HNTB Designer Issue 113

INSIDE ISSUE 113

Vegas welcomes home the Raiders

Rapid ride on IndyGo’s new BRT line

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Replacing the Champ Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River

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ON THE COVER

HNTB OFFICES Albany, NY Allentown, PA Arlington, VA Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Baltimore, MD Bartow, FL Baton Rouge, LA Bellevue, WA Bettendorf, IA Boston, MA Charleston, WV Charlotte, NC Chelmsford, MA Cherry Hill, NJ Chicago, IL Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Concord, NH Dallas, TX Denver, CO Des Moines, IA Detroit, MI East Lansing, MI El Paso, TX Fort Lauderdale, FL Fort Worth, TX Grand Rapids, MI Harrisburg, PA Hartford, CT Houston, TX Indianapolis, IN Inland Empire, CA Jacksonville, FL Kansas City, MO King of Prussia, PA Lake Mary, FL Las Vegas, NV Lawrenceville, NJ

FEATURING 04 14

Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Airport, CA Louisville, KY Madison, WI Miami, FL Milwaukee, WI Minneapolis, MN Nashville, TN New Orleans, LA New York, NY Newark, NJ Noblesville, IN Oakland, CA Oklahoma City, OK Overland Park, KS Parsippany, NJ Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Plano, TX Portland, ME Portland, OR Raleigh, NC Richmond, VA Round Rock, TX Salt Lake City, UT San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA Santa Ana, CA St. Louis, MO Sterling Heights, MI Tallahassee, FL Tampa, FL Vancouver, WA Virginia Beach, VA Washington, DC West Palm Beach, FL

Simple Start, Complex Finish

Welcome Home

A bridge removal sparks a dramatic transformation in a Boston neighborhood.

HNTB teams with Raiders to help the storied NFL franchise build its first home from the ground up.

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Design with the Passenger in Mind Orlando’s new South Terminal C blends the elements of water, garden and light with technology to create a worldclass experience.

HNTB is an infrastructure solutions firm providing award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management services.

Champ Clark Bridge

Rapid Ride on Red Line HNTB helps IndyGo conquer 13.1 miles of busy urban corridor to deliver Indiana’s first BRT Line under budget and two months ahead of schedule.

hntb.com

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@HNTBCorp facebook.com/HNTBCorp linkedin.com/company/hntb instagram.com/hntbcorp Designer is an HNTB publication and is published by the Corporate Communications and Brand Optimization Department of the HNTB Companies, P.O. Box 412197, Kansas City, MO 64141.

Patricia Mosher, senior vice president pmosher@hntb.com Keri Geffert English, editor kgeffertenglish@hntb.com To change your address or to be added or removed from the Designer mailing list, send your request to requests@hntb.com or visit hntb.com/subscribe.

IndyGo Red Line

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Replacing the Champ

Reenvisioned Corridor

HNTB’s low-maintenance, straightforward design gives a rural bistate community a wider, safer Mississippi River crossing.

Reconstruction and expansion of 38 miles of US 290 provides capacity, mobility and safety to Houston commuters.

Photo courtesy of IndyGo

HNTB is an equal opportunity employer M/F/V/D. ©2021 HNTB Companies. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

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SIMPLE START,

COMPLEX FINISH A bridge removal sparks a renaissance

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HE CASEY ARBORWAY PROJECT IN BOSTON STARTED AS A SIMPLE BRIDGE INSPECTION AND POSSIBLE DECK REPLACEMENT. However, it eventually became one of the most multifaceted and intricate planning and engineering undertakings by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation since the famous “Big Dig,” and one that dramatically transformed the Forest Hills neighborhood in Jamaica Plain.

A crumbling, unnecessary overpass was demolished, and a new at-grade transportation system was created.

A busy, multimodal hub was expanded and improved; water and rail tunnels were reconstructed; and pedestrian and bicycle facilities were developed. Now, Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace park

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“A traditional mindset would have been, ‘Let’s just replace the bridge,’ ” Godfrey said. “But MassDOT said, ‘Wait a second.

Let’s do a holistic planning process, look at all the modes involved, livability and mobility, and decide what a better answer would be. An at-grade network was the best solution.’ ”

Deadlines drive debate In 2009, the Massachusetts legislature approved the Accelerated Bridge Program, which would reduce a backlog of structurally deficient bridges, with the stipulation that projects be completed by September 2016 to qualify for funding.

“That stipulation meant designated funding and a designated drop-dead date to build,” said Andrea d’Amato, assistant secretary of MassDOT. “That rule made the project very real for people, because they knew that they were going to see it get done.”

system is reconnected, the urban streetscape renewed, and surrounding neighborhoods are seamlessly integrated into the historic greenway.

But it was not easy.

“Hands down, in my 31 years of working at HNTB, this was the most complicated and complex project that I’ve ever been involved in,” said Paul Godfrey, HNTB’s Northern New England office leader and the project’s design project manager.

A single vision for a multi-use space Built in 1951, the underused William J. Casey overpass had become derelict.

“It was a bypass over a local roadway network built to get cars in and out of urban centers as fast as possible,” said Jonathan Kapust, HNTB’s engineering lead and construction project manager.

“But the demand for the overdesigned viaduct never came, and it was causing

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more problems for the bisected neighborhoods than helping bypassing traffic.”

Over the past 100 years, that transportation network had become a patchwork of disconnected and inefficient modes.

“It was haphazard,” Godfrey said.

“It created confusion, strange set ups for traffic signals, and turning movement that jammed local traffic.”

Bicyclists, pedestrians, commuter and local traffic, 16 transit bus routes, regional and national rail service, and school buses all converged in one area, which also included a subway terminal station, taxi stands, parking, a commercial business district, a transit bus maintenance facility, abutting homeowners, parks, and historic landmarks — and that was above ground.

Beneath: three large water mains and a rail tunnel.

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Passionate communities and stakeholders emphatically made their interests known.

“In Massachusetts, people take the right to speak their mind pretty seriously,” said Steve McLaughlin, MassDOT project manager. “HNTB helped us identify those communities, reach out to them, and use collaborative planning and agendas to advance the design process.”

Eventually, that process included a 30-person advisory task force representing neighborhoods, regional advocacy groups and multiple city and state agencies.

“The community provided input and challenged the team to make balanced design choices that benefited all stakeholders,” Kapust said.

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Transforming transit “We asked the community what they wanted us to focus on most and, almost unanimously, it was transit,” d’Amato said.

Public comment to public satisfaction The Casey Arborway project was extraordinary in ways that went beyond its scale and complexity.

Removing the overpass and relocating a surface roadway allowed the subway rail platform for the MBTA’s Orange Line to be extended and updated, and a new headhouse to be built. Customers no longer need to cross a street to access the platform, and the resulting plaza is now available for other uses.

