Gresham Smith-Designed Wastewater and Stormwater Improvements Take Shape in Dallas
Gresham Smith is proud to announce that construction is underway on three wastewater and stormwater projects for the City of Dallas Department of Water Utilities (DWU). The firm is rehabilitating and replacing 9,000 linear feet of wastewater sewer main on the Lower East Bank, improving six alleys throughout the city, and stabilizing numerous eroding stream banks in southwest Dallas.
“The Dallas-Fort Worth area is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, which comes with expanding infrastructure demands,” said Tim O’Brien, P.E., ENV SP, vice president and Dallas office leader. “This work to renew aging wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, as well as our work to protect the city’s natural streams, will support the area’s growth and capacity needs.”
The original 1940s sewer pipeline on the Lower East Bank has experienced serious encroachment over the years from Interstate 1-35, a major hotel and conference center, and a series of commercial buildings. Combined with the deteriorating condition of the pipe and a need for increased capacity, DWU called on Gresham Smith to replace 7,500 linear feet and rehabilitate 1,500 linear feet of 84-inch to 120-inch pipe. The majority of the construction process will use trenchless technology such as tunneling and boring to reduce surface impacts to the urban environment, and when complete in 2023, the City will significantly reduce sanitary sewer overflows and improve conveyance across the City.
As part of the City of Dallas’ $1.05 billion capital bond program, the firm designed improvements to six alleys, originally constructed in the 1950s, throughout the city. The team will resurface the deteriorating concrete to improve drainage, design closed stormwater conveyance to reduce erosion and enhance water quality, and create much needed space for sanitation trucks and homeowners accessing the alleys. The project is expected to complete in 2022.
Gresham Smith is also stabilizing nearly 1,800 linear feet of stream banks on the southwest side of the city that are eroding as a result of stormwater runoff. The team will implement a series of engineered stabilization methods and gabion walls, and construction is expected to complete at the end of 2021.
These projects are a continuation of Gresham Smith’s relationship with the City of Dallas. The firm recently designed upgrades for 14 critical pieces of infrastructure at the Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Gresham Smith also designed stormwater upgrades at the Southside Plant, which are intended to alleviate localized flooding and mitigate current and future stormwater flows when construction completes in 2022.