Ford Motor Company - Chicago Assembly Plant Expansion

The work performed by Civiltech on this project involved the preparation of six separate sets of contract documents for various parking, access and landscaping improvements integral to the expansion of the Ford Motor Company Chicago Assembly Plant. The $800 million expansion of this facility was undertaken, in cooperation with the City of Chicago, to accommodate production of a new vehicle product utilizing "just-in-time" parts and assembly delivery. The civil engineering projects completed as part of this program were critical in maintaining the existing production operation at the plant while the new expansions and manufacturing changes taking place.

The specific improvement projects which Civiltech designed for Ford as part of this program included a new 750 space parking lot along the Calumet River. The landscape improvements associated with this parking lot were the first on a large scale project designed in accordance with Calumet Design Guidelines developed by the City of Chicago Department of the Environment. Four separate sets of site improvement plans were also developed for various areas around the 240 acre manufacturing facility which were focused primarily on delivery vehicle access and plant security. Landscape Design documents were also prepared for the perimeter areas of the facility.

One of the most interesting aspects of the project was the development of an off-site traffic simulation for the roadways surrounding the facility. This determined the impact of a major Chicago Department of Transportation construction project on the operation of the Ford Plant. The simulation resulted in modifications to the City´s proposed Maintenance of Traffic plans as well as the construction of temporary on-site improvements. These maintained the current levels of material deliveries, finished product movement and traffic operation around the plant during CDOT´s construction.