Ridge Avenue Improvements - Howard Street to Lyons Street

City of Evanston

Ridge Avenue is a former Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) roadway that was jurisdictionally transferred to the City of Evanston. High Priority Funding, as part of the federal SAFETEA-LU transportation bill, was obtained for this project and construction was required to be completed by 2008. Due to the short schedule, Phase I and Phase II Engineering were successfully conducted simultaneously.

Not only was maintaining a tight schedule a critical challenge on this project, but also working with IDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to allow many substandard roadway features to remain in place. The facility was originally a four-lane, undivided roadway with a cross section of 36 feet face-to-face of curb. Because Ridge Avenue passes through two Historic Districts located on the National Register of historic places, widening of the roadway would not be acceptable to local agencies.

A detailed crash analysis was conducted to illustrate that an identifiable crash pattern did not exist due to the narrow lane widths. In addition, detailed traffic simulations were performed to illustrate that converting the roadway from a four-lane facility to a three-lane facility to improve overall safety in the corridor would result in severe congestion levels in the corridor. Through these analyses, Civiltech was successful in convincing IDOT and FHWA that the existing roadway configuration should be allowed to remain in place.

This project also required extensive coordination with local stakeholders, including the Historic Preservation Commission, tree preservation groups, local transportation advocacy groups, and adjacent hospitals, schools, and neighborhood committees.

Phase III resident engineering services began with public information meetings to fully inform local residents and businesses of the project impacts, benefits, and status.

The Ridge Avenue improvement project was the recipient of the 2008 Suburban Branch American Public Works Association Project of the Year ($5 million to $25 million).

Funding

Federal, Local

Scope of Services

  • Roadway and Highway Design
  • Crash Analysis
  • Coordination and Public Involvement
  • Intersection Design Studies
  • Project Development Report
  • Stakeholder Coordination
  • Traffic Modeling and Simulation
  • Preparation of Contract Plans,
  • Specifications & Estimates
  • Resident Engineering
  • Construction Inspection
  • Construction Layout