HRC was retained by the City of Southfield to identify the impacts of local road improvements for the construction of the I-696/Franklin Road Interchange and to design and prepare contract documents for the Franklin Road Bridge over the I-696 freeway and adjacent approaches and roadways.  The proposed interchange construction resulted in local road improvements and construction of an interchange including the construction of a four span vehicular bridge over the I-696 freeway.  The primary purpose of this project was to respond to the qualifications for funding of these projects in accordance with the Highway Investment Criteria from the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Sub-Committee on Transportation.

HRC was retained for road and bridge design including replacement of a 4 span 278' long, 3 lane 41' wide bridge carrying Franklin Rd over I-696, with a 4 span 390' long, 5 lane 83' wide bridge.  The replacement structure uses a joint-less concrete deck carried by 6' deep prestressed concrete girders supported by semi-integral pile supported abutment construction and pile supported pier construction on a 24 degree skew.  In addition, wing walls were constructed using mechanically stabilized embankment (MSE) walls.  Project also included 6,700 feet of interchange construction with construction of two ramps, over 1,800 feet of reconstruction of local roads and drainage along two major local drains.

HRC utilized TRAF-NETSIM to demonstrate that an interchange in an urban environment can be converted from a partial to a full interchange with all movements permitted.  TRAF-NETSIM was used to display the measures of effectiveness and traffic flow characteristics for the "after" construction condition of this project.  The measures of effectiveness for this study included: congestion reduction, energy conservation, improvements in air quality, reduction in vehicle operation costs, and travel time savings.  HRC prepared a detailed report which evaluated the existing site conditions, existing traffic volumes with proposed local road improvements, and local road improvements with the completion of the Franklin Road Interchange using projected year 2015 traffic volumes.

HRC responsibilities included:

• Bridge Design
• Road Design
• Topographic Survey
• ROW/Easement
• DEQ Permit Application
• Hydraulic Study
• Construction Engineering Support
• Construction Staging & Traffic Control
• Pavement Markings
• Utility Coordination
• Traffic Signal Design
• Interchange Lighting
• Cost Estimate