For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lily Berman, Marketing Coordinator
(312) 228-0100
lberman@bbandainc.com
Bowman, Barrett & Associates to Receive Engineering Achievement Award from Illinois Engineers Council
Chicago, IL – June 22, 2006 – The Illinois Engineers Council (IEC) has selected Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc. (BB&A) as a recipient of its Engineering Achievement Award. BB&A will be recognized at the Council’s banquet for its work on the Chicago Skyway’s 106th Street Viaduct.
In 2000, the Chicago Department of Transportation retained Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc. (BB&A) to assess the condition of a one-mile elevated portion of the Skyway stretching southeast from Ewing Avenue and 100th Street to the Indiana state line. BB&A was also contracted to study alternatives and prepare plans for the rehabilitation of this segment of the Skyway, known as the 106th Street Viaduct.
BB&A’s inspections revealed significant corrosion throughout the existing superstructure and composite concrete deck of the viaduct. The firm determined that replacing the elevated structure with PCC Pavement and lowering the profile onto embankment supported by Mechanically Stabilized Earth retaining walls would be the most cost-effective approach to the rehabilitation of this portion of the Skyway.
Plans included redesigning access to the viaduct. The existing interchange included entry and exit ramps tied into a complex configuration with 106th Street and Indianapolis Boulevard. The eastbound exit ramp was therefore reconstructed at 104th Street, and a tunnel was constructed below the Skyway at Avenue B and 105th Street, allowing westbound ramp access from Indianapolis Boulevard. The project also entailed reconstruction of Indianapolis Boulevard—including lighting, traffic signals, and landscaping—and the extension of the Burnham Greenway bicycle path along the lakefront north to 100th Street.
One of the major challenges was to minimize traffic disruptions to Skyway patrons and thereby mitigate adverse impacts on toll revenues. To ensure uninterrupted traffic flow throughout the construction period, reconstruction of the viaduct was completed in stages, allowing for three lanes of traffic at all times. The project was completed on schedule and within the Engineer’s Construction Cost Estimate.
The completed construction now provides full-width shoulders, improved access to the Skyway from Indianapolis Boulevard, reduction of long-term maintenance costs, and a more attractive roadway.
Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc. is a full service engineering firm founded by Louis Bowman and John Barrett in 1989. With over 70 professionals on staff, BB&A provides engineering services to the transportation industry, architects and builders.
The Illinois Engineering Council represents over 20 engineering societies throughout the state as an advocate on matters of education, registration, and public policy. Each year the IEC recognizes outstanding engineering projects completed in Illinois, capturing the innovative and dynamic spirit of a profession dedicated to public service; demonstrating interdisciplinary engineering accomplishment and creativity as well as social benefit.
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