Photos courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
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ST. LOUIS, MO – Kwame Building Group (KWAME) has completed construction of a $3.1 million, 0.53-mile segment of Great Rivers Greenway’s St. Vincent Greenway, from Trojan Park to Robert L. Powell Place in Wellston, MO. Work included demolishing existing sidewalks along the route and replacing them with a 10-foot-wide, multi-use paved path. A small pocket park, including a raised platform that overlooks native plantings along the banks of Engelholm Creek, was constructed to replace a vacant lot. A MetroBus stop with improved seating was also added near the MetroLink tracks.
With the project site located in an active urban area, the primary project challenges included maintaining and coordinating access to adjacent businesses as well as ensuring pedestrian and public safety.
As project manager and construction manager, KWAME oversaw a particularly challenging portion of the project, which involved constructing four custom-fabricated concrete pieces—weighing thousands of pounds each—and placing them in Engelholm Creek to form a box culvert and create a tunnel that allows the stream to pass under the road. With the creek flowing under the street at an angle, each piece of concrete was skewed to accommodate the course of the water. The complexity of accurately placing the heavy concrete structures required a crane operator and crew. The greenway runs on top of the culvert via Engelholm Creek Bridge, which was widened as part of the project.
KWAME provided schedule management and construction oversight to minimize project risks and maximize success. KWAME also provided preconstruction services including constructability reviews of architectural drawings, cost estimating and subcontractor bid coordination. Lamar Johnson Collaborative and Lochmueller Group provided design. R.V. Wagner served as the general contractor.
With this new segment, the St. Vincent Greenway now extends north from Trojan Park along Stephen Jones Avenue and west to the intersection of Plymouth and Sutter Avenues. Heading west on Plymouth Avenue, the greenway connects with St. Louis County MET Center, STL VentureWorks and the Wellston MetroLink Station. When complete, the more than seven-mile St. Vincent Greenway will extend from North Hanley MetroLink through the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus all the way to Forest Park. The final two phases include a 1.69-mile segment that starts at the former Eskridge High School site and connects to St. Charles Rock Road and a 0.83-mile segment that connects St. Vincent County Park to the Rock Road Transit Center.
This project was a collaboration between Great Rivers Greenway, the City of Wellston, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District and Mysun Charitable Foundation.
KWAME has worked with Great Rivers Greenway on other segments of the St. Vincent Greenway, including the $3.2 million, 1.3-mile trail section that connects north St. Louis County to Forest Park. KWAME has also partnered with Great Rivers Greenway on the CityArchRiver Renovation at the Gateway Arch as well as the recently completed Foundry Trestle Pier Project and is currently working on the entire 10-mile Brickline Greenway, which spans 14 neighborhoods.
The Great Rivers Greenway network of accessible, car-free paths is being developed in three counties to connect St. Louisans with schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, civic and cultural institutions. Since 2000, Great Rivers Greenway has built 135 miles of greenways throughout the region with the goals of connecting diverse communities, providing recreational opportunities and alternative transportation options and increasing access equity to greenspaces.
ABOUT KWAME BUILDING GROUP, INC.
Kwame Building Group, Inc. (KWAME) is one of the nation’s top pure construction management firms, dedicating 100 percent of its resources to project management services. Celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2021, the employee-owned company provides estimating, scheduling, project planning, value engineering and other project management services as an independent advocate for owners and developers. KWAME’s public and private sector projects include educational facilities, major airports nationwide, light-rail systems, hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and government facilities. KWAME is headquartered in St. Louis with division offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Seattle. For more information, visit www.kwamebuildinggroup.com or call (314) 862-5344.
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