CASE STUDY 11 — Llano Christian Academy Private School Renovation & Expansion | Civil Engineering & ADA Compliance Design

PROJECT OVERVIEW
JRH Engineering provided complete civil engineering design for the renovation and expansion of a private school campus in Llano, Texas. The campus featured significant grade changes across multiple buildings that created ADA accessibility challenges — a compliance requirement that, handled incorrectly, would have required costly and disruptive regrading across an operating school campus. JRH resolved every accessibility challenge through a targeted solution of retaining walls and ADA-compliant switchback sidewalks, delivering full compliance without shutting down the campus.

AT A GLANCE

Site Civil Design

● Full civil design for campus renovation and expansion including grading, sidewalk layout, and ADA accessibility upgrades

● Retaining walls specified on grade-change areas between buildings — targeted solution eliminating the need for campus-wide regrading

● ADA-compliant switchback sidewalks designed to connect buildings within allowable slope tolerances across significant grade changes

● Existing water and sanitary infrastructure utilized — no new utility design required

ADA Compliance Design

● Every building-to-building connection on the campus designed to meet ADA slope requirements

● Switchback sidewalk configuration allowed full ADA compliance across steep grade changes without modifying finished floor elevations or regrading building pads

● Retaining walls used at critical transition points to manage elevation changes within ADA-compliant parameters

Stormwater & Drainage

● Drainage followed Llano's natural course requirements — no new detention design required

● Existing drainage patterns preserved through targeted grading approach

● No new drainage infrastructure required — an additional cost saving made possible by the targeted rather than wholesale grading approach

Permitting & Agency Coordination

● City of Llano building permit coordinated with ADA compliance documentation

● Targeted design approach — retaining walls and switchbacks rather than regrading — simplified the permit submission by avoiding extensive earthwork plans

THE CHALLENGE
An operating private school cannot be shut down for a full campus regrade. But ADA compliance is not optional — and a campus with significant grade changes between buildings had real accessibility gaps that needed to be resolved as part of the expansion permit. The conventional approach — regrading the entire campus to create smooth, compliant transitions — would have been expensive, disruptive, and unnecessary.

JRH's Approach
JRH identified the grade-change problem as a precision engineering challenge, not a mass earthwork problem. Retaining walls at key transition points, combined with ADA-compliant switchback sidewalks connecting buildings, delivered full accessibility compliance without touching the building pads or requiring campus-wide regrading. The operating school was minimally disrupted, construction costs were significantly reduced, and the permit package was simpler because there was no major earthwork to document and review.

The Result
A fully permitted private school renovation and expansion with complete ADA compliance — delivered without regrading the campus or disrupting school operations.

RESULTS

● Full ADA compliance achieved across a multi-building campus with significant grade changes — without campus-wide regrading

● School operations preserved — targeted retaining wall and switchback solution minimized construction disruption

● No new drainage or utility infrastructure required — existing systems utilized, reducing cost and permitting complexity