The surrounding communities have a long history of robust public involvement, and MassDOT and HNTB held and led more than 40 public meetings and workshops. The advisory task force of citizens and interested parties were given homework, such as photographing what they wanted to see in the project and mapping desire lines for walking, driving and biking, which were incorporated

After an origin destination study (forecasting to 2035), two major intersections were redesigned so that left-turning traffic passes straight through, making a U-turn offset from the cross street, then turning right onto the destination street. As a result, the intersection can handle more traffic, and signals were coordinated to maximize traffic throughput.

into presentations. MassDOT and HNTB truly partnered with the stakeholders by proactively engaging with, and responding to, their love for their community.

“They realized they could be very creative and that we were open to it, and it was a very rewarding experience,” d’Amato said.

“It worked, and with a complex set of diverse and divergent community interests. This was one of the hallmarks of the project in MassDOT’s eyes, and it changed our approach to public engagement.”

The stakeholders who made up the working and design advisory groups included:

“The new pattern improved connectivity and access for all modes,” Godfrey said. “The area was opened up and better connected with the neighborhoods, as well as with people traveling to and through the space.”

A new network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities — three miles of bike path and more than four miles of pedestrian path — separate from each other and motor vehicles, was created and development of a roundabout equalized bicycle movement and removed pedestrians. Now, there is an uninterrupted path for riders commuting from the neighborhoods south of Forest Hills to downtown Boston.

• Arboretum Park Conservancy

• Jamaica Pond Association

• Arborway Coalition

• JP Business & Professional Association

• Arborway Committee

• JP Neighborhood Council

• Arborway Gardens Condominium Complex

• Livable Streets Alliance

• Asticou Martinwood South Street

• Lower South Street Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood Association

• Orchardhill, Bremen Terrace, and Lennoco Road

• Asticou Neighborhood

Neighborhood Association

• Boston Cyclists Union

• RozzieBikes

• Boston Police E-13 Traffic and Parking

• South Street Safe Neighborhoods

Committee

• StonyBrook Neighborhood Association

• Brookside Neighborhood Association

• Sumner Hill Association

• Community Planning Committee for the

• WalkBoston

Arborway Yards

• West Roxbury Courthouse Neighborhood

• Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Association

• Franklin Park Coalition

• Woodhaven/Colbert/Regis Neighborhood

• Jamaica Hills Association

Association

“I participated in the planning and the public debate. I’m a close neighbor, and I walk through the project area three or more times a week for exercise. We’ve got blue sky where an ugly and unnecessary overpass was, and now you can see how Forest Hills got its name.”

– Clay Harper, Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s Advocacy Committee “The bike facilities included in the Casey Arborway redesign project are some of the highest quality in the entire city. They’ve increased the safety and accessibility for people on bike and foot around the Forest Hills area.”

– Eliza Parad, Interim Executive Director, Boston Cyclists Union

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located,” Kapust said. “The contractor was able to complete large sections on-time, and the community had finished paths and roadways to get excited about.”

A large bus network also traverses the space, so the upper busway was relocated and expanded to consolidate route locations. A 22,000 square-foot bus canopy now aligns with new expansion deck columns and existing Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority tunnel wall, sheltering buses and customers.

Reconfigured school bus pickup and dropoff points improved safety and eliminated traffic backups on surrounding streets.

the original outlet points and drainage chases. Geofoam blocks under the new landscape grading limit loading on the tunnel, and the old vent grates (12 open holes totaling 2,000 square feet) were closed from above by using a variable depth integral concrete slab designed to accommodate decreased loading of the new roadway. Finite element analysis with staged construction loadings were used to design the integral slab, and to prevent the composite structure from overstressing the existing components of the tunnel structure.

Anticipating change

Underground, the rail tunnel contains the terminus of the MBTA Orange Line, a commuter rail station, as well as pass-through points for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, so significant modifications were required to accommodate the new design.

The plan called for a new emergency ventilation system using six jet fans to be attached to the tunnel ceiling, but there was a hiccup: the new fans would not arrive for 18 months, and demolition of the old ventilation system could not begin until they were in place.

In fact, development of a number of parcels surrounding the project began before the project was even completed.

A new drainage system was installed on top of the tunnel. Grates cast into the curb connect to multiple small pipes running to

“We worked to reverse the entire project staging and build from the project limits into the center, where the station is

Improvements above, and below

Planning considered future growth and development.

“Certainly this project and access to the train station has made land around Forest Hills much more viable, and that land had been on the books for an awfully long time,” d’Amato said.

“The area has been transformed, and it's wonderful. Now you see things that you couldn't before: the clock by the transit station, the spire of a church and the courthouse. You're on the Emerald Necklace, and it's been re-woven into the fabric of Forest Hills.

We were able to transform a neighborhood, and we did it by listening and doing our homework and paying attention, and that's really something.”

—Steve McLaughlin, MassDOT Project Manager

“The area is going through a renaissance,” McLaughlin said.

“As soon as the bridge came down, developers were knocking on the city’s door to get permits.”

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New developments range from mixed-use retail and commercial projects, multi-family units and single-family homes, all radiating out from the transit hub.

In addition to man-made changes to transit pathways, the Forest Hills neighborhood has almost two more acres of open space, more than 500 new trees, and a streetscape design with permeable pavers and green space that allow water runoff to reach plantings.

Reconnecting the necklace Boston’s Emerald Necklace spans more than 1,100 acres, forming a chain of six parks linked by greenways and waterways, designed in 1870 by the father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. The name comes from the way the chain appears to hang from the neck of the Boston peninsula and attractions in the parks include sailing, hiking, sports, Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum and a zoo.

“The area has been transformed, and it’s wonderful,” McLaughlin said. “Now you see things that you couldn’t before: the clock by the transit station, the spire of a church and the courthouse. You’re on the Emerald Necklace, and it’s been re-woven into the fabric of Forest Hills.

We were able to transform a neighborhood, and we did it by listening and doing our homework and paying attention, and that’s really something.” n

The Arborway is a link between two of the “gems” of the necklace, Franklin Park and the Arboretum.

“While the overpass stood, there wasn’t a safe and accessible route for pedestrians and cyclists traveling between the two,” said Evan Bradley, marketing and communications coordinator for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, a private non-profit stewardship organization that maintains, restores and protects the parks.

“We had four stated goals in the development for the plan: reconnecting the parks; accommodating all users; respecting the spirit of Olmsted’s original vision; and creating livable streets for abutting neighborhoods,” Bradley said. “The Casey Arborway looks ahead to a future with less focus on automobiles and more on people. Also, and in the very best ways, the new plan respects the fabric of the Necklace and will become a valued part of the park system that we know, love and defend.”

