HNTB provided design plans, specifications and estimates as part of two contacts with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for the reconstruction and widening of three miles of Mannheim Road from Irving Park to Higgins Road.

The $60 million project added an additional travel lane in each direction that included drainage improvements, roadway lighting, revised intersection geometrics at Montrose Avenue, Lawrence Avenue, Zemke Boulevard, traffic signal modifications and new surveillance cameras.

Unique attributes included:

  • HNTB design of an ethernet-over-fiber communications network along the corridor to support new Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) roadside field devices, including pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras and IDOT’s first high-resolution, full matrix, color dynamic message signs (DMS). The communications design was coordinated with the signal interconnect for cost-effective sharing of infrastructure and was tied into an existing communications hub along I-190 for the backhaul to District 1 headquarters over Northwest Tollway Fiber.
  • Extensive coordination with several governmental agencies, including CDOT, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as private utilities, including the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency (NSMJAWA), which maintains a 90-inch diameter water main within the project limits. The FAA required multiple permits that HNTB coordinated for work located near airplane flight paths.

This reconstruction initiative was part of a larger improvement project on I-190 from O'Hare International Airport to Cumberland Avenue. Learn more about that project here. 

Location: Chicago, IL

Client: Illinois Department of Transportation