| May
27,
2005
(Albuquerque, N.M.) The Louisiana Boulevard/I-40
Interchange Reconstruction Project was recently recognized
with several awards. It was named the Grand
Conceptor in the American Council of Engineering Companies of New
Mexico’s Engineering
Excellence Awards Competition;
Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association of New
Mexico; and Project of the Year by the New Mexico Society of Professional
Engineers, Albuquerque Chapter.
Gannett Fleming West, Inc., (GFW), a New Mexico-based engineering
corporation specializing in planning, design, and construction management,
developed the award-winning interchange for the New Mexico Department
of Transportation (NMDOT). This newly reconstructed interchange was
honored for incorporating several innovative “firsts” for
the state of New Mexico and offering the City of Albuquerque a gateway
for future growth.
The I-40 Interchange provides major interstate access for residents
and businesses in the City’s Uptown area. Prior to reconstruction,
this interchange was inadequate to meet the growing traffic demand.
After extensive analysis, the GFW team and the NMDOT selected a platform
Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) concept for the interchange,
the first in the State. The SPUI concept brings all four interchange
on- and off-ramps into a single intersection under the control of
one traffic signal. The platform configuration placed the single
main intersection on the bridge deck rather than below it.
The design also included placing an I-40 on-ramp directly out of
the interchange’s adjacent shopping mall parking lot to relieve
congestion on the local arterial network, another first for New Mexico.
The new interchange is designed to meet projected 20-year traffic
volumes in excess of 250,000 vehicles per day.
This project incorporated social and sustainable design considerations
that enabled GFW to develop multi-modal facilities, including a bike
path and 120-space park-and-ride lot. In addition, the GFW Team developed
noise mitigation and extensive landscaping and aesthetics plans,
as well as expanded a local park with reclaimed land.
Throughout design and construction, GFW coordinated with the NMDOT,
City, businesses, public, and numerous other stakeholders. The public
now has a highly functional and impressive interchange that creates
a gateway and identity to the Uptown area. In addition, this project
was delivered one month ahead of schedule and maintained continuous
traffic flow throughout construction.
Gannett Fleming West, Inc. is a regional subsidiary of Gannett Fleming,
Inc., an international planning, design, and construction management
firm.
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