CONTACT: PAUL GODFREY HNTB’s Design Project Manager (207) 228-0890 n pgodfrey@hntb.com JONATHAN KAPUST HNTB’s Engineering Lead (617) 532-2246 n jkapust@hntb.com

The Casey Arborway project included: • Reconstruction of 12 intersections • Construction of a fully accessible north headhouse at the MBTA Forest Hills Orange Line subway station • Reconstruction of the MBTA upper busway canopy and construction of the busway extension structure • Replacement of the MBTA Orange Line tunnel emergency ventilation system • Expanded and widened 4 miles of sidewalks and paths • Improved pedestrian desire lines and accessibility

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Welcome Home HNTB teams with Raiders to help the storied NFL franchise build its first home from the ground up

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HE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE’S RAIDERS have waited some 30 years to build their first home from the ground up. The sleek, ultramodern Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is that home.

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In the beginning…

HNTB first became involved with the current stadium project in California in 2016, when the Chargers/Raiders were competing against the Rams to see which team would be the first to return the NFL to Los Angeles after a 20-year absence from the market. Ultimately the Rams were selected as the team for the LA market. Shortly after that decision, the Raiders began discussions with Las Vegas.

In early 2017, the franchise hand-picked HNTB to serve as architect of record, along with Manica Architecture as the design architect, to deliver Allegiant Stadium.

“For the fans to really enjoy their experience, we wanted to make sure that all back-of-the-house functions operate efficiently and almost imperceptibly,” he said.

It’s all about connections

And building this shrine to football and the team had to be done within an extraordinarily tight timeframe.

Allegiant Stadium is a technological ecosystem in itself.

“Fans experience games much differently today,” said David Graue, HNTB’s technical delivery manager. “They want to be connected to stats, to each other throughout the stadium, and family and friends through social media.”

In record time, the NFL, Raiders ownership, Clark County and the state of Nevada put together a deal that quickly gained momentum and plans to build a stadium were solidified.

“There are a lot of decisions to be made and a lot of ground to cover for NFL owners who’ve never owned their own building,” said David Graue, HNTB’s technical delivery manager. “It’s a new frontier, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they wanted to get it right.”

overlap here and there. All of that was thrown out, and a new design-build hybrid model was crafted for the stadium’s delivery.

The Raiders placed great trust in HNTB’s team to help fulfill their vision. The organization, especially Raiders’ owner Mark Davis, was involved in every aspect of the project, with laser-like attention to detail.

“They were very passionate about every aspect of this building,” said Paul Griesemer, HNTB’s senior technical architect. “Not just the things you see on television or the field, but every aspect of the operation,” including invisible elements, such as trash removal and handling.

Faster, faster…!

Toward that end, the stadium has a 40-gigabyte fiber-optic line to deliver high-speed bandwidth, with 227 miles of fiber-optic cable and more than 1.5 million feet of copper to support more than 2,400 TV screens and 1,700 Wi-Fi access points. To streamline connectivity, 24 MatSing ball antennas allow a single antenna to replace 48 traditional antennas.

Ranging in size from 3 feet to 6 feet in diameter, they are set within the stadium's cantilevered canopy, where they are almost invisible but still create a fully connected environment.

“What we created was a new way of thinking about how to interface with construction and communicate design intent,” Griesemer said. “We worked more in response to the needs of the construction schedule than the design schedule. As a result, we were designing the structure and putting it into the ground before we had all the spaces laid out and finishes documented.”

“Schedule was not our friend,” Nichols said. “The original opening date of July 2021 was moved up a year. This was the most compressed NFL project we’ve ever delivered from the ground up. It set us on an extremely challenging course. We had to make decisions, stick with them and keep moving forward.”

“Once you arrive on-site, you are connected,” Graue said. “And no matter where you are in the stadium, you stay that way.”

Griesemer seconds that, “To say it was a compressed timeframe is an understatement. So, it became very hand-in-glove with all parties, including ownership, the design-builder and us.”

Typically, projects such as this go from concept to schematic, then to design development, construction documents, then construction begins, with some 16

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Given the highly compressed 42-month schedule, the project team was engaged in multiple concurrent activities between design, coordination, construction in the field and final documentation. The construction documents were split into a series of packages driven by the construction sequence and needs of the field operation.

The green, green grass of home A committed football traditionalist, Davis insisted on a natural grass playing field, a challenge in a desert, obviously, even more so when placed inside an enclosed stadium.

The solution was an enormous sliding field tray that can be moved outside to allow the grass to grow under natural sunlight, then, less than 48 hours before game day, back inside, to be striped and made ready for play. The field tray is only the second retractable natural grass playing field in the U.S. The field is essentially a 4-foot-thick steel-framed tray with a concrete tub sitting in it, filled with 1-foot of sand and soil profile, then topped with grass. The self-contained structure includes its own irrigation, drainage and heating systems and all the in-field data connections for communications and event production.

More than 500 wheels and 72 motors push the field along 13 rails. It takes around 90 minutes to move the field some 1,610 feet into place. The field tray weighs approximately 19 million pounds dry and, after watering, close to 20 million pounds.

The field tray had to slide through an equally enormous opening at the south end of the seating bowl. Referred to as the “mail slot,” a door the width of the football field opens to allow the tray in and out and closes to keep the cool air inside the stadium.

The challenge, Griesemer said, “is that we had a whole lot of building over that space where the field rolls in.”

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There is an entire section of the stadium directly above the mail slot that has multiple concourses, seating decks and the stadium’s service ramp. To carry that load and create a slot for the tray to enter and exit the building, a series of super trusses span the football field’s full width and then some. To keep the trusses from becoming even deeper and heavier, 22 columns carry this portion of the stadium’s live load. All 22 columns are retractable to move out of the sliding field’s pathway temporarily. The retractable columns signal a breakthrough for the U.S. engineering industry. HNTB’s Bridge Group assisted with developing concepts for the control and position confirmation of these articulating columns.

Where glamour & tradition reigns

Everything in the seating bowl takes place under a translucent ETFE roof. The HNTBled design team developed a first-of-its-kind cable-net system to cover the roof oculus, spanning 550 feet by 750 feet. Given the length of the spans, this approach creates the lightest, most transparent structure possible.

Atop this cable net is a series of aluminum extrusions that hold the actual ETFE pillows.

The pillows are comprised of three layers of film and are inflated with constant air pressure maintained by a series of pumps.

The Raiderettes are more than the team’s cheerleaders.

The 32 women from all walks of life are important ambassadors for the Raiders’ organization. The work they do in the Raiders’ charitable and public relations activities are invaluable, and they deserved a special place of their own within Allegiant Stadium.

But the Raiderettes’ area is much more than a locker room. It is a museum and a high-end lounge reflective of the Raiderettes’ sparkle and glamour.

“The quality of light throughout the stadium is fantastic,” Nichols said. “A frit pattern on the middle film layer controls the amount of light that comes in.”

“The tagline for the Raiderettes is ‘Football’s Fabulous Females,’ and that was our driving inspiration,” said Kaitlyn Simon, HNTB’s interiors design lead. “It needed to be a fabulous space that highlights the history and story of the Raiderettes and yet fully functional on game day.”

