The Flint Street Improvements project was a reconstruction of a residential street nestled in one of the older neighborhoods in Shawnee, Kansas. Flint Street was a narrow, two-lane roadway that didn’t meet City standards of quality, safety and accessibility, and this design-build project made that possible. One of the key aspects of the project was that the south half of the project was a residential area and the north half was non-residential which included church, an elementary school and several businesses. Another distinctive element was the multi-use trail system on the north half of the project. This tied into the other trail segments that were a part of the Nieman Now! Projects, but currently Flint Street had no access to the trail.

First Design-Build Project a Success for Shawnee

As the city’s first horizontal design-build project, it was critically important to the city that the project meet the expectations of the city, the residents affected by the work, and other stakeholders to establish encouragement and setting the table for continued future in similar projects. The project was characterized by aging utility infrastructure and a narrow two-lane roadway with open drainage ditches along both sides. The area lacked curbs or sidewalks, which created a dangerous situation to pedestrians and non-motorized traffic, especially considering the corridor contained a church and school. The project was complex from a maintenance of traffic standpoint but to mitigate impacts, the team opened constant and direct lines of communication with the residents and stakeholders. Weekly updates with work planned, access impacts, and depictions of how and where to access homes and businesses were emailed directly and they were encouraged to contact the design-builder directly. From inception to completion, the ideals of ‘Design-Build Done Right’ were consistently implemented during all phases of the project, setting the foundation for future design-build work in the City of Shawnee.

Design-Build Team

Client/Owner:	City of Shawnee
Design-Build Firm:	Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc
Engineer:	McClure Engineering Company
Specialty Contractors:	Superior Bowen
Construction Duration:	7 Months
Project Cost:	$2,807,878.16