K-7 / Johnson Drive Interchange Receives Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award from the Eastern Chapter of KSPE



A unique interchange at Kansas Highway 7 and Johnson Drive in Shawnee, Kansas, has been honored by the Eastern Chapter of KSPE with the Chapter’s Outstanding Engineering Achievement award for 2011. Partners in the project include the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), the City of Shawnee, Kansas, and GBA. 

The project, which is on schedule for completion in November of this year, will replace a signalized intersection on K-7 at Johnson Drive/55th Street by constructing a modified single-point urban interchange with a large, multi-lane roundabout where ramps intersect Johnson Drive. The project will raise the profile of K-7 over Johnson Drive and will improve K-7 to interstate standards by providing a four-lane divided freeway. Provisions have also been included to add an additional lane in each direction as traffic volumes warrant. Two additional multi-lane roundabouts are being built on Johnson Drive on either side of K-7. 

Accepting the Outstanding Engineering Achievement award are (from left) Howard Lubliner, P.E., project manager, KDOT; Todd Jones, P.E., project manager, GBA; and Doug Wesselschmidt, P.E., Director of Development Services/City Engineer, City of Shawnee.





According to GBA Project Manager Todd Jones, P.E., development along the K-7 corridor prompted the improvements. "The interchange will replace a potentially dangerous signalized intersection that accommodated about 30,000 vehicles each day," Jones said. "During peak traffic, left-turn lane queues backed onto through lanes of K-7, creating safety concerns." When the project is completed, the intersection will handle the projected traffic volume for 2040.

Winners of Chapter awards will be considered for awards at the state level, which will be presented at the KSPE Annual Conference Awards Luncheon Thursday, June 23rd at the Hyatt in Wichita. 

New Interchange at Strother Road and I-470 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Receives 2011 Capstone Award for Infrastructure from the Kansas City Business Journal; GBA Part of Winning Project Team

An interchange at Strother Road and Interstate-470 in Lee’s Summit has been named a winner of a Capstone Award in the Infrastructure category by the Kansas City Business Journal. Now in its sixth year, the Capstone Award program honors outstanding real estate development projects and transactions throughout the Kansas City area. According to the Business Journal, a panel of judges reviewed the applications, considering visual aesthetics, new technological concepts, and a project’s relevance to the community. The goal of the awards program is to look beyond dollar figures and square footages and consider how these projects are shaping the community.

Construction of an interchange at Strother Road was a long-time goal, a key component in the City of Lee’s Summit Master Plan as well as in earlier traffic and market studies. An interchange and enhanced local road system was expected to encourage development along the corridor, ultimately serving some six million square feet of office space, 2.5 million square feet of industrial space, and about 2,400 residential units. Based on anticipated land uses, more than 24,000 employees would ultimately be attracted to planned developments within the vicinity of the project daily.

GBA is part of the team that made the Strother Road interchange project a reality, providing traffic engineering needed to complete the Purpose and Need, Location Study, and Environmental Assessment required by MoDOT and the federal NEPA process. GBA also prepared construction plans for about 2.5 miles of local roadways built in conjunction with the new interchange. And because of the close proximity of Jackson County’s Lake Jacomo to the roadway network, extensive hydraulic and drainage studies were completed as well. GBA’s involvement also included input on lane configuration and traffic control strategies for the interchange and designs for traffic signalization, street lighting, pavement marking, permanent signing, and traffic control during construction.

gbaSI Staffers Fill Sandbags to Help Protect the City of Davenport, Iowa, from Mississippi Floodwaters

When floodwaters threatened the City of Davenport, Iowa, a dedicated group of gba Systems Integrators’ staff immediately pitched in to help by filling sandbags for the City’s Public Works Department. “All of us live in the Quad Cities area on the Mississippi,” said gbaSI’s Chuck Metzger. “We all know someone, either family or friends, who suffer either property loss or damage when the river floods.” In addition to Chuck, staffers Jayne Robnett, Tuan Nguyen, and Collin Dyer went to work with four other volunteers to fill enough sandbags to consume three truckloads of sand! Special thanks to our committed – and weary – volunteers!

According to Chuck, the river crested on Saturday, April 23 at 20.7 feet and although flooding was significant, it could have been even worse without the help of hundreds of volunteers. “We were very pleased to be a part of that group,” said Chuck, who explained that both gbaSI and GBA have worked with the City of Davenport. This was the sixth highest river crest on record. Now the cleanup has begun. A record crest of 22.63 feet occurred during the floods of 1993! In addition to Davenport, the Quad Cities area includes Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois. 

gbaSI - a GBA Company headquartered in Rock Island - provides traffic coordination for complex corridors and develops traffic-responsive programs in newly designed coordination systems. gba SI also designs, installs, and manages computerized communication networks and camera systems for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Advanced Transportation Management Systems, traffic signal control systems, and communication systems for sewer treatment plants and for college campuses, manufacturing complexes, and other large-scale facilities.