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The entry into the space is the Story and Style Room, which includes a timeline of how the team has changed along with the organization, uniforms from the decades, awards, pictures of prominent cheerleaders as well as photos of notable directors and choreographers.

The room beyond contains luxe sofas, fully mirrored walls and a full-length photo of each woman beside her own expansive vanity. The Raiderettes’ logo is much more stylized than the Raiders’. A swirling, curvaceous, largerthan-life R has been integrated into the ceiling. And while the space remains primarily black and white, the team’s ancillary color, silver — the color of the women’s pom-poms — is used more liberally throughout the space, which will be one of many highlights during public tours of the stadium.

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You’re in Raider Nation “The whole persona of their brand is very important to the Raiders,” Griesemer said.

“And that permeates all the way from how the team plays, to the football purist views of the owner and their fans, who are loyal to the end.”

The Raiders’ brand and the high-energy, fast-paced rhythm of the Vegas strip were a perfect fit.

“So, how do you implement that brand in a way that honors the team’s history and traditions yet recognizes their new home?”

Graue asked. “We balanced these two iconic brands – the Raiders and Las Vegas – by integrating blended references throughout the building that honor the city and its history, as well as that of the team. From Mark Davis’ perspective, this building is meant to be a gift to the citizens of Las Vegas and all of Nevada.”

Stay and play

The exterior design, in particular, was inspired by the look and feel of luxury, high-performance sports cars invoking speed, power and precision. Blended with that are the team’s colors, black, white and a hint of silver, the only colors used throughout the entire stadium.

“Football first!” was an edict delivered by team owner Mark Davis from day one.

“Football was, and always will be, the centerpiece of the stadium, and so all the concourses and all of the clubs have a view of the game,” Griesemer said. “You are never separated from experiencing the roar of the crowd and what’s happening on the field.”

The goal was to make a visit to the stadium more than a game experience, but a game-day experience. So, spaces and amenities were developed to create opportunities for turning a four-hour football game into a daylong experience, before and after games.

When it is outside, the movable grass field is parked in a recessed area approximately 40 feet deep. Once inside, a large plaza is created, with bermed sides and grand staircases leading up to the stadium entrances above. The space can be used for pregame events, concerts, tailgating and more.

In true Vegas fashion, a nightclub just beyond the north end zone opens onto the field and will operate on non-event days, complete with dance floors and a DJ booth. Directly above the same end zone is the Peristyle Club. Modeled after the Peristyle of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the 55,000-squarefoot space with bars, lounge areas and, as per the directive given the design team, views of both the field along with the panoramic view of the famous Las Vegas strip. The club is situated around the world’s largest 3D-printed structure, a 93-foot torch memorializing the former coach and Raiders owner, Al Davis. Made of carbon fiber and machined, aircraft-grade aluminum, its technology and lighting give the “flame” a hyper-realistic look. It is lit in a ceremony at the beginning of every Raiders’ home game by a guest or group with a special connection to Raider Nation.

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Stadium Stats: 900,000 cubic yards of soil removed for foundations

“Creating punch and accent with colors only reflected in the Raiders’ brand was challenging,” said Kaitlyn Simon, HNTB’s interiors design lead. “We created differentiation and contrast through texture, matte and gloss finish, shimmer and shine. Those were some of the tactics we used to elevate premium areas and make those spaces feel unique and differentiated from other parts of the stadium.”

Subtle white “ribbons” streak around the building’s black glass exterior, like pinstripes on a car.

They gracefully rise and fall to accentuate exterior elements, such as the 80-foot-tall, 200-foot-wide set of operable lanai doors that give fans an unobstructed view of the Strip and the 24,000-square-foot exterior LED media mesh screen that can be seen from miles around.

The stadium is just off Interstate 15, directly opposite the Delano and Mandalay Bay Resorts and the glittering string of hotels and casinos that flow north from there.

“The stadium becomes a very prominent part of the gateway to the Strip,” Nichols said.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

“Projects like Allegiant Stadium do not just happen … they happen because people like HNTB, our executive architects, sweat the details where design aspirations must overcome the friction of reality,” said Don Webb, chief operating officer, LV Stadium Events Company.

Every project has obstacles, and those that the Raiders and HNTB encountered came with potentially huge impacts. Among them were more extensive layers of rock under the site, poorly timed steel tariffs, which complicated purchasing, delays in steel fabrication, affecting

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delivery to the site, and the complicated sequential way the steel frame had to be assembled.

Occupancy and the Certificate of Substantial Completion one day before the originally planned date.”

“All those things in and of themselves impacted a very compressed schedule,” Graue said.

“Then, add a global pandemic.”

Completing a project like Allegiant Stadium is satisfying in ways that go beyond pleasing the client or creating a new landmark.

Fortunately, the project was notfar from completion, and all stakeholders were able to follow recommended protocols and best practices to keep workers safe.

Nevertheless, workflow, moving people through the building, getting them on- and off-site, and assembly had to be rethought and retooled to address the extraordinary impacts of the pandemic.

“It’s the opportunity to watch fans come to these buildings for the first time, to explore, enjoy, to see families creating memories,” Nichols said. “It’s a very special thing, and we are fortunate and proud to be part of it. For the NFL, Allegiant Stadium is a world-class sports facility at the forefront of the fan experience. For the Raiders, it’s home.” n

“It really is astonishing to think that any one of these things could have derailed the project,” Graue said. “Yet, everyone involved in design, management, construction and all the hours of planning and execution came together, and we got the Temporary Certificate of

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CONTACT: LANSON NICHOLS HNTB's Principal in Charge (816) 507-4453 n lnichols@hntb.com

HNTB I DESIGNER I Issue 113

Foundations 45- to 60feet deep Built around eight cores attached to 16.5 miles of steel pilings 7 acres of translucent ETFE roof 19-million-pound movable field with natural grass 40-gigabyte fiber-optic line More than 2,400 screens 1,700 Wi-Fi 6 access points 24,000-square-foot LED media mesh screen 65,000 seats, including 128 suites and 8,000 club seats

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DESIGN WITH THE

PASSENGER IN MIND

Orlando’s new South Terminal C blends the elements of water, garden and light with technology to create a world-class experience.

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S

OME AIRPORT TERMINALS ARE DESIGNED FOR AIRLINES or aircraft. Orlando International Airport’s new South Terminal C is designed for passengers.

“The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority wanted its new airport terminal to be the beginning of a visitor’s vacation by bringing Florida’s trademark flora and fauna inside,” said Bill Brooks, PE, HNTB senior program director.

Inviting water, garden and light into the terminal buildings and grounds have long been the core elements of The Orlando Experience,® a design theme found throughout the airport complex.

“The Orlando Experience® is a blend of unique architecture, aesthetics and convenience amenities that capture the essence of central Florida,” said Phil Brown, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO. “As architect of record, HNTB has brought those concepts into the 21st century, melding them with the stateof-the-art technology we are adding. When passengers arrive, they will know immediately they are in central Florida.”

