Transportation Planning / Roadway Design / Traffic Engineering

Innovation Ridge is a 223-acre advanced technology and office park in Marshall Township, Allegheny County, PA.  The park began as the Tech 21 Business Park in 1997.  Its original investors intended to attract corporate development that would house and retain an advanced workforce, but they were unable to complete their vision.  Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) acquired the site in 2010 and has undertaken the site development with renewed vigor to attract technology-oriented businesses and the young people who will live and work there.  The park features environmental conservation initiatives and now houses several office buildings and executive townhomes.

TA provided all transportation planning, traffic engineering, roadway design services, and construction consultation for this large-scale project.  Off-site infrastructure improvements included:

• The widening of Warrendale-Bayne Road from two lanes to four lanes to/from I-79 to Route 19
• Signalization at the Warrendale-Bayne Road/Wheatland Road/Warrendale Village Drive intersection
• Addition of turning lanes and through lanes to the Route 19/Warrendale-Bayne Road intersection
• Reconstruction of State Route 8025 (Ramp J) and Allegheny County Road #1052 (Brush Creek Road)
• Signalization improvements at the I-79 ramps and the Route 19/Warrendale-Bayne Road intersection
• Addition of storage capacity to the turning lanes on Route 19 at Warrendale-Bayne Road and Thorn Hill Drive
• Addition of a westbound left turn lane and traffic signal on Warrendale Bayne Road at Innovation Drive

TA worked in close coordination with client RIDC, Marshall Township, Allegheny County Department of Public Works, PennDOT District 11-0, Allegheny County Conservation District, CB Richard Ellis, and various contractors to plan and construct roadway infrastructure improvements to efficiently accommodate planned growth. The project received $4.8M in federal transportation funds for these improvements.  Additionally, the development received a $3M loan and a $1M grant partially funded by The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County through the Commonwealth’s “Business in our Sites” program.

Traffic Engineering, Intersection Design, and Construction Consultation.

The project, which was a partnership between the Municipality of Bethel Park and PennDOT Engineering District 11-0, included adding turn lanes to each leg of one of the most congested intersections in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, and making select geometric (alignment) improvements to improve safety.  TA worked in conjunction with both PennDOT and the Municipality to “right-size” this project, using smart transportation principles.  Work also included: preparing NEPA environmental documentation (CE), conducting public involvement/consensus building activities, and supervision of subconsultants for geotechnical analysis and design of retaining structures.

A major challenge for this project was construction staging and maintenance and protection of traffic, as over 34,000 vehicles travel this intersection daily.

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.

When large employers move locations, parking can become a challenge.  Trans Associates specializes in parking consulting and assists clients with optimizing existing lots and prioritizing categories of parkers.  When parking space runs out onsite, we assist with developing other options.  For UPMC’s Children’s Hospital, that meant the development of an off-site lot in nearby Lawrenceville to create a park and ride program for 1450 employees.  The access roadway was completely reconstructed along with other design improvements required to open the facility.

Services Provided Include

TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS – Study and analysis of traffic operations and circulation in the vicinity of the project site.

ROADWAY DESIGN -Approximately 425 linear feet of roadway along 57th Street required complete redesign and reconstruction.

STORMWATER AND DRAINAGE DESIGN – Drainage design was upgraded and coordinated with Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

ADA & SIDWEALK DESIGN – Design of ADA ramps and sidewalks including a loading apron and rolled curbing along one side of the street in order to maintain existing commercial loading areas.

TRAFFIC SIGNAL DESIGN – New traffic signals were design along Butler Street for the 55th and 57th Street intersections.

The Township of Upper St. Clair, a prominent residential community located ten miles south of Pittsburgh undertook an ambitious community recreation center project.  The Community & Recreation Center at Boyce Mayview Park includes over 475 acres of protected wetlands, ten miles of walking trails, an environmental center, multi-purpose fields, Chartiers Creek, a first-class fitness facility, an indoor/outdoor aquatics center and more.  Trans Associates worked with the Township to complete the Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) Process for the public improvements needed to facilitate access to the center.  TA developed roadway design plans for roadway widening and reconstruction including the following:

• Widening Mayview Road (S.R. 3005) to provide a left turn lane into the center driveway;
• Reconstructing Mayview road for approximately 2,000 feet to meet current design criteria and provide improved safety features including shoulders and guiderail treatments;
• Preparing detour plans for the complete closure of  Mayview Road (S.R. 3005) to allow the reconstruction;
• Drainage design and permitting;
• Relocation of and coordination with existing utilities – utility poles and an existing waterline required relocation for this project;
• Coordination with geotechnical engineers to provide the retaining wall needed to facilitate the widening adjacent to a conservation area; and
• Providing on-site construction consultation and observation for the duration of the improvement project.

Trans Associates was tasked by Upper St. Clair to take the lead on the HOP and overall design process for this project.  TA was involved in virtually all aspects of the roadway improvement activities including extensive coordination with PennDOT and the Township, roadway design, drainage design, environmental permitting, property and release coordination, and on-site construction consultation and observation.  Furthermore, during the on-site construction consultation and observation, TA coordinated the relay and relocation of an existing water line that required relocation due to poor roadway subgrade conditions.  In order to accommodate the mitigation needed for the poor subgrade conditions, the water line needed to be excavated, isolation valves installed, and the line relayed into a deeper trench.  TA was on-site to coordinate these activities with PAWC, the water line contractor, and the highway contractor to facilitate a quick resolution for the utility issue during construction.

Public concern prompted action by PennDOT District 12-0 to investigate congestion and safety issues along U.S. 19 in Morrisville, PA – the most heavily traveled route in Greene County. Trans Associates was selected to assess project need, develop alternatives, complete preliminary and final design, and provide services during construction. 

Community Problem – Community Driven Solution

Trans Associates (TA) used a collaborative approach in assessing project needs and providing a solution to fit the needs of the community. Study findings revealed vehicular volumes approaching 30,000 vehicles per day, and a bottleneck condition along a 0.75 mile section in which four of seven study intersections experienced unacceptable levels of service and accident rates were over twice the statewide average.

TA’s staff and District personnel worked in conjunction with a community task force of 60 local residents, business owners and public officials to evaluate alternatives, and reach consensus on a solution consistent with community planning objectives. Improvements included adding a lane of travel in each direction, replacement of the two-lane Freedom Bridge with a four-lane structure, replacement of an aging railroad overpass, auxiliary lanes, traffic signals and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.

The close proximity of roadway and railway structures, and the S.R. 2028 intersection created considerable design and construction challenges. The design team met these challenges by developing a coordinated schedule to demolish and construct the rail overpass, mainline bridge and roadway while maintaining all lanes of vehicular traffic, and uninterrupted rail service of nearly 25 trains per day.