New Platform Tennis Courts
River Forest Park District - River Forest, IL
W-T Civil Engineering, LLC was recently hired by the River Forest Park 
District to prepare construction documents for two (2) new platform tennis courts in the existing Keystone Park in River Forest, IL. W-T Civil Engineering, LLC will be completing the site engineering drawings and permitting for the project, site engineering drawings will include the site layout and restoration. W-T Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, LLC is part of the engineering team as well, and will provide the mechanical engineering design for the tennis courts heating system, and the electrical engineering design for the court lighting and power systems.
The two (2) platform tennis courts will be constructed adjacent to the existing tennis courts on site and adjacent to an existing maintenance and storage building which will be converted to a warming shelter. The 
existing maintenance building is being converted to a warming shelter because the game of platform tennis can be played during the winter months. The tennis court is constructed on an aluminum structure and the playing surface is elevated 42” above the surrounding ground surface. The area beneath the tennis court structure is enclosed in order to trap heat that is generated beneath the decks via natural gas heaters. The courts are also lit to allow play at night. The new courts at Keystone Park will require a wood handicap ramp to allow ADA access to the courts.
Platform tennis is a doubles sport that is played with the same rules as tennis, however balls can be played off of the fences which surround the courts, and serves which touch the net can be played. Construction of the platform tennis courts is expected to begin the summer of 2011 so that the platform tennis courts will be open for play in the winter of 2011.
ERO-TEX Ground Control Conference
On March 15, 2011 several members of 
the W-T Civil Engineering staff attended the ERO-TEX ground control conference that was held at the University of Northern Illinois’s campus in Hoffman Estates, IL. Topics included soil erosion and storm water pollution prevention associated with road building and streams. Road topics discussed included using the correct geo-fabrics, geogrids, and road drainage. Stream issues discussed included updates to the Army Corps of Engineers rules, regulations, and permitting as well as aqua barriers, and polymers for de-watering. Yearly the Army Corps of Engineers, the 
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and counties such as DuPage and Lake are updating their storm water pollution prevention standards as well as their best management practice requirements. The conference provided several new best management practice designs and products as well as erosion control products which will help with compliance with the new local, state, and federal regulations.
Craigs List of Dirt
Anyone need some dirt? Seriously! Even though we use the latest software to estimate earthwork and try to balance all sites, sometimes it is not possible. For example, did you know that, on average, 4,000 cubic yards (400-500 trucks) of earth is excavated from one synthetic turf football field? Not many schools have enough unused space to keep that much material on site. Whether you need to remove excess soils or haul in soils in order to raise a site to desired elevation, earthwork is a huge cost to many Civil Engineering projects. We have contacts in the earthwork business and coordinate with them constantly in order to provide our clients with the most economical solution to their earthwork needs. The theory is that, from an environmental standpoint as well as a financial standpoint for both parties, it would be a shame if two nearby projects could help provide materials / a place to move it to but instead hauled material long distances just because they weren’t aware of one another. Just like with the real Craigslist, we hope that the “Craigslist of dirt” can help to make that connection easier. Please note that most of these projects were not designed by W-T. We will gladly list your needs / excesses if you just let me know what you have, how much you have and when you need it.
This edition’s featured earthwork opportunities:
20,000 cy of black topsoil in the Homewood-Flossmoor area
11,000 cy of clay and black topsoil in Palatine Area in spring
Need 30,000 cy of material in Lake County now through spring
100,000 cy clay & 50,000 peat in Lake County in late 2011
25,000 cy of C-DOT approved material in NW Indiana now
20,000 cy of sandy loam on south side now
20,000 cy of dredged material in Wheaton now
1,500 cy of dredged material plus asphalt grindings in Elk Grove area in Summer 2011
Need 15,000 cy of structural fill in Mendota in spring
For more information, please contact Jason Green at jason.green@wtengineering.com