From the subtle to the dramatic Passengers will enjoy Florida’s world-famous sunshine during their South Terminal C experience. HNTB has designed a towering glass skylight atrium, known as The Boulevard, that runs the length of the new landside terminal to the airside concourse hub, serving as a subtle wayfinder throughout the main corridors passengers will be traversing.

Arriving passengers will discover a “flipped” terminal design. Instead of migrating to the terminal’s lower level to claim their baggage, domestic and international passengers will be reunited with their luggage in the sunny arrival hall on the terminal’s top floor. A new baggage conveyance system, selected for its lean, space-optimizing configuration, allows for an elevated system and facilitates GOAA’s inverted terminal concept, meant to celebrate The Orlando Experience® for arriving passengers.

The elements of water, garden and light will be intertwined in two major art installations for the new terminal.

“Fin-shaped glass panels, extending from the wall in the baggage claim level, will shimmer like water when illuminated by sunlight,” Brooks said.

The Springs, a permanent terrazzo floor installation, will depict Florida’s natural freshwater artisan springs. The permanent exhibit will feature giant pools of crystalclear turquoise water teaming with plant and animal life synonymous with Florida. Palm trees and cypress trees, dripping with moss, will edge the spring, creating a beautiful and calming welcome for international passengers arriving from long flights before they enter U.S. Customs and Immigration facilities.

“GOAA’s design theme of water, garden and light matches the trilogy of architecture, which is masterfully mixing nature, art and society,” said J.C. Arteaga, HNTB’s architect of record. “To have architecture, you need all three.”

Project Scope The new stand-alone South Terminal C program includes: • 15 airside concourse with international/domestic common-use swing gates • Landside terminal • New airfield apron, fueling and ground support equipment • Rental car facilities • Associated roadway, bridge and parking structures • Central energy plant and emergency power generator plant

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Planes, trains and automobiles South Terminal C is being built adjacent to a new, fully integrated intermodal transportation

Hi-tech ‘wow’ moments

facility, another first for a U.S. airport. The South

GOAA has invested in three large-scale interactive digital electronic media exhibits to help communicate The Orlando Experience® and create unexpected, wonderful vacation memories before passengers leave the terminal.

Airport Automated People Mover Complex and Intermodal Terminal Facility offers passengers immediate access to taxis, private vehicles, buses, shuttles and, in 2022, high-speed rail.

The intermodal facility will house a Brightline

In the landside terminal, both arriving and departing passengers will encounter the “Portal,” the terminal building’s signature electronic media feature. A set of multimedia screens, featuring lifelike LED 8K technology, is mounted on a custom-built helix-like steel frame that spirals up through the terminal’s three floors, making the Portal visible to all. The video screens capture constantly changing images of central Florida’s natural beauty, attractions, activities and unique images of the region’s transformative history from agribusiness to space, both known and unknown aspects of the region.

train station, where passengers can board and be in Miami in less than 4 hours. Brightline also plans an extension from the airport to a station at Disney and from there to Tampa by 2025. Brightline is the only privately owned and operated express, intercity passenger train service in the U.S. and the first truly seamless high-speed intercity rail service link.

HNTB is the program manager and construction manager for Brightline.

“ The Orlando Experience® is a blend of unique architecture, aesthetics and convenience amenities that capture the essence of central Florida. As architect of record, HNTB has brought those concepts into the 21st century, melding them with the state-of-theart technology we are adding. When passengers arrive, they will know immediately they are in central Florida.”

In Palm Court, the grand gathering hub where the airside’s north and west concourses intersect, passengers can relax among lanky palm trees and enormous pots spilling over with lush, colorful tropical plants. Palm Court features a 30-foot-tall, video spectacular, called the “Moment Vault.” Three large triangular-shaped, floor-to-ceiling panels with three giant video walls, viewed from outside or inside the Moment Vault, will show Florida’s beaches, botanical gardens — and perhaps even a NASA launch. As passengers watch the videos, cameras will capture their silhouettes and embed them into the iconic central Florida scenes, creating memorable moments worthy of family selfies.

In the north concourse, passengers will walk along “Windows on Orlando,” a 60-footlong by 28-foot-tall wall of video screens.

The three giant screens can work together or independently to make passengers feel as if they are swimming alongside manatees and features aquatic scenes of underwater reefs or walking along a beach with ocean waves washing toward their feet.

Greater passenger convenience is in the bag Orlando International Airport’s South Terminal C will feature the first terminal-wide, high-speed individual baggage carrier system in the U.S. Benefits include:

• 100% BAG TRACKABILITY. Each piece of luggage travels in a tote that is embedded with a radio frequency identification tag and a unique tracking number matching each bag tag, significantly reducing the risk of lost luggage.

• SHORTER WAIT TIMES. The system is designed to meet GOAA’s goal of 5.5 minutes in-system time with no bag taking longer than 15 minutes.

• EARLY ARRIVAL BAG STORAGE. Thanks to an early bag-storage room, departing passengers will be able to check-in and drop off their bags at the terminal as early as they wish for a hands-free experience. The space will hold up to 2,000 pieces of luggage.

• NO OVERSIZED BAGGAGE RESTRICTIONS. The airport also will be the first in North America to accommodate a mixture of standard-sized and oversized

— Phil Brown, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO

baggage in one size of container, meaning golf clubs, strollers and wheelchairs will arrive by baggage carousel along with the passenger’s other luggage.

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A design ahead of its time HNTB’s terminal design reduces the number of touchpoints, serving airport employees and passengers well in a COVID-19 world: •

Automated RFID baggage system

•

100% facial recognition and iris scans for international arrivals and departures

•

Self-ticketing and self-bag drop

•

Advanced, touchless restroom fixtures

•

Delivered-to-your gate food from terminal concessionaires

•

Social distancing signage and crowding detection systems with agents dispatched to disperse clogs and long queues

•

Around-the-clock cleaning and sanitizing

Beauty and brains While the terminal design is aesthetically pleasing, it also is expected to be high functioning. Fifteen common-use, swing gates will serve both international and domestic flights. Further, airlines will be able to operate out of any gate for any length of time.

“Orlando is dominated by a diverse carrier mix responding to the needs of a strong leisure-based market with a rapidly growing business market as the region’s economy continues to diversify around technology, healthcare and logistics,” Brooks said.

“GOAA is keeping the cost-per-passenger low with the inclusion of low-cost carriers that serve the region and offer competitive ticket prices to customers desiring to come through Orlando’s front door.”

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Other design innovations include the U.S.’s first state-of-the-art radio frequency identification baggage handling system throughout the terminal, “bags first” processing at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Federal Inspection Station, 100% facial recognition for international passengers and the world’s first LEED® v4 certification of an airport campus.

