Green Roadway Challenge

At Freese and Nichols, Inc., our goal is to challenge our professionals to think in-novatively and provide unique solutions to meet our clients’ project needs. Inno-vative thinking is an integral part of our continuous improvement journey and is one of our guiding principles. One of the ways we encourage such thinking is our corporate investment in research and development (R&D). R&D funding allows employees to advance their knowledge and experience within various niches of practice areas. In 2012, funding was al-located to research sustainable practices in municipal roadway design, aligning with one of our overarching goals to be good stewards of resources. Employ-ees applied what they learned to their entry in the Low Impact Development (LID) Design Competition, hosted by the North Texas Land/Water Sustainability Forum. As a result, Freese and Nichols was named the winner of the competi-tion’s Green Roadway Challenge.

The challenge addressed a one-mile stretch of South Lamar Street in Dallas for which participants were required to design a retrofit incorporating green infrastructure. The competition’s design goals aimed to improve resource conservation and quality of life, while reducing stormwater infrastructure and financial impacts. The Fre-ese and Nichols team analyzed all aspects of the project and worked to create a design that would meet current needs by ensuring safer travel of many transportation modes, while safeguarding the ability to meet future needs and preserve natural resources.

Their proposal incorporated a number of low impact features ap-plied in creative ways that were geared toward meeting the needs of the site, now and in the future. The proposal also included a cost es-timate analysis that demonstrated the improved life cycle cost of the low impact design compared with a standard design. Seven teams submitted designs for the challenge, and three were selected as fi-nalists. Our Freese and Nichols team was the only finalist that was local and composed entirely of in-house talent. A panel of judges made up of developers and civic and governmental leaders evaluated the finalists’ presentations and awarded Freese and Nichols the title.

Proposed pedestrian amenities, including LED lighting, stamped crosswalks and bus stations, improve quality of life.

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Buffer zones between the sidewalk and roadway allow bioretention cells to treat stormwater before it enters the storm drain system and the Trinity River.

LID Design Competition Winner:

• Recycled concrete, recycled crushed concrete base, milled and reused asphalt bonding layer, and moisture treated subgrade

• Complete Streets design featuring shared travel lanes, on-street parking and wider sidewalks

• Bioretention cells landscaped with drought-tolerant plants to treat stormwater runoff

• New pedestrian amenities, including bus stations, benches, shade trees, bike racks, trash receptacles and colorful landscaping

• LED street and pedestrian lighting

• Bus station kiosks highlighting neighborhood history

• Handicap ramps, stamped and stained concrete crosswalks, and decorative inlays at intersections

Top:The proposed roadway design will not require replacement for up to 35 years.

Bottom Left: The Complete Streets design allows safe transportation for all users.

Bottom Right: Lane Wheetley (second from left) and Ben Whorter (third from left) accept the award.

COSTS8% initial cost savings of our low impact design versus the standard design

17% savings each year through-out the project’s life cycle

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Winning DesignKey Features of the