Block & Company, Inc., Realtors‘ construction management division has completed “Project Infill,” a large-scale infrastructure and earthwork project at 7000 W Frontage Road in Merriam, Kansas.
This is the final development project in the Merriam Pointe Auto Mall.
The 4.04-acre property is primarily located in the heart of Merriam Pointe, one of Kansas City’s largest automotive dealership hubs in the metropolitan area. However, the property’s prior condition was nothing more than a non-income-producing, deep-drainage ditch with depths exceeding 40 feet below surrounding surfaces.
The end goal for the property was to elevate the grade to match the surrounding surface levels in order to transform the unusable piece of land into a prime site for a new automotive dealership. In order to achieve this, many environmental requirements would need to be fulfilled before any earthwork was initiated.
The first requirement was to engage with an environmental engineering firm to assist in obtaining a permit from the US Army Corps Of Engineers. This permit is required under the U.S. Clean Water Act and allows for the diversion of an onsite stream into a concrete box culvert that would need to be constructed.
The issuance of the permit triggered site clearing, which had to be scheduled to avoid any disturbance of endangered species potentially inhabiting the site. After clearing activities were completed, subgrade preparation for the box culvert began. A 14-by-14-foot box culvert was constructed, spanning several hundred feet across the entire site and through a 20-foot retaining wall along the entire West end of the site. Upon completion, fill activities were set to begin. This required the import and placement of more than 100,000 cubic yards of engineered fill material.
Another major component of the project was the replacement of more than 600 feet of a 24-inch diameter clay sewer line with a new cast iron line. New manholes were added and existing manholes were raised to more than 40 feet in height in some cases requiring significant box shoring for earth retention and vacuum excavation to reach the bottom of the manholes.
Additional modifications included the relocation, modification and extension of water and electrical utility lines on site. After completion of improvements the site was fine graded, seeded and landscaped.
