Echo Real Estate Services, Inc. a leading retail developer retained Trans Associates to complete the Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) Process for their Grandview Crossing retail development located in Richland Township, Pennsylvania. The development is anchored by a Lowe’s Home Improvement store and a Target and has six (6) outparcels and over 15,000 square feet of small retail strip shops. The required roadway improvements encompassed widening and modification to over 1,900 linear feet of Route 8. The improvements included the following:
- Widening Route 8 to provide auxiliary turn lanes on both approaches to Grandview Crossing;
- Providing a PennDOT specification High Volume Driveway with auxiliary turn lanes and physical medians;
- Providing physical medians along Route 8 to separate opposing traffic;
- Re-aligning and re-constructing the existing Township roadway Community Center Drive and providing a protected channelized left turn lane within the physical median;
- Tying into the existing Township Roadway Grandview Drive to provide a standard “plus” intersection at the site driveway;
- Installation of a new traffic signal;
- Re-paving Route 8 from the off-site intersection with Route 910;
- Relocation of existing utilities; and
- Dedication of Right-of-Way and Easements to accommodate improvements.
Trans Associates was tasked by Echo Real Estate Services to take the lead on the HOP process for this project. Trans Associates was involved in virtually all aspects of the roadway improvement activities including extensive coordination with PennDOT and Richland Township, roadway design, drainage design, environmental permitting including detailed alternatives analysis, right-of-way investigation, coordination and plans preparation, traffic signal design, and construction consultation. In addition, during the project development and permitting process, Trans Associates also completed supplementary traffic studies and traffic recommendations to incorporate smart transportation features including a direct connection to a neighboring retail development to provide for trip linking to reduce the impacts from new trips to the development.