Anatomy of a Roadway Project

Anatomy of a Roadway Project

Written by Staff Thursday, 07 September 2006

1. Preliminary Engineering and Surveying
   1. Select engineering consultant and surveyor to assist city through project.
   2. Obtain right-of-entry from property owners along roadway for surveying, engineering and appraisal work.
   3. Perform surveying to locate existing water and wastewater lines, trees, buildings, fire hydrants, property lines, utilities and existing right-of-way.
   4. Establish preliminary alignment (the proposed path the roadway will follow from one point to the next).
   5. Establish proposed cross-section of roadway indicating width and number of lanes, curb and gutter, right-of-way width, and thickness of asphalt and foundation materials.
   6. Geotechnical engineer determines thickness of asphalt and base materials to use in roadway. Their determination is based on the composition of underlying soil layers obtained from soil borings.
   7. Apply for special permits from outside agencies including U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Texas Historical Commission, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
2. Right-of-Way Acquisition
   1. Independent appraiser determines fair market value of land to be acquired for right-of-way.
   2. City’s right-of-way representative meets with each property owner to discuss appraisal report and negotiate purchase of right-of-way.
   3. If property owner and city cannot agree on purchase price after extensive negotiations, city must use condemnation powers to obtain right-of-way for project.
3. Final Design Engineering
   1. Surveyor prepares field notes and sketch for each parcel the city must acquire for right-of-way. Field notes describe direction and distance of property lines, while sketch shows this information graphically.
   2. Consulting engineer finalizes construction plans and estimates quantity of materials required for project.
   3. When engineer has completed the Plans, Specifications and Estimate (PS&E), project is ready to be advertised for bids by contractors.
4. Utility Relocations
   1. Utilities in conflict with proposed roadway must be relocated. Utilities to be relocated include gas, phone, electric and cable. Relocation of utilities requires extensive coordination with utility providers.
5. Construction
   1. City council reviews contractors’ bids and awards contract to lowest qualified bidder.
   2. Five phases of construction are:
      1. Clearing of right-of-way and roadway preparation
         1. Installation of erosion control measures designed to keep soil and sediment from leaving the construction site.
         2. Vegetation and trees within future roadway cleared to create clear path.
         3. Roadway excavated down to “subgrade”, or roadbed foundation.
         4. Subgrade compacted to provide stable foundation for future road.
      2. Utility construction
         1. All subsurface utilities installed, such as storm sewer lines, water lines, wastewater lines and electrical lines that will run under the roadway.
      3. Roadway foundation construction/curb and gutter/asphalt
         1. Once subgrade is prepared and underground utilities installed, contractor constructs roadbed with up to 22 inches of crushed limestone rock known as “flex base”.
         2. Concrete curb and gutter installed.
         3. Asphalt, typically two to five inches, installed and compacted to create final riding surface.
      4. Signals/striping/signage
         1. Once actual road construction is complete, contractor installs traffic control devices.
         2. Roadway striping installed, including stop bars, stop signs, crosswalks, center-line and traffic lane markings.
         3. Stop signs, school zone signs, and speed limit signs installed.
      5. Sidewalks/irrigation/landscaping
         1. Sidewalks installed to facilitate pedestrian traffic.
         2. Landscape irrigation system installed for medians and buffer areas, including installation of water meters, irrigation pipes, sprinkler heads, and timing system.
         3. Landscaping materials installed, including plants, shrubs, seed or sod.

Source: City of Cedar Park

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