The American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) has named PBS&J as the recipient of a 2010 Globe Award. The firm is being recognized for its work on the State Road 408 Widening and Reconstruction Project in Orlando. The award will be presented at the ARTBA Federal Issues Program and Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In, to be held in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010.
SR 408, a 16-mile toll road traversing downtown Orlando, was experiencing traffic volumes exceeding design capacity. The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) needed to add lanes to alleviate congestion while staying within the existing right-of-way footprint. This required a unique approach to the design combining engineering and landscape architecture disciplines.
PBS&J used a context-sensitive design process to develop designs that highlight the best aesthetic features of the community and help the project blend with the surrounding area. Aesthetic design elements were incorporated with colors and textures that complement the historical architecture of the surrounding neighborhoods. The Lake Underhill Bridge was designed with an added feature to create a new “gateway” to downtown Orlando and provide a “missing link” to the pedestrian trail that exists on the south side of the lake.
“We could have approached the project strictly as an opportunity to add capacity,” Mike Snyder, P.E., OOCEA executive director, said. “But we had a second chance to make a really positive impact on the community.”
“PBS&J is pleased to have worked with OOCEA on this important project. The new toll road has made a positive impact on downtown Orlando’s physical environment and enhanced the aesthetic values of the community,” said Max D. Crumit, president of transportation at PBS&J. “To have our work recognized nationally by ARTBA is truly an honor.”
The Globe Awards celebrate private-sector firms and public-sector agencies that do an outstanding job in protecting and/or enhancing the natural environment in the planning, design and construction of U.S. transportation infrastructure projects. It also honors transportation construction-related product manufacturers and material suppliers that utilize exemplary environmental processes to protect or enhance the natural environment.
