2002 EMINENT CONCEPTOR AWARD
PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF QUADE & DOUGLAS
I-290 Eisenhower Expressway - Hillside Interchange
"Taming the Hillside Strangler"
Owner/Client: Illinois: Alfred Benesch & Company; Singh
& Associates, Inc.; Shah Engineering; Huff & Huff, Inc.; Avila & Associates,
Inc.; Bowman, Barrett & Associates, Inc.; Knight Infrastructure; McClure Engineering
Associates, Inc.; Smith Engineering Consultants, Inc.; O'Brien & Associates;RSV
Engineering. Ohio: So Deep, Inc.
The I-290 Hillside Interchange, west of Chicago, had
been identified as one of the most congested bottlenecks in the U.S. To significantly
improve traffic flow, 3 to 4 years earlier than would normally be possible, the Illinois
Department of Transportation and its prime engineering consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff,
worked hand in hand to fast track the normal 48-month design process into 18 months.
The project incorporates a number of innovative techniques including: partnering,
accommodating a future HOV solution (the state's first), and extensive use of ITS
technology. The project features advance ramps and a collector-distributor (CD) roadway;
reconstruction and/or replacement of 8 bridges; and multiple improvements to adjacent
roadways. The majority of the project was opened on October 24, 2001 in a ceremony
attended by Illinois Governor George Ryan and other dignitaries. The project is on
schedule to be fully opened to traffic by January 1, 2002.