Arteaga pointed out that “The success of the $3B South Terminal C program is built on a foundation of communication, collaboration and cooperation among the massive teams on site.” The design and construction team includes the Authority and its general consultant, Schenkel Shultz Architecture; a prime concept architect, Fentress; two construction managers at risk, Turner Kiewit, landside, and Hensel Phelps, airside; a design-build team,

Vanderlande Industries, baggage handling system; a low voltage engineer, Burns; a program manager / owner’s authorized representative, GCI, Inc; and 41 design subconsultants on the HNTB architect of record design team.

The halfway mark

Take a virtual tour of Orlando’s South Terminal C:

Brooks added, “And we are very proud that the HNTB team reflects our community, and we have utilized minority, womanowned and local developing businesses for more than 31% of the work to date.”

South Terminal C is on track for substantial completion in February 2022. It represents the largest expansion in the airport’s history. n

“Communication and teamwork are essential on a project as large and complex as the South Terminal,” Brown said.

“HNTB’s partnership has been valuable in helping us build a world-class facility that will reinforce Orlando International Airport’s reputation as a premier global gateway.

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GOAA celebrated the mid-point of construction this past summer with a topping-out ceremony of the soaring glass atrium. Crews hoisted and placed a horizontal architectural steel element known as the “Prow” that juts out from the landside terminal and extends over the arriving roadway.

CONTACT: BILL BROOKS, PE HNTB’s Senior Program Director (407) 825-1589 n wbrooks@hntb.com J.C. ARTEAGA, AIA, NCARB, CBO, CGC, LEED®AP BD+C HNTB’s Architect of Record (407) 547-2998 n jcarteaga@hntb.com

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46th St.

52nd St.

RAPID RIDE

42nd St.

HNTB helps IndyGo conquer 13.1 miles of busy urban corridor to deliver Indiana’s first BRT Line under budget and two months ahead of schedule

W

HEN THE INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION (IndyGo) set a goal to deliver the state’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) line, it turned to HNTB for construction management and inspection services.

Park

IndyGo envisioned a 13.1-mile BRT line that would improve travel on one of the city’s busiest urban corridors by providing an alternate mode of travel to popular cultural districts, the Indianapolis University Health Center, the state capitol and the University of Indianapolis.

Meridian/38th St.

“The Red Line was the largest and most innovative project IndyGo had ever undertaken while also implementing a transit tax referendum. It was important to have an experienced expert construction management team backing us to overcome the challenges ahead,” said IndyGo CEO Inez Evans.

66th St.

The challenges Evans speaks of were numerous — from creating a competitive bidding environment and meeting an ambitious Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal to overcoming a six-month funding delay and

34th St.

Photo courtesy of IndyGo Broad Ripple

Kessler 54th St.

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Red Line is served by a modern fleet of

13 articulated, battery-electric buses

Contractors were invited to bid on one or both packages. HNTB assisted the agency in reviewing three proposals and preparing contract documents. In December 2017, IndyGo awarded two contracts — one for each package.

hundreds of utility conflicts. In the end, IndyGo would give the public what it asked for — and paid for — its first BRT line, delivered under budget and two months ahead of schedule.

Creating contractor interest “Our local contractors weren’t familiar with bus rapid transit and its unique components,” said Jennifer Pyrz, PE, IndyGo chief development officer and vice president of infrastructure, strategy and innovation.

To educate the local market about BRT, HNTB participated in contractor fairs aimed at preparing the construction community for the upcoming RFP. The team gave presentations about the project and encouraged networking among attending prime and DBE contractors.

HNTB then turned its attention to the bid phase. The Red Line was the state’s first major transit project in public right of way, 60% of the alignment would have dedicated lanes with center or offset stations. In addition to building the BRT infrastructure, the winning contractor would have to resurface roadways and reconstruct curbs and sidewalks. Few, if any, local contractors had experience in both areas.

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MORE TO COME

“Advertising the Red Line as a single construction contract was a risk,” said Mike Stair, HNTB project manager. “So, we split the project into two low-bid packages: a roadway and civil engineering construction package and a stations, communications and security construction package, to increase the bid pool.”

30th/Museum

Fall Creek/Ivy Tech

“The winning bids came in low enough that IndyGo was able to add additional amenities to the station platforms like snowmelt systems,” Pyrz said.

The Red Line will serve as the backbone of IndyGo’s BRT system with a Purple Line and Blue Line planned in the coming years.

IndyGo is proceeding with development of the $155 million Purple Line, a 15.2 mile east-west arm off the Red Line. By the first quarter of 2021, the agency hopes to have design 100% complete and ready to bid. The Blue Line, a 24-mile east-west route that will connect downtown to the Indianapolis International Airport, was at 30% design at the time this article was written. Service on the Purple Line is expected to open at the end of 2023 with construction of the Blue Line to begin right after that.

Combating extensive delays Everything was in place to begin the project, except for federal funding. When IndyGo did receive the $75 million Federal Transit Administration grant in May 2018 and gave notice to proceed, the project was six months behind schedule. Worse, once construction began, contractors found unexpected underground conditions that threatened further delays.

22nd St.

“There were hundreds of utility conflicts, and because the alignment passes through some of the oldest areas of the city, crews encountered basements and odd structures no one knew existed,” Stair said.

To keep the project moving forwarding, HNTB and the designer of record worked together to identify about 200 locations where additional subsurface exploration was conducted.

IU Health

“Every time we found a new conflict, we would redesign the area within a few days.

We resolved several hundred conflicts that way,” Stair said.

HNTB teamed with the city’s Department of Public Works to help expedite work with utility companies and to impress upon them the importance of the project.

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DBEs play a major role in the success of the project Pleasant Run

Fountain Sq.

•

HNTB’s construction management team’s commitment was 20% and increased it to 26.8% participation

•

Package A’s commitment was 12.34% and ended with more than

Raymond

15% participation •

Package B’s commitment was 1.72% ended with more than 2% participation

TRANSIT TAX Marion County’s Transit Plan is supported by a 2016 voterapproved transit tax. The plan includes extensive improvements to local transit routes and the addition of three BRT lines.

“We also developed a Google map, so our partners on the job could see the location of each conflict, its status and when it would be resolved,” Stair said.

Accelerating the project With a timeline showing utility conflicts would not be resolved until February 2019, IndyGo and HNTB began talking in late 2018 about the possibility of accelerating construction to get the project back on schedule. It would require significant change management, but with HNTB’s help, IndyGo could do it.

HNTB asked both contractors to pull together costs and schedules that would have the line substantially completed

by July 31, 2019. HNTB reviewed the proposals, negotiated change orders and approved schedules. The final agreements outlined milestone incentives and allowed crews to work up to seven days a week, including nighttime shifts.

9th St.

" The Red Line was the largest and most innovative project IndyGo had ever undertaken while also implementing a transit tax referendum. It was important to have an experienced expert construction management team backing us to overcome the challenges ahead."

Vermont

Contractors began executing the expedited plan on Feb. 1, 2019. HNTB helped determine the best means and methods for completing concrete work, foundation prep, and other activities typically not performed during winter.

