American Structurepoint and the City of Carmel have earned an Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Indiana in the 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards for the Range Line Road Corridor.
American Structurepoint provided multiple engineering services to the City of Carmel to transform a 1.5-mile stretch of Range Line Road into a pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined, multimodal corridor with parallel multi-use paths and six new roundabouts that replaced existing traffic signals.
A landscaped median replaced a two-way, left-turn lane, improving traffic flow and safety by eliminating mid-block left turns. Raised crosswalks, accented by decorative brick pavers, were incorporated at intersections and at several mid-block locations to increase pedestrian safety and visibility. A cycle track, buffered by heavy-duty planters to protect bike traffic, was integrated into the project and replaced one vehicular travel lane.
The six roundabouts were designed to accommodate the future placement of corridor-defining public art features in the central islands of these circular intersections. The design team included public gathering spaces along the corridor to create an engaging, vibrant environment.
American Structurepoint provided program management and oversight services for the entire corridor’s design and construction. This included an extensive public outreach campaign, conceptual design and renderings, traffic studies and high-level regional traffic management analysis. American Structurepoint also provided design engineering services for roundabouts at three intersections – 116th Street, Medical Drive and Executive Drive – and for the connection pieces between all six roundabouts. The firm also provided landscape architecture design of the streetscape for the entire corridor and construction inspection services for the six corridor roundabouts.
Kashman
“The Range Line Road project is a fantastic example of revisiting the design of our infrastructure to ensure we are meeting our goals to be a more bike and pedestrian-friendly community,” Carmel City Engineer Jeremy Kashman said. “This project also is an example of the City of Carmel leading the nation in our Safe System initiatives. Planning began years before the Federal Highway Administration championed similar efforts for all cities to follow.”
The Safe System approach aims to eliminate fatal and serious injuries for road users by designing roads that reduce serious crashes, manage speed better, and manage crash angles. Statistics show that roundabout intersections result in a 90 percent reduction in fatalities, a 76 percent reduction in all injuries, and a 35 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes.
“American Structurepoint is grateful for this recognition,” American Structurepoint Vice President Mike McBride said. “However, we are more grateful for the opportunity to help the City of Carmel achieve its goal of transforming Range Line Road into a safe, sustainable and vibrant destination for travelers.”