LFA was selected by the City of South Bend to design the Olive Street concrete pavement reconstruction project on an existing heavy-haul truck route through a mixed-used residential/industrial corridor. The endeavor was partially funded through federal dollars with oversight from INDOT.
The initial project programming phase consisted of working with both city engineering and city community investment staff.
This partnership helped to not only reconstruct the heavily traveled corridor, but also to right size the roadway itself, meeting other needs and project requirements for non-motorized travel through a mixed use commercial/residential corridor. Additionally, walkability and aesthetics considerations in the neighborhood section were significant design constraints.
Led by engineers Joe Dunbar P.E., and Mike Guzik P.E., this 0.60 mile concrete pavement reconstruction project added a center left turn lane with an 8-foot shared use path and other traffic calming measures for what was once a wide, two-lane arterial with on-street parking. The roadway section now continues to allow heavy trucks to connect to industrial facilities while also providing context-sensitive amenities for home owners, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
“There were definitely some utility coordination challenges on this one, too,” explained LFA’s Joe Dunbar, PE. In addition to
moving electric distribution and transmission lines from the roadsides, a railroad also factored into the project, which required multi-level coordination between all entities. “Once electric was moved, we still had to work with Comcast and AT&T to move their lines,” Dunbar said. Beyond utility relocation efforts, design was also constrained by numerous commercial and residential properties with buildings, fencing and other improvements directly adjacent to the right-of-way. These constraints limited corridor width improvements.
The $3.9 million project also included separation of existing storm sewer, reconstruction of seven connecting intersections, numerous ADA ramps, ornamental lighting, on-street parking, and other amenities creating a softer residential context for non-motorized connections to destinations within this community. LFA and Milestone Contractors also won an Excellence in Concrete Pavement Award from the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) for their work on this project.
LFA’s project team was responsible for topographic survey, environmental documentation, geotechnical investigation, utility coordination, road plan development, lighting design, signing, railroad coordination, maintenance of traffic, right-of-way engineering, and real estate services. LFA would like to thank the City of South Bend for the opportunity and Milestone Contractors North, Inc. for their diligence and attention to detail in completing this valued project.
This project was finalized in December 2019, let April 1, 2020, and completed in by Milestone Construction in 2021.
