5.5. SR 09-14-1998T'I'EM 5.5.
Howard R, Green Company
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
September 8, 1998
File: 802640J-0071
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Formerly MSA
Consulting Engineers
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River, MN 55330
RE: LAKE ORONO SEDIMENT REMOVAL PROJECT
Dear Council Members:
As you are aware, the Lake Orono Sediment Removal project has been on going for
approximately a month. In this time, the Contractor has constructed the river diversion,
prepared the three parcels to receive the river sediment along Trunk Highway 10, and
has been constructing roadways for removal of the material in the lake bed. One issue
that we have been struggling with along with the Contractor is how do we move the
sediment from the eastern portion of the western lobe of the lake. Approximately the
eastern third of the western lobe is much softer and higher in organic than we had
anticipated. This makes it virtually impossible to have equipment operate on this
material. No trucks will be able to drive on this material in order to have the material
loaded into them.
In working with Veit & Company, Inc., we have determined that the best way to remove
the material from the eastern portion of the western lobe is to use backhoes en masse to
stockpile the material in windrows. After the material has had some time to drain,
bulldozers can operate on the windrows and push the material to the west to a point
where it can be loaded into waiting trucks. This process is a significant change from the
way the project was anticipated to be accomplished. We have agreed to pay Veit &
Company, Inc. equipment time for the backhoes and bulldozers needed to move the
material around to a point where it can be loaded and removed from the lakebed. It is
difficult to estimate at this point in time, exactly how much additional dollars will be
needed to accomplish this process. Our best guess at this point is that it may cost up to
an additional $100,000.00 for the backhoe and bulldozer time. Our construction
inspector is monitoring their process daily and keeping track of the pieces of equipment
and number of hours each one works.
The good news in this situation is that even with the additional cost of the extraordinary
construction activities, the project will still be well within the original budget that was
established in the feasibility study. In fact, it appears that Veit & Company, Inc. will still
be under the second place bid.
O:~PROJ\802640j\640-0807.sept.doc
1326 Energy Park Drive · St. Paul, MN 55108 · 612/644-4389 fax 612/644-9446 toll free 888/368-4389
City of Elk River
September 8, 1998
Page 2
If you have any questions regarding this issue, I will be in attendance at your September
14, 1998 City Council meeting.
Sincerely,
Howard R. Green Company
Terry J. I~'~iurer, P.E.
TJM/st
cc: Steve Rohlf, Building and Zoning Administrator
Howard R, Green Company
O:\PROJ\802640j\640-0807.sept.doc CONSULTING ENGINEERS