In the vibrant community of Princeton, Witherspoon Street is the heartbeat of its business district. Between April 2022 and July 2023, Earle embarked on an extensive improvement project to turn this bustling thoroughfare into a modern urban gem, all while preserving the historic charm that makes Princeton so unique.
Witherspoon Street’s upgrade was comprehensive, spanning from Nassau Street to Green Street. Its transformation began with underground utility upgrades and culminated in a beautifully landscaped streetscape. The project scope was no small feat, including a new clay sanitary sewer system, stormwater capacity enhancements, the installation of a state-of-the-art paver roadway resting on a concrete slab base, and both porous and non-porous paver sidewalks. The project was further complicated by the backdrop of a bustling business district that needed to remain open for business, and century-old structures and intricate underground facilities. Each phase of the project had to be meticulously coordinated.
The project featured several unconventional aspects. Princeton’s exacting standards for sanitary sewers required clay mains and laterals encased in certified low-strength material. This specification necessitated a staged installation process to allow the material to gain strength before backfilling, with daily trench plating as an essential step. Additionally, due to sensitive and aged utilities adjacent to our work, extensive hand digging and hydro excavation were required.
We transformed the street into an inviting urban space, constructing a paver roadway and sidewalk extending from one building face to another. This ambitious task included the installation of a 9-inch-thick concrete slab under the roadway pavers and a 2-foot-thick drainage area under the porous sidewalk pavers.
To add to the complexity, several basements extended below the existing sidewalk slabs, necessitating the design of a new support system for the replacement ceiling/sidewalk slab and paver walkway above the existing basement. Over 100 utility castings within the new sidewalk required the addition of concrete frames around them, with square cuts on all pavers.
The Earle team was proud to illustrate our commitment to delivering transformative urban spaces while navigating the intricacies of historic districts, diverse utilities, and bustling commerce.