— Inez Evans, IngyGo CEO

New Jersey

At the peak of construction, 32 teams were working on the project. Relying heavily on the DBE community, HNTB recruited 12 more inspectors to keep pace with construction.

“We completed almost 80% of the project between March and July 2019,” Pyrz said.

By the end of July 2019, the Red Line was substantially complete, as planned.

Despite the unanticipated acceleration expenses, HNTB was able to keep the project within budget thanks to a $25 million contingency fund established at the firm’s recommendation prior to construction.

Garfield Park

“HNTB’s experience in mega projects and project controls was key in helping us manage the $96.3 million budget, coordinate schedules and create independent cost estimates,” said Tom Spragg, construction manager for IndyGo.

Managing urban construction The densely populated corridor also presented maintenance of traffic challenges. To minimize the impact, HNTB collaborated with the city and first responders to adjust construction

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ROUTE MAP

New features at Red Line stations

IndyGo’s Red Line connects 13.1 miles of the densest areas in downtown. The alignment runs from the Broad Ripple cultural district to the Indiana University Health Center, the state capitol and the University of Indianapolis.

IndyGo re-examined the conventional “bus stop,” and made quantum-leap changes.

Each of the Red Line’s new rapid-transit stations feature: • New in-median locations • Ticket-vending machines (cash/credit/ debit) that speed the boarding process • A digital marquee displaying real-time arrival information for the next bus

• Step-free station access in accordance with the American Disabilities Act • Flush, step-free, bus-height boarding platforms • Well-lit boarding areas, security cameras and “blue-light” emergency phones • Wind screens and drip-free roof eaves for better weather protection

schedules and traffic configurations for the greater public good. As an added value, the firm led an extensive public involvement effort to educate citizens about temporary construction impacts and IndyGo’s efforts to mitigate them.

“Carving out space for a BRT lane in Indianapolis’ densest urban area was, in some ways, more difficult than putting in a new highway,” Stair said. “More than 50,000 residents and nearly 150,000 jobs are within a quarter mile of the line. You have a lot more eyes on you — and more impact on the public — in urban areas.”

Fortunately, HNTB’s outreach coordinator was an engineer on the construction team.

She took public concerns and inquiries directly to the construction team, and together, they answered the question or solved the problem.

“Many issues were resolved while the citizen or business owner was on the

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Photo courtesy of IndyGo

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phone,” Jennifer Pyrz said. “Having the ability to fix the issue on the spot was an enormous benefit.”

Welcoming a new era On Labor Day 2019, when the Red Line went live, residents lined up at each of the 28 stations, eagerly awaiting the new experience.

“An experienced construction manager, with the right depth and mix of resources, HNTB helped us overcome significant roadblocks and usher in a bold, new era of efficient, rider-focused BRT in Indianapolis,” Evans said. “Our transit system not only takes us to our destinations, it takes our city to its future.” n CONTACT: MIKE STAIR, PE HNTB's Program Manager (317) 373-1886 n mstair@hntb.com hntb.com/RedLine

Troy

University

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Champ Clark Bridge Louisiana, Missouri

REPLACING THE

CHAMP

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NTB’S LOW-MAINTENANCE, STRAIGHTFORWARD DESIGN GIVES A RURAL BISTATE COMMUNITY A WIDER, SAFER MISSISSIPPI RIVER CROSSING

In 1928, HNTB’s predecessor company designed the original Champ Clark Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River. Nearly 100 years later, when the bridge was functionally obsolete and in poor condition, HNTB returned to the site to design a replacement.

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The original five-span truss bridge, named after James Beauchamp Clark, a former speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, carried U.S. Highway 54 over the river and connected Louisiana, Missouri, with Pittsfield, Illinois. At 20-feet-wide, and without shoulders, the two-lane bridge seemed to have shrunk over the years as the size of vehicles grew.

To ensure there was enough room to safely cross the bridge, farmers and truckers with large loads would pull off the road, call local law enforcement and wait for them to arrive. The responding officer or deputy would shut down one lane of the bridge to normal traffic, escort the vehicle across and then reopen the bridge.

“That happened about 20 times a month,” said Keith Killen, PE, project director for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Worse, the bridge was the bistate community’s connection to the nearest hospital. Traveling to the next closest bridge, 45 minutes away, could present a life-threatening delay.

By 2017, the bridge was carrying nearly 4,000 vehicles a day. The narrow roadway, high maintenance costs and frequent flooding of the Illinois approach drove the Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation to pursue a replacement.

A winning partnership In June 2017, the bistate owners awarded Massman Construction Co., a $60 million fixed-cost, variable-scope contract to deliver a new bridge. As Massman’s design subcontractor, HNTB was a crucial part of the design-build team.

HNTB and Massman had previously partnered on dozens of major river bridge projects. Both firms hoped their easy rapport and familiarity with each other’s problem-solving approach would be viewed as assets to the project. In fact, it helped the team earn a spot on the shortlist.

“We designed a low-maintenance, straightforward plate girder bridge that more than doubled the traversable width of the previous bridge,” said Hans Hutton, PE, HNTB design manager.

HNTB disciplines Bridge

“The relationship and collaborative nature between HNTB and Massman helped them make it to the final four,” Killen said. “Once they were selected, we could tell they weren’t trying to maximize each other’s profits. They were trying to deliver the best quality product to Missouri and Illinois that they could.”

According to Killen, MoDOT and IDOT wanted a wider, safer bridge — one that would serve the community for the next 100 years, be easy to inspect and easy to maintain.

“Their proposal scored consistently across all of those areas,” he said.

HNTB was responsible for design and design quality assurance and quality control for the new bridge while fulfilling the commitments set forth in the environmental assessment. Missouri and Illinois shared the cost of the new bridge with MoDOT as the project lead.

An efficient, value-added design Because HNTB and Massman had teamed up to deliver on some of this country’s most iconic Mississippi bridges, including the Huey P. Long, Stan Musial, Bill Emerson and U.S. 82 at Greenville, they were able to quickly arrive at a design solution for the Champ Clark Bridge.

Electrical Environmental Geotechnical

Design-build firsts The design-build procurement was a breakthrough in both states. The MoDOT district, where the western side of the Champ Clark Bridge is located, had never delivered a project via design-build, and IDOT does not have legislative authority to use design-build for public projects. With MoDOT as the lead agency, IDOT was able to peek behind the curtain and experience the design-build process.

IDOT assisted in selecting the short list, scoring proposals and reviewing roadway plans.

Hydrologic Two 12-foot-wide lanes, with 10-footshoulders in each direction, provide ample clearance. And, with the shoulders extending past the bridge onto the east roadway, MoDOT and IDOT received more project than they had expected. It was the first of several value-adds the team brought to the project.

Roadway

The new bridge includes four river piers, each founded on 11-foot, 6-inch-diameter drilled shafts, with three land piers that incorporate 48-inch-diameter pipe pile foundations and columns.

