Roads & Bridges Recognizes Two Gannett Fleming Projects
August 17, 2010
(Harrisburg, Pa.) Roads & Bridges magazine ranked the I-80 Widening at Meander Reservoir Project as #4 and the New Jersey Route 18, Sections 2F, 7E, and 11H Project as #8 in its “Top 10 Roads 2010” awards program. This awards program recognizes the best in road construction for 2010. Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and construction management firm, served as the lead designer and engineer-of-record on both of these projects. The Top 10 Roads will be published in the October 2010 issue of Roads & Bridges magazine.
I-80 Widening at Meander Reservoir Project
 One of the largest and most challenging projects in the history of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s) District 4, the I-80 Widening Project at Meander Reservoir has transformed I-80 from a four-lane to a six-lane highway and replaced the twin bridges over the Meander Reservoir. Gannett Fleming designed an innovative spill containment system for this project that protects the drinking water supply for more than 220,000 people. Despite its relatively simple design, this system provides solutions to watershed protection problems faced by transportation officials worldwide when proposed roadway bridges cross high-quality waterways.
Gannett Fleming also provided the design for four-and-a-half miles of the I-80 widening, the new twin bridges, replacement and widening of the mainline bridges, emergency access, and a new 12.5-acre wetland habitat that was used to mitigate environmental impacts caused by the project. The wetland habitat will serve as a pooled mitigation site for future ODOT projects.
New Jersey Route 18, Sections 2F, 7E, and 11H Project
 The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT’s) $215 million reconstruction of New Jersey’s Route 18 in the city of New Brunswick improved safety and operations for regional travel. The project also provided much needed multi-modal service improvements and local access to downtown New Brunswick, Rutgers University, the Raritan River waterfront, Boyd Park, and various neighborhoods adjacent to the corridor.
The #8-ranked, multi-interchange project involved the total reconstruction and widening of 2.1 miles of Route 18 within the city and consisted of four new grade-separated interchanges that allowed for the construction of collector-distributor (CD) roadways to each side of the mainline to separate local traffic from express traffic. The overall project also included two pedestrian bridges, one pedestrian tunnel, noise walls, sign structures, retaining walls, significant improvements and expansion to the city’s Boyd Park, major bulkhead rehabilitation along the Raritan River, traffic signals, an extensive intelligent transportation system, and substantial utility relocations.
From the onset of the Final Scope Development phase, a Context Sensitive Design (CSD) approach was initiated to define a collaborative design solution that met transportation needs, environmental obligations, and community values. Through a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from NJDOT, Gannett Fleming, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a community involvement action plan was developed that centered on the formation of a Community Partnering Team (CPT). This CPT was a unique mechanism that obtained broad-based public participation and provided information to stakeholders and community representatives.
For more information, please contact Judy L. Hricak, CPSM at (717) 763-7211, ext. 2624 or via e-mail.
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