As part of the Forward 45 joint venture team, HNTB designed the rebuilding project in the following disciplines: roadway construction staging, structural design, geotechnical analysis, traffic signal and intelligent transportation systems design, utility coordination, traffic analysis and modeling, landscape architecture, and transportation management planning. HNTB also performed construction inspection. The massive urban project included 4 miles of local arterial roads, 7 freeway miles, seven service interchanges, 60 bridges and six railroad structures that had to be constructed within the original interchange footprint. The Zoo is the state’s busiest interchange and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s largest and most challenging infrastructure project to date.
To maintain accessibility for freeway travelers and the nearby neighborhoods and businesses throughout construction, HNTB developed an innovative integrated corridor system with adaptive traffic signals. The system represented the nation’s largest single deployment of adaptive traffic signals and WisDOT’s first use of the sophisticated technology.
The Federal Highway Administration recognized the Zoo Interchange as an example of a successful mega project, citing its 3D engineered model and adaptive signal deployment, among other strategies, as industry best practices.
- Project represents WisDOT’s first use of adaptive traffic signals
- Use of 3D surface modeling and clash detection software reduce costs in the field
- FHWA recognizes Zoo Interchange as an example of a successful mega project.
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Client: Wisconsin Department of Transportation
