A great deal of attention is given to projects/activities that would enhance the "quality of life" for North Port residents.
Current Projects include:
Fire Station 82 and Police Sub-Station
On November 17, 2009 we held a grand opening for your new Fire Station.
The new facility includes a fire station, a police sub-station, and additional parking for Dallas White Park and the North Port Skate Park.
The building also includes many “green” features, including: soy based insulation; motion sensor lighting; low flow water fixtures; low UV storm windows; pedestrian and bike accessible; drought resistance landscaping; and solar hot water.
In addition, the fire station has been designed to match the Mediterranean theme of the surrounding neighborhood and will include a decorative clock tower.
The fire station replaces the existing Fire Rescue Station 82 located a block south on North Port Boulevard.
Joint Charlotte County/City of North Port Drainage Project
Shown here is the massive water control structure and three attached six-foot-diameter
culvert pipes at the Jupiter Waterway worksite on Chancellor Boulevard. Water will enter
the back side of the control structure, exiting through the culverts on the downstream side
of the waterway. The Apollo and Jupiter Waterways together drain the US 41 commercial
area to the north.
Nothing so clearly demonstrates the value of cooperation between local governments as when they work together to resolve water-related issues.
So it is with the City of North Port and Charlotte County, who are engaged in a joint project to replace aging corrugated steel drainage structures located at three waterway crossings along Chancellor Boulevard in southwestern North Port. The upgraded infrastructure is critical to maintaining efficient stormwater drainage in North Port as well as northern Charlotte County.
The work has required that sections of Chancellor Boulevard be closed, and detour signs have been placed near the closure points at each of the three waterway crossings. The inconvenience will be short-lived, however, and portions of the road will be reopened to traffic as work at each of the three crossings is finished. The entire project should be completed by early September.
Flowing parallel to one another and spaced roughly three-quarters of a mile apart, the Jupiter, Apollo and Cheshire Waterways carry stormwater southwesterly from the extreme southwestern portion of the City, through Charlotte County and finally into the Myakka River. Chancellor Boulevard, an east-west traffic collector road for both North Port and Charlotte County, bisects the three waterways. At those points, five- and six-foot-diameter drainage culvert pipes were installed some 30 to 35 years ago to convey water into canals beneath the road. The intervening years have not been kind to these corrugated steel water control structures and culvert pipes, and they are now extremely corroded and structurally unreliable.
Since 2002, the City of North Port and Charlotte County have been planning and budgeting to remove these old structures and replace them with much more durable concrete water control structures and reinforced concrete culvert pipes. Because the midline of Chancellor Boulevard is the border between the City and Charlotte County, the two governments have agreed to split the cost of the upgrades.
The City’s share of project costs is approximately $500,000. The City has applied for and received $11,123 from the Community Budget Issue Requests (CBIRS) reimbursement grant program, which corresponds to 50% of project funds spent to date. Upon completion of the project, the City expects to apply for additional CBIRS funds to defray up to 50% of the project.
The two governments have agreed that the improvements are absolutely essential, since any significant failure of the corroded structures and collapse of the culvert pipes could endanger the integrity of the roadway itself and cause localized flooding.
These old structures are now being replaced by new concrete water control structures designed to reduce debris clogs. A sound investment for North Port and Charlotte County taxpayers, the new structures have an estimated lifespan of up to 75 years or more, two to three times as long as the metal structures they are replacing.
The project involves much more than just replacing the old with the new structures. Before this work could even begin, physical barriers were put into place in a process known as “de-watering,” or drying out the work sites. Water is pumped around the construction work and into the downstream waterways, where double lines of floating barriers allow silt to sink to the bottom. To reduce the disturbance to nearby neighborhoods, sound barriers were erected around the pumps and generators. The pumps are periodically turned off when they are not needed.
Project completion update (as of August 14)
Barring delays due to weather or other factors, following are current estimates for project completion and road openings at each of the Chancellor Boulevard work sites:
• Jupiter Waterway crossing (west of Cornelius Boulevard): work has been completed and the road is open to traffic;
• Apollo Waterway (east of Sumter Boulevard): early September;
• Cheshire Waterway (west of Biscayne Drive): work is complete and the road is open to traffic.
