Choosing the Right Road Engineering Company

Road construction work can be one of the most disruptive and challenging projects for a state, county, or municipality to take on. Roads are vital to communities and businesses. That’s why it’s essential to make sure that you’re working with an experienced road engineering team that will design your road with consideration to its users, including businesses and residents, its underground utility infrastructure, and your goals.

What to Look for in a Road Engineering Company

Experience

Every year, Fleis & VandenBrink (F&V)  provides design and construction inspection services for over 100 miles of municipal roadways and infrastructure projects. This gives us vast experience and understanding of most issues that a roadway project could encounter and allows us to plan and design around these. Because we’ve seen most issues, we can provide valuable lessons and feedback throughout construction. Our construction engineers and Resident Project Representatives (RPRs) also build strong relationships with contractors as they view their construction work.

Portfolio

Working with a civil engineering company that has a long and varied history of road design experience is one of the best ways to make a smooth project. Check out our portfolio to get an idea of the kinds of projects we’ve worked on and what the finished product looked like. If possible, go and drive one of our road construction projects for yourself. We have worked on roads throughout both Michigan and Indiana.

Also talking to a prospective road engineering company, it’s a good idea to ask a lot of questions about their team. When you reach out to our team, we can talk with you about our experience and our process. We would be happy to discuss:

• The experience of our engineers
• Our best practices
• How we provide quality and safety on our projects
• The qualifications of our construction engineers and RPRs
• How we’re able to help you stay on budget
• How we stay on schedule
• How we communicate any changes

Cost Control

Year after year, F&V has helped our clients maintain project efficiency and keep costs in check. Records show that our road construction projects have averaged less than a 1% change between as-bid costs and final construction costs, prior to owner-requested modifications.

This is accomplished by several techniques:

• Good communication during design: We strive to get the client involved in decision-making throughout the entire design process. The final plans and specifications need to represent what the client requested during the design. Otherwise, changes will need to be made during construction, which leads to increased costs and time delays.
• Internal peer review. Internal quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) reviews are completed at regular intervals throughout the design. An experienced and independent team member provides the project team with someone who is watching out for project issues, whether they are in the design or potential construction issues.
• Timely communication during construction. Starting with clear construction plans, specifications, and contracts, we provide timely advice to keep your project moving forward. This allows us to be transparent with our clients and make sure we deliver a successful project.

Fleis & VandenBrink Road Construction Services

Construction Design

Our expert team can design new roadways, bridges, overpasses, exit ramps, and other infrastructure changes. We have experience with urban and rural areas and creating roads that meet their community’s needs. Our team will also make sure that the road or highway design meets state and federal standards.

Our experience includes traffic and pedestrian signals, impact studies for redevelopment, and studies for improvements such as road diets.

Construction Oversight

After the design is approved, the project goes out to bid to select a qualified asphalt contractor to perform the actual construction of the roadway. Our construction engineers provide oversight of these companies to make sure they build the project to the standards they were designed.

Our team is composed of highly experienced and trained inspectors to see that your project is built to meet your goals and needs.

Chip Seal

As your road begins to age, it will need regular maintenance. We have staff who oversee experienced asphalt contractor firms that perform chip-sealing services to help preserve the surface of your road and fix minor cracks, weathering, and other surface defects. This is a cost-effective service that is typically performed on low-volume roads to help extend the life of the roadway. It can also reduce skids and improve the overall look of the road.

Mill and Fill

When the wear and tear on a road has passed the point of chip sealing, F&V also has expert asphalt contractor companies we work with to perform mill and fill services. They’ll remove the top of the existing roadway and replace it to improve the road’s overall profile. This will make a more uniform and level surface, which can improve drainage and prevent standing water on the roadway.

Road Reconstruction

A more comprehensive process, road reconstruction involves the complete removal and replacement of the road, including its base and subbase. This is typically done after multiple other methods, including chip sealing and mill and fill, have already been implemented at least once.

Road reconstruction addresses issues such as deterioration, deformation, structural damage, poor drainage, and inadequate road width. It also presents an opportunity to complete utility upgrades, accommodate traffic changes, and improve the overall safety of the road.

Why Choose Fleis & VandenBrink?

Our engineering team offers a wide range of road engineering and inspection services for municipalities, county road commissions, and departments of transportation (DOT). These projects range from studies to design and construction. We build strong relationships through communication and collaboration, and we work to understand each community’s specific needs and priorities. We work on a variety of projects, including bridges and highway interchanges.

Over the course of three decades, F&V has grown to nearly 300 employees working across nine offices in Michigan and Indiana—from Traverse City to Indianapolis. Our staff are known for their knowledge, professionalism, dedication, and commitment to safety. Their extensive experience is essential to keeping your project on time and on budget.

Talk with Fleis & VandenBrink Engineers

Interested in working with F&V on your road construction project? Reach out to our team to learn more about what our engineers can do to assist with the design, funding, and construction engineering of your project.