profile projects, that goes a long way,” said Allen. “These projects are very detailed and require precise coordination. We are thankful that all of our subcontractors are on board with us. I also appreciate the quality of work that is being performed. Chamberlin always checks with the A/E to make sure everything is up to par with their items of work before turning it over to us. We look forward to building the next phase of the downtown streetscapes with them.”
This project, as Allen highlighted, was high profile due to the historic location and required precise coordination and attention to detail. Streets were blocked off to vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the work area which required Chamberlin to stay on schedule in order to complete their portion of work on time. Extending the amount of time traffic was being detoured was not an option.
Safety on this project was incredibly important in such a heavily populated area. “As always, safety is top-of-mind on every project, and this one was no different,” said Kraig Murray, safety coordinator for Chamberlin.
“We always want to make sure that our team, the public and the project are safe at all times. We successfully completed our phases of the project with no injuries or safety infractions.”
Since completing the scope for their first phase of work, Chamberlin is currently preparing to start on the second phase of streetscape restoration at N Robinson Ave. and NW 4th Street. To read more on Project 180 visit www.okc180.com