Case study | Recreational Facilities
Fort Kaskaskia and Fort de Chartres State Historic Site Improvements
Details
Owner
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Client
Farnsworth Group, Inc.
Project Cost
$500,000
Status
Completed 2020
Summary
Kaskaskia Engineering Group, LLC (KEG) provided civil design services for the Fort Kaskaskia and Fort de Chartres state historic site improvement projects, including the Pierre Menard House. It was an honor to work on these project sites because they played an important role in the history of the Village of Kaskaskia, the home of KEG founder’s ancestors. Both forts were constructed by the French and are located on the east bluff of the Mississippi River. Fort de Chartres was built in 1720 and served as the center of the French civil and military government of the Illinois country. Fort Kaskaskia was built in 1759 to defend the town of Kaskaskia. Kaskaskia was for more than a century the region’s principal commercial center, also serving from 1818 to 1820 as the first capital of Illinois.
Project
The project consisted of the upgrade of campground sites, sidewalk improvements at park amenities, parking lot reconstruction, and roadway improvements. The campground design, per the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) standards, consisted of tent campsites and electrified sites. Electrified camp sites were upgraded from grass to paved pads, including concrete wheel stops, and pads were positioned to minimize tree removal. Roadway improvements included patching, widening at curves and intersections to accommodate large vehicles, culvert replacements, and resurfacing. The parking lots were reconfigured to include new sidewalks, surface improvements, ADA-compliant parking stalls, and additional parking stalls. Overall park road drainage was also improved. Final contract documents contained calculated quantities, a cost estimate, maintenance of traffic (MOT) design, erosion, and sediment control, and contract special provisions.
KEG was a subconsultant to the Farnsworth Group, Inc. on a masterwork order contract with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), serving as contract administrator for IDNR. This project was a work order from the master contract in which KEG was responsible for the entire project development and engineering.
