Monday, November 21, 2011

The Citizens of Olathe Are the Winners as City and GBA Are Recognized by ACEC Kansas with a ‘City Public Improvement Award’ for the South Cedar Creek Sewer Improvements


The ACEC Kansas “City Public Improvement Awards” recognize engineering projects for their benefit to the citizens of a community, so when this year’s award in the “50,000 and above” population category went to the City of Olathe and GBA for the South Cedar Creek Sewer Improvements, the citizens of Olathe were the real winners!

We'll be there, along with representatives from the City, when the awards are handed out at the Kansas Association of City/County Management’s Annual Conference in Topeka on December 1. The improvements provide sewer service to developing areas that will support the BNSF Railroad’s Intermodal Development in southwest Johnson County.

The new gravity sewer, forcemain, and a submersible pumping station are not only functional, but also sustainable and funded by a special sanitary sewer benefit district. The latter means that the citizens of Olathe will receive the long-term benefits of additional property tax income without incurring capital debt. Equally important is the environmentally sound method by which the project was planned, designed, and constructed.

The City and Johnson County have plans for a recreational trail along the stream that lies within the improvement corridor. As a result, special care was given to providing sustainable solutions, from alignment selection to reduce loss of large-diameter hardwood trees to minimizing the visual impact of the project along the stream corridor by alternating construction clearing limits on each side of the project centerline, and restoring the stream bank using bio-engineering techniques. Stream crossing locations were also carefully selected to minimize interceptor disruption by high velocities/scour.



Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Lights Are Bright on Kansas City’s Broadway Bridge, Recognized by AIA Kansas City with a 2011 Design Excellence Award!

Mike Sinclair Photographer
We’re pleased that the Broadway Bridge over I-670 in downtown Kansas City has been recognized by AIA Kansas City with a 2011 Design Excellence Award in the Merit Awards category! This standout bridge replaces a deteriorating structure to provide better vehicular and pedestrian access between Kansas City’s ever changing Central Business District and a vibrant area to the south that includes the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Crossroads Arts District.

The bridge supports the effort to encourage walkability in the City by providing wider sidewalks, ADA accessibility, and improved crosswalk signalization. But what really caught the AIA’s eye was the focus on the pedestrian experience. GBA, the engineer on the project, brought in el dorado inc. to focus on architectural and artistic enhancements to the bridge. The result? A pedestrian railing that employs a three-layered system of galvanized mesh that, combined with color and light, adds eye-catching appeal to this prominent public improvement! What’s more, portions of the pedestrian barrier contain two-inch thick yellow acrylic panels that buffer noise from the vehicles traveling below and create a visual experience that changes throughout the day!   Congratulations to all involved!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

MoDOT Partners with UMKC to Provide Students, Including GBA’s Chris Farney, with Hands-On Experience! Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Partnership!

 In early 2010, MoDOT partnered with the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC) to give engineering students an opportunity to receive hands-on experience while creating designs to improve traffic operations at intersections along Missouri Route 50. Chris Farney, an engineering intern who joined GBA’s Highways/Streets Group in May, was one of those students!

Chris, a Kansas City area native, earned a B.S. degree in civil engineering from UMKC in 2010 and completed his M.S. degree, also in civil engineering, at UMKC this year. He also has a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of Kansas!

Chris Farney
According to Chris, the first semester involved a study with findings and recommendations presented to MoDOT. During the second semester, designs were completed and submitted for review. “It really helped prepare me for my work here at GBA,” Chris said. “MoDOT actually used some of our ideas and design work in the final design. It was really cool getting to see something that I helped design actually built!”

A ribbon cutting yesterday celebrated the partnership and the safety enhancements that resulted from it. The $2.5 million project enhances traffic operations and improves safety at seven intersections, providing smoother, wider pavement and additional lighting at all intersections. New turn lanes and acceleration lanes were added at some of the busier intersections.