BNSF/Orchard Road
Grade Separation
Client: Kane County Division of Transportation
Location: Aurora, Illinois
Construction Completed: 2003
Construction Cost: $9.26 Million
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Challenge
The project site is located in Aurora, Illinois, a vibrant community
40 miles west of Chicago and the 18th fastest growing U.S. city
with a population over 135,000. Orchard Road is a principal arterial
that continues north through Kane County and connects to the
East-West Tollway (I-88), a major route into metropolitan Chicago.
The at-grade crossing at Orchard Road was unsafe and created
delays for pedestrians and motorists. The Kane County Division
of Transportation
hired Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc. (BB&A) to provide
grade separation at the Orchard Road crossing of the Burlington
Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad.
The engineering challenge was to construct grade separation structures
for both the railroad and bike path, while maintaining all traffic
modes. The client also expressed an interest for enhancing the
aesthetic value of the area by creating a landmark for the community
to appreciate and enjoy.
Details
BB&A provided overall management of the planning and design
of the project, including the design of the following elements:
- The BNSF railroad grade separation structures,
the shoofly and mainline track alignments, and the temporary
railroad grade
crossing.
- The pedestrian bridge structure for the Gilman Trail over Orchard
Road including the alignment of the bike/pedestrian trails
through the project site. The 150-foot bridge links up with the bike pathway
system serving Kane County and Aurora.
- The widening of Orchard
Road from a two-lane to a four-lane divided highway and the
improvement of the Orchard Road and Prairie
Street intersection. Accommodations were made for the creation of future
third lanes on Orchard Road.
- The temporary bypass road
constructed to maintain roadway traffic throughout the construction
period.
- The segmental block retaining walls for support of
the bike path along the east side of Orchard Road and the subdivision
property along the west side of Orchard Road.
- The 4.1 acre foot stormwater
detention facility, closed drainage system and piping for the
50-year storm event and
sizing of the pump station.
- The preparation of all right-of-way and easement
documents needed to build the project.
- Determination of the
construction staging sequence and corresponding time durations
needed to complete the project
in accordance with the needs of Kane County.
Benefits
Safety: The at-grade crossing of Gilman Trail and the BNSF track
at Orchard Road presented a substantial safety risk for motorists
and pedestrians. BB&A was able to remove that risk by designing
grade separation structures. The widening of Orchard Road also
contributed to improving the safety of the area.
Convenience: Motorists often experienced delays on Orchard Road
daily due to long freight trains passing through the area.
The grade separation eliminated this cause for motorist delay.
Aesthetics: The landscape architect, the client and BB&A decided
to create an “orchard” theme, consisting of a Boston
ivy leaf motif and trellis lines cast onto the exposed faces of
the railroad and pedestrian bridge substructure units and walls.
An orchard theme was also replicated in the selection and placement
of ornamental blooming trees and plantings. BB&A designed an
aesthetic landmark that enhances the beauty and value of the surrounding
environment.
Flood Control: A large detention pond was added to the project
to store storm water events discharged from the pump station.
The project is tributary to the Blackberry Creek watershed, which is
highly susceptible to flooding. The detention pond was designed
to hydraulically connect to the City of Aurora flood control
basins constructed just north of the project site.
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