Multiple Roadways

Patchogue, NY

The Village of Patchogue selected H2M to provide professional services for the installation of a porous concrete gutter and perforated pipe drainage system in conjunction with the construction of a new sewer collection system along River Avenue, Sunset Lane, Price Street, and Maple Avenue.

The River Avenue community, surrounded on three sides by water, was once summer homes and beach bungalows. Over time the community expanded and more of the homes became full-time residencies. When the Village of Patchogue decided to extend the Village sewer collection to include 46 additional homes, they decided to use the opportunity to correct drainage problems that had plagued the low-lying community for years.

H2M, serving as Engineer of Record (EOR), was tasked with finding a solution that could be implemented despite the limitations posed by flat topography, shallow groundwater, and the reuse of the single drainage outfall to Tuthills Creek. To address these challenges, a comprehensive re-design of the roadways and their drainage systems was proposed. As part of the solution, roadways were re-graded to include a crown to force runoff toward the edge of pavement. The flat topography prevented the possibility of significant longitudinal re-grading, so a porous concrete gutter drainage system was designed and installed to capture runoff once it reaches the road edge. Clean stone and perforated pipes installed below portions of the gutter system provide underground storage capacity before drainage pipes connecting the porous gutter system convey the runoff to the outfall pipe to Tuthills Creek. To provide additional runoff storage capacity, a surface stormwater management pond was constructed in an adjacent Village-owned lot and was connected to the new drainage systems. And finally, a new check valve was installed within the outfall pipe to Tuthills Creek. The check valve prevents water from backing up into the system, which was previously a major source of ponding on the roadway. During high tide events, the combination of the underground pipe system and surface stormwater management pond provides space to store more than 21,000 cubic feet of runoff until the tide recedes and runoff is conveyed through the outfall pipe to Tuthills Creek.

In total, design and construction of the drainage improvements consisted of the following major components:

• 4,400 feet of precast concrete porous gutter
• 2,400 feet of drainage pipe
• 24 drainage basins
• One drainage discharge check valve
• One stormwater management basin
• 4,700 feet of new curb
• Curb-to-curb pavement restoration

During construction, H2M provided a full-time resident engineer responsible for construction observation, shop drawing review, review of contractor payment requests, and periodic meetings.