With a river bridge, flooding is to be expected.

Despite the four highest river gage readings on record occurring during the life of the project, the project remained on schedule.

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HNTB has completed 34 Mississippi River bridge projects 2,288-foot-long bridge

MI

SS I

SS I

PP IR

IV

The 2,288-foot-long bridge is made of five steel girder river spans and three prestressed girder approach spans. HNTB designed the main span and secondary span to be equal lengths, at 420 feet each.

ER

“The secondary span provides a backup navigational channel and reduces obstructions for marine traffic. This was provided as additional value to the owner and stakeholders. It also minimizes the number of piers susceptible to vessel impact and the number of heavy piers to construct,” Hutton said.

One Mississippi, Two Mississippi…

The new Champ Clark Bridge marks the 34th Mississippi River bridge project for HNTB. From as far north as St. Cloud, Minnesota, to as far south as New Orleans, HNTB has helped owners improve safety and mobility up and down the world-famous waterway.

Champ Clark Bridge Louisiana, Missouri The Champ Clark Bridge Replacement project has been recognized by the DesignBuild Institute of America, American Council for Engineering Companies of Missouri and Roads & Bridges magazine for its technical excellence and contributions to the community.

“HNTB is the dominant engineering firm for bridges over one of the planet’s longest rivers,” said John Barton, HNTB professional services chair, DOT market sector leader and interim bridge practice leader. “That dominance continued with the successful completion of the Champ Clark Bridge.”

HNTB has been bringing full-service capabilities and advanced technology to the planning, design and construction of complex spans and movable bridges for more than 100 years.

Often, HNTB’s bridge teams include other inhouse disciplines, such as electric, hydrology and geotechnical, allowing the project to benefit from a single-source access to a range of expertise.

“Building a team with people like this is what has set us apart for the past 100 years,” Barton said. “And it will continue to set us apart in the next 100 years.”

“The large drilled shafts allowed us to reduce the number of shafts per pier, which saved time and money,” said T.J. Colombatto, Massman project manager.

HNTB worked closely with the U.S. Corps of Engineers on both sides of the river to ensure the bridge design, as well as the temporary construction conditions, met the agency’s no-rise requirement.

“Reducing the number of piers helped us achieve the no-rise conditions,” Hutton said.

The pile foundations for the land piers were not part of MoDOT’s preliminary design, footing foundations were, but the design-build team’s modification saved time and reduced potential flooding risks.

HNTB’s design positioned the land piers to avoid Burlington Railroad right of way, and designers worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to meet restrictions on horizontal and vertical clearances.

“We were very satisfied with the design,” Colombatto said. “It met all the owners’ requirements.” But the team’s contribution to the area wasn’t finished. Because the new approach on the Illinois side crossed over a levee, HNTB collaborated with the federal levee district to improve the flood barrier.

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Faster construction, longer life

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“Route 54 creates a notch in the Sny Levee, making the roadway unreliable during flood events,” Killen said.

When the roadway floods, it cuts off access to the bridge on the Illinois side.

According to Killen, the roadway was shutdown at least 20 days in 2019 due to high water.

“Our design raised the Illinois approach, which will maintain traffic during extreme flood events,” Hutton said.

“It was a key feature of the project,” Killen said, “not only would we have a safer bridge, it would be more reliable.”

To reduce the construction schedule, the main steel unit was decked with 181 precast deck panels. According to Hutton, precast panels, in general, aren’t innovative but their application on this bridge was unique.

“They required no post-tensioning,” Hutton said. “The 9-foot-long by 46-foot8-inch-wide precast panels covered the full width of the bridge deck and were made composite with the girders by groups of shear studs and pockets in the panels. This required a specially designed self-consolidating concrete mix that would flow within the constricted haunch area between the girders and panels and fill the stud pockets.”

“The panels definitely helped with the schedule,” Colombatto said. “That’s why we chose them. We didn’t have to wait for all the other concrete pours we would have had to place on the bridge.”

HNTB-Massman also was the only design-build team to propose Missouri’s first application of a high-quality polyester polymer concrete overlay on a new bridge to help extend the life of the bridge deck.

“The PPC overlay protects the concrete from corrosive deicing salts,” Hutton said.

“It is expected to last 10 to 15 years longer than typical overlays, offering a significant cost savings over the bridge’s lifetime.”

In total, HNTB’s value-added design created a $2.5 million savings for the bistate owners.

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A bridge that exceeds expectations During construction, Massman maintained regional traffic by keeping the existing bridge open and erecting its replacement just 50 feet downstream. The new Champ Clark Bridge opened on time and on budget in August 2019. The structure is expected to serve the region for the next 100 years.

Recruiting the future The design-build partners offered a career fair, project site tours and a summer camp for area STEM students. The students also were invited to develop ideas for an interpretive panel commemorating the original bridge. The winning design incorporates pieces of the old truss into the base of the monument that overlooks the bridge in Riverview Park.

“It’s been a great project,” Killen said.

“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from the community. The wider, safer bridge is meeting their needs and that was the goal. We are extremely happy with the end product.” n CONTACT: HANS HUTTON, PE HNTB's Design Manager (816) 527-2613 n

hhutton@hntb.com

Community participation As part of their plan, HNTB-Massman made a large cut in a hillside adjacent to the Missouri end of the bridge to accommodate a new east-west roadway. To support the hillside, HNTB designed a retaining wall that is approximately 10 feet high and 160 feet long. Residents were invited to vote on the wall’s aesthetics. They chose a precast modular block system with a rosemary-colored ledgestone pattern. About 350 people — or 10% of the local population — participated.

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Re-envisioned Corridor

U

S 290 IS A MAJOR NORTHWEST SPOKE IN THE HUB OF HIGHWAYS THAT CIRCLE AND RADIATE FROM DOWNTOWN HOUSTON. The improved US 290 brings new capacity to accommodate projected 2035 traffic volumes for Houston. Portions of this $2.4 billion total project cost corridor were delivered to commuters almost 20 years early.

HNTB served as program management consultant to the Texas Department of Transportation on the reconstruction and expansion of 38 miles of US 290 in Houston.

The 13 construction contracts under the program included 15 miles of freeway reconstruction, 23 miles of freeway widening and a 10-mile extension of the HOV lane.

“The partnership between TxDOT and HNTB has mitigated challenges in delivering the US 290 program improvements decades ahead of the original schedule,” shared Said Haj-Khalil, P.E., TxDOT's US 290 program manager “It has been a successful journey toward a timely completion of the program.”

Download the HNTB App Upgrade to the latest version today!

Watch the video and read more at hntb.com/290

Designer and the other HNTB publications and resources are available on the HNTB App. Download the app for free from App Store® and Google Play.™

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Replacing the Champ HNTB’s low-maintenance, straightforward design gave a rural bistate community a wider, safer Mississippi River crossing.

The HNTB Companies Infrastructure Solutions