Governor Supports Changing Environmental Outlook for Kansas; Attends Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for 'Resourceful Kansas'

A brisk breeze sent turbines spinning, setting the scene for a very successful ribbon-cutting ceremony for Resourceful Kansas on April 13. (See coverage on WIBW here.) The program is designed to encourage more energy-efficient communities throughout the state.  Governor Sam Brownback joined the Resourceful Kansas team of GBA, Riley County Public Works, and Kansas State University at the Riley County Public Works facility to celebrate the launch of the program, which is being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Governor Brownback added his support for changing the environmental outlook for Kansas communities, saying that the key to an energy-efficient transition is a balance of the three Es...Environment, Economy, and Energy.

GBA's Resourceful Kansas Project Manager Jennifer Gunby, P.E., LEED AP, explained that eight seminars involving a total of up to 120 organizations throughout the state will be held at the Riley County Public Works facility.  These seminars will focus on practical applications of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies. Following the seminars, GBA will provide customized energy assessments to a selected group of 80 participants and will provide the technical assistance needed to implement recommended strategies.

For more information or to apply visit www.ResourcefulKansas.org.

Governor to Attend April 13 Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for 'Resourceful Kansas'

Governor Sam Brownback will join "Resourceful Kansas" partners Riley County Public Works, GBA Architects and Engineers, and Kansas State University on April 13 at 2 pm at the Riley County Public Works facility, 6215 Tuttle Creek Blvd., Manhattan, Kan., for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the launch of "Resourceful Kansas: A Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Blueprint for Communities Across Kansas." The public is invited. 

The program, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is designed to engage communities throughout the state in making a fundamental shift toward a less energy-intensive, more efficient economy.

“Resourceful Kansas is a very exciting program designed to reduce energy consumption, increase efficient energy practices, help Kansas harvest its abundant, nonpolluting wind and solar resources, and cultivate new economic opportunities throughout the state,” said GBA Project Manager Jennifer Gunby, P.E., LEED AP. “This innovative program will engage local governments and others in implementing projects that will save energy and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of sustainable energy and economic development strategies for Kansas and surrounding states.”

Governor Brownback gave a nod to renewable energy in his State of the State address, saying "I want Kansas to be known not only as the Wheat State, but as the Renewable State."

Guests will have an opportunity to tour the facility immediately following the ceremony.

For more information and to apply for the Resourceful Kansas program, visit the website at ResourcefulKansas.org.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Breaks Ground for New GBA-Designed Administrative Building in St. Joseph

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), a global leader in the animal pharmaceutical industry, is expanding its St. Joseph campus to include a new administrative building. BIVI, the U.S. animal health division of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, broke ground on March 10 for the new four-story, 100,000-sf building. As reported by the Kansas City Business Journal, the new administrative building will house 300 employees, including some new hires. Currently, employees work at different locations in the city.

"This consolidation will help our employees become better connected," BIVI spokesman Dan Norwalk said in a release. BIVI is part of the very significant Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, which extends from Columbia, Mo., to Manhattan, Kan. 

Members of the GBA team are pleased to be part of this exciting project, providing architectural and engineering design services for the new administrative building. Special features of the design include a two-story atrium lobby, full-service dining area with outdoor patio, fitness center, and state-of-the art training/conference rooms. Among the sustainable features are a white roof membrane, under-floor air distribution, daylight harvesting sensor, and bamboo flooring.

The building was completed in the spring of 2012, and was selected for the National Award of Excellence in Commercial Design by the American Precast Association. Omega Concrete accepted the award on behalf of the project at the 2013 APA Conference in Park City, Utah.

Stream Crossings Can Pose Threat to Sanitary Sewer Systems: GBA's Gary Beck to Discuss Solution at MWEA/MO AWWA Joint Annual Meeting

Who:        GBA's Gary Beck, P.E., Senior Associate
What:       2011 Joint Annual Meeting of the Missouri Section of the American Water Works                 Association / Missouri Water Environment Association 

When:       March 27 - March 30, 2011

Where:     Tan-Tar-A, Oasage Beach, Missouri

Why:           Gary will present "A Comprehensive Stream Crossing Investigation: Johnson 

                County"

Johnson County Wastewater (JCW) is taking a proactive approach to maintaining and sustaining its sanitary sewer system. The utility, which owns and manages 2,100 miles of sewer line, has reviewed its sewer assets and assigned risk to all elements. It was determined that stream crossings are one of the most vulnerable elements of the sewer system, not surprising because crossings are prone to exposure from constant movement of streams. Because of the importance of stream crossings – JCW currently has 3,000 in its system – the utility has adopted a program to maintain them that includes a high level of surveillance and a new stream stabilization approach to improve crossings that have washed out or are in peril.

Find out more about the MO-AWWA/MWEA 2011 Joint Conference here.