SI Engineering’s 215th Step Street Project was awarded as the best landscape/urban project by ENR New York at the annual Awards Breakfast on Thursday, October 13th. As the owner of the project, NYCDDC selected SIE to provide Resident Engineering Inspection Services for this significant project.
Originally built in 1915, restoring the historic 215th Step Street involved demolition and reconstruction of existing stairs, the reconstruction of sidewalks and concrete benches, as well as the rehabilitation and reconstruction of historic lampposts. New storm and sanitary sewers, hand railings, precast concrete bicycle channels and street lighting were also installed.
This project provided many challenges, including unforeseen field conditions, unusually harsh weather as well as the restoration of the historic lamp posts. During demolition, the team discovered that the vaults underneath the existing stairs were more extensive than originally thought and the walls supporting the old stairs did not have adequate foundation and steel reinforcements. A new support system had to be designed and constructed before demolition could continue.
Due to the size of the trees and sloppy nature of the terrain, a crane needed to be used to lift the trees into the pits. Additionally, at the request of the community, one side of the steps was left open for use throughout the project which limited the space available for multitasking.
Read the entire article online here and look out for the article on page NY39 in the October 10th edition of ENR New York!
