The NYSSPE Westchester/Putnam chapter held their monthly PDH meeting last week at the Pleasantville Country Club. The topic was the reconstruction of I-287 Exit 8E, which was previously awarded the chapter’s project of the year award. Rebecca Novak, PE and Bernie Kalus, PE, PTOE of WSP presented the learning session. The project was a NYSDOT funded project.
The presenters started by discussing their initial analysis of existing traffic conditions prior to the construction. The eastbound and westbound service road had very poor conditions as proven by their level-of-service and time delays. They stated that the main reason for these poor conditions was the existing geometry. They also discussed the poor existing structural conditions of the bridges over I-287, which included some emergency repair work that was intended to be temporary, but had ended up remaining for about 15 years.
The presenters discussed improvements to the interchange, which included, among other items:
- New service roads to bypass the signalized intersections both eastbound and westbound
- More flow options now available for White Plains traffic
- New horizontal and vertical alignments
- Full depth pavement reconstruction in some areas, and milling and paving in others
- Traffic equipment upgrades and simplified signal phasing
- Removal of a short-cut roadway with insufficient merge length
- Addition of full depth shoulders on mainline
- Upgrading of roadway barriers for new truck standards
The bypass lanes and improved geometry have drastically improved traffic conditions at the interchange and surrounding areas, as proven by post-construction level-of-service measurements.
One interesting note is that the project engineer utilized the Pythagorean Theorem to work out an issue with respect to the utilities, which ultimately saved the utility company a lot of time and money.
For more information on the NYSSPE Westchester/Putnam chapter, visit their website at: www.WestPutPE.org
Note: NYSSPE facilitates posting on this blog, but the views and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not the views or accounts of NYSSPE, its officers, or its directors, whose views and accounts may or may not be similar or identical. NYSSPE, its officers, and its directors do not express any opinion regarding any product or service by virtue of reference to such product or service on this blog.
Leave a Reply