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August 02, 2017
DDC High School Interns Visit Various Staten Island Infrastructure Projects
NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) High School Interns Visit Various Staten Island Infrastructure Projects.
On August 2nd, NYC’s Department of Design and Construction High School summer interns arrived in Staten Island for their final construction site visit to observe first-hand the Infrastructure Division’s work to create a sustainable and resilient community. Staten Island has historically experienced flooding in residential neighborhoods from rain storms and hurricanes. Hurricane Sandy greatly impacted Staten Island. To resolve those issues, DDC initiated multiple infrastructure projects to improve living conditions and enhance the quality of life in the borough.
The first site that the interns visited was the South Beach Project, a sewer and pipe installation site. South Beach Project is an ongoing $84 million project to fix 22,000 feet of storm sewers. Arvind Patel, an Infrastructure Deputy Director, and Tom Husband, an ARCADIS Senior Construction Manager explained the reinstallation process and maintenance of old pipes to improve road walks and sidewalks by reinstalling old pipes and fixing leaks. The interns observed different sheeting, pipes, and panels. Some of the pipes used for the project were clay pipes. Project managers explained how clay works well with both sanitary and storm pipes because corrosion doesn’t occur.
The second site was the Hunter Ave. Project, a Best Management Practice (BMP) project in process. BMPs are a method of reducing water pollution. They capture excess storm water and send it through several natural barriers that strain pollutants and sediment from the water. By channeling water to a designated area, they reduce flooding and filter water runoff without negatively affecting the surrounding environment. Adding more traditional sewage systems, such as drainage pipes, can be invasive and hurt the environment. By comparison, BMPs require much less construction effort and man-made materials. Staten Island currently has over twenty (20) BMP projects undergoing construction. David Peterson, an Infrastructure Engineer in Charge explained that the Hunter Avenue BMP Project is geared mainly towards wetland area preservation. Engineers, designers, and environmental specialists created methods of directing excess storm water to collect in an excavated area before flowing back out into the sewer pipes. During the collection process, rocks and other sediments are filtered out. Environmental specialists preserved the nature of the area by planting native flowers, trees, and plants. They also installed goose fences around the lake to stop geese from landing and eating plants.
