“I” Street in Omaha, Nebraska, travels through a busy industrial area with heavy truck traffic. Years of wear on the street had caused severe rutting, failing asphalt, and crumbling edges. Safety was also a concern as backups from turning trucks sometimes led to crashes. These factors combined to prompt the need for full street reconstruction.

The City first tasked us with performing a traffic study along the nearly mile-long corridor. We were then brought on to design the reconstruction, manage public engagement, and oversee construction management. We recommended widening the corridor’s busiest section to three lanes, adding a center turn lane to allow trucks to make left turns without blocking through-traffic. The remaining segments remained two lanes based on traffic counts.

Maintaining access to corridor properties, an interstate ramp, and two major intersections required a carefully phased construction plan—with three main phases and 13 sub-phases! Additionally, large trucks needed access to navigate through the active construction zone. With so many moving parts, regular meetings kept stakeholders informed.

The corridor intersected with 26 utilities, requiring close coordination to assess impacts. Where conflicts existed, collaboration ensured the lines were either rerouted before construction began or concurrent with construction.

A portion of the project included an at-grade crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Storm sewer installation required boring beneath the tracks, a process that involved permitting with UP and monitoring to ensure ground and track stability during this process. Lastly, although pedestrian facilities were minimal before, reconstruction added a new sidewalk, pedestrian push buttons, and ADA-compliant curb ramps to improve pedestrian safety.