PROJECT
The existing middle school required many students to leave their middle school and to walk to Berg Elementary to attend various classes due to overcrowding. The mobilization of students and staff added approximately six minutes round-trip to their schedules and required various coordination efforts among staff. The new school can accommodate up to 960 students and provides students new opportunities in technology and 34 classrooms with integral discovery spaces.
SOLUTION
Leveraging long-standing relationships with the City of Dickinson and the North Dakota State University Research Center (NDSU), KLJ provided surveying and land planning services to annex, create, rezone, and provide public services to the 30-acre parcel upon which the new middle school is being constructed. KLJ also worked with the North Dakota State Legislature to verify the process and provide the documentation required for the Governor to authorize the sale of the NDSU property to the DPS. KLJ also provided comprehensive services for the planning and design of the middle school site. These services included working with the City of Dickinson on the master planning of land uses surrounding the middle school parcel, and transportation planning and coordination of the major access points with the construction of 21st Street West along the northern frontage, and 29th Avenue West along the western frontage.
KLJ addressed the major concern of the DPS through innovative site design that created an effective traffic flow through the site while discreetly separating bus and parent traffic for student drop-off and pick-up. Finally, KLJ provided the civil engineering and landscape architecture design to create a site plan to fit within the challenging topography of the site to minimize environmental impacts, such as grading, drainage, and water quality.
RESULTS
KLJ worked closely with the contractor to originate an early grading plan set for mass grading during the summer of 2015, with final grading and site improvements completed in the summer of 2016. KLJ provided construction administration and staking for the project, and worked closely with the DPS and the project team to assure successful completion of the Dickinson Middle School to make a significant contribution to the quality of life for the citizens of the city of Dickinson.