The City of Wilmington selected LJB to provide engineering design services for Shipyard Boulevard (U.S. 117), the primary route into the Port of Wilmington. The purpose of the project was to provide sidewalk improvements and a bus pullout between Rutledge Drive and Vance Street. In addition to roadway and sidewalk widening, LJB designed the upgrades to the stormwater facilities and provided transportation management strategies and erosion and sediment control plans. Environmental services included preparing a Programmatic Categorical Exclusion (PCE), a wetland stream evaluation and a listed species habitat evaluation.
The topography in Wilmington has very little changes in elevation. Introducing curb and gutter to a previously open shoulder section could have impacted adjacent property owners, as well as an aging stormwater network that would require additional improvements the City of Wilmington was unprepared to mitigate with U-5534N. Instead, LJB’s team designed modified concrete flumes beneath the sidewalk. This allowed outlets for stormwater runoff that mimic the existing flow patterns. The design saved the City of Wilmington from replacing a significant section of their stormwater network to meet capacity requirements.