For more information about these improvements, please contact Elizabeth Wong, North Port Stormwater Manager, at (941) 429-7090 or ewong@cityofnorthport.com, or Charlotte County Project Manager John Elias at (941) 575-3639 or John.Elias@charlottefl.com.
Water Control Structure #109 Gets a Retrofit
Newly refurbished Water Control Structure 109 WCS 109 before retrofit: Extensive leakage
and structural deterioration
The City’s existing 69 water control structures (WCS) are 30 to 40 years old. The functionality and structural integrity varies from structure to structure, but we know that many are in dire need of rehabilitation.
Delaying rehabilitation of older deteriorated structures increases the risk of a potential massive failure, especially during a severe storm or as the result of exposure to harsh environmental conditions. Water control structure failures can trigger other catastrophic mishaps, such as downstream flooding and even washout of bridges.
The City selected WCS #109, located on the Cocoplum Canal just east of San Mateo Boulevard, for a retrofit based on the recommendation of PBS&J, an engineering consultant. Evaluation of the structure by the consultant revealed that metal sheet pilings and vertical I-beams were severely corroded, allowing a large volume of water to flow through many openings in the structure. Some of the six corroded gates could not be opened while others could only be partially opened. Severe erosion had also undermined the structure.
To resolve the structure’s many problems required several discrete repairs, yet remarkably all construction was completed between April and May of 2009. A concrete wall, itself supported by large stones (revetment), was installed to reinforce the existing corroded weirs. All six gates were replaced with stainless steel gates. The concrete spillway downstream of the six gates has been extended to reduce erosion and undercutting of the support structure. Corroded portions of vertical I-beams and all tie rods to the upstream anchor blocks were replaced. And finally, the corroded portions of a catwalk that gives access to the gates were replaced. The entire catwalk was repainted in “City center green,” the color chosen by the City to embellish many different kinds of infrastructure.
Before any of the repairs could even begin, the contractor had to remove the water from a portion of the Cocoplum Canal and keep the work area dry around the water control structure during construction. The relatively new method he chose to remove the water from the canal required the temporary installation of Aquadams upstream and downstream of the water control structure. Normally used in pairs, Aquadams are six- to eight-foot-tall plastic water-filled tubes that are used to prevent water from entering a work site. The Aquadam tubes were brought to the site in large rolls. They were then inflated with water from the canal and guided to stretch across the canal. As the Aquadams were filled with water, they sank to the canal bottom, where they acted as vertical barriers. Pumps were then used to remove the water between the upstream and downstream Aquadams.
The Kimley Horn and Associates consulting engineering firm designed the project at a cost $49,594.36, and Keesling Construction Inc., the contractor, completed the project at a cost of $311,650. Up to 50 percent of the design and construction costs were eligible for reimbursement from a State Community Budget Issue Requests (CBIRS) grant. Design and construction proceeded smoothly and the project was completed within budget and ahead of schedule, due to an excellent design team and a very professional and skilled contractor.
Future projects "in the works" include:
U.S. 41/Cranberry Boulevard Gateway sign and entrance feature
Artist's rendering of the US 41/Cranberry Boulevard gateway entrance sign & structure.
North Port community pride will get a big, very visible boost this fall, when a handsome new gateway entrance sign will grace the northbound US 41 entrance to the City just past Cranberry Boulevard. Grading and underground utilities have begun, and project completion is anticipated by early fall.
The gateway feature will be anchored by a 12-foot-tall, eight-foot-square Mediterranean-styled tower with a clay tile roof. Connected to the tower and facing northbound traffic, a 12-foot-long sign will greet travelers with the words, “The City of North Port Welcomes You.” The stucco walls of the sign and tower will be painted pastel gold and white, and a looped extension of the existing sidewalk will pass through the tower’s arched sides.
US 41 redevelopment funds provided by Sarasota County will cover the entire $55,000 cost of the project. North Port contractor Coral Sands Construction, LLC, will build the structures.
Construction of a similar gateway feature planned for the US 41/Ortiz Boulevard west-side entrance to the City has been deferred until a site is chosen.
The City of North Port does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, family or religious status in administration of its programs, activities or services.To learn more about the City’s Title VI and Americans with Disabilities compliance, or to download a copy of a complaint form, please click here.