Project Description: |
Wilshire Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Wilshire Middle Lanes – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard project consists of two related projects. They were designed and constructed as one project and being submitted for ASCE MLAB 2015 Award as one project.
Wilshire Boulevard is the most heavily used transit corridor in County of Los Angeles with over 80,000 weekday bus boardings The Wilshire BRT Project has been developed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the City of Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles to improve transit service, bus passenger travel times, service reliability, ridership of the existing Wilshire BRT system, and encourages a shift from automobile use to public transit. It extends from South Park View Street near Downtown Los Angeles to Centinela Avenue at the City of Santa Monica border, excluding the segment within the City of Beverly Hills, and excluding the segments between Comstock Avenue and Selby Avenue, and from the mid-block of Gayley Avenue/Veteran Avenue to Sepulveda Boulevard within the City of Los Angeles. The majority of the project lies within the City of Los Angeles with only the section between Sepulveda Blvd and Federal Avenue residing within the County’s jurisdiction. The Wilshire BRT is comprised of various segments and is being implemented in phases. The scope of work at the Wilshire BRT segments varies (Transmittal No. 1).
The Wilshire Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard is a 3.6 miles and one of the more significant segments of the Wilshire BRT Project. It constitutes Phase II of the Wilshire BRT project. It runs along Wilshire Boulevard through the densely populated mid-western portion of the City of Los Angeles from just west of downtown Los Angeles at Western Avenue to the City of Beverly Hills boarder line at San Vicente Boulevard.
Wilshire Boulevard - Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard has an eastbound curb lane, two eastbound travel lanes, a westbound curb lane, two westbound travel lanes, and a center median / left turn lane. Due to the deteriorated condition of the concrete gutters and the asphalt curb lanes, buses and vehicles avoided driving on the curb lanes thereby reducing the effective capacity of the roadway to two travel lanes in each direction and causing congested and unsafe travel conditions. The two east and two westbound travel lanes and the center median / left turn lane were also deteriorated causing unsafe and uncomfortable riding surface and congested travel conditions. To improve transit service, bus passenger travel times, service reliability, ridership of the existing Wilshire BRT system, and encourage a shift from automobile use to public transit, Wilshire BRT scoped to reconstruct the Wilshire Boulevard curb lanes in between Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard and convert them to weekday peak period bus and right-turn only lanes, and the City of Los Angeles scoped to also repair and resurface the east and westbound travel lanes and the center median / left turn lane (Middle Lanes) of Wilshire Boulevard in between Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard.
The Bureau of Engineering, Department of Public Works of the City of Los Angeles led the design and construction of the Wilshire BRT and the Wilshire Middle Lanes - Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard as one project (Transmittal No. 2). PSOMAS provided design services and the design called for removal of the concrete curb and gutters and removal of the asphalt curb lanes and for construction of monolithic concrete curb and curb lanes in their place, relocating bus stops and bus shelters from the nearside of the intersections to the far side of the intersections, repair, grinding and resurfacing the two east and two westbound travel lanes and the center median / left turn lane, and for re-striping the roadway to convert the east and west bound curb lanes to weekday peak period bus and right-turn only lanes. The project also designed and installed infrastructure for Automatic Traffic Surveillance And Control Systems, and traffic signal improvements.
The Wilshire BRT and Wilshire Middle Lanes – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard project had a construction budget of $14,000,000. Construction was awarded to Griffith Company and broke ground in January of 2014 and was completed and held its opening ceremony in April of 2015. MGE Engineering Inc., provided construction management services.
The design and construction of the project was coordinated with Metro Purple Line Subway Extension project which proposed to extend the subway from its existing terminus at Wilshire / Western Station at City of Los Angeles to Wilshire / La Cienega intersection in City of Beverly Hills. The project coordinated to not have overlapping construction footprint areas with the Metro Purple Line Subway Extension project’s existing Wilshire / Western Station, and purposed Wilshire / La Brea, and Wilshire / Fairfax Stations and major work areas. The project also coordinated to enable Metro Purple Line Subway Extension project to perform its advance utility relocation work concurrently with the construction of the Wilshire BRT and Wilshire Middle Lanes – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard.
The development of the project was a product of the coordinated efforts of many City and outside agencies. In addition to securing the Very Small Starts Federal Grant and providing Metro Proposition C funds, Metro obtained the environmental clearances for the project. The Bureau of Engineering (BOE) provided project management, survey, geotechnical investigations, and through its consultant, Psomas, delivered the design of the project. BOE also processed the project through bid advertisement and award for construction, and managed the construction with the assistance of its consultants, including Psomas and MGE Engineering Inc. The Bureau of Contract Administration had a major role during construction. They provided for construction inspection and administered the awarded construction contract to Griffith Company, the project’s construction contractor. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) worked closely with Metro in securing the project funding. LADOT also designed the Transit Priority System Enhancements of this project, worked closely with consultants on the traffic elements of the project as well as with the construction contractor, Griffith Company, on the traffic control plans of the project. The Roads and Highway section of the Standards Division, Department of General Services, assisted BOE with the analysis and selection of a durable asphalt and concrete pavement section and provided for material testing during construction. The Bureau of Street Lighting provided design review services to avoid conflict with the Street Lighting system. The Bureau of Street Services coordinated the relocation and upgrade of the transit shelters with the City’s street furniture vendors.
The Wilshire BRT received Very Small Starts Federal Grant, Metro Proposition C, and City of Los Angeles Proposition C funds. And the City used Special Gas Tax and Local Measure R Return funds for the repair and resurfacing of the middle lanes.
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Project Justification: |
The Wilshire BRT and Wilshire Middle Lanes – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard project stands out on various fronts.
The design addressed and its construction delivered the project objectives. To improve bus passenger travel times, encourage a shift from automobile use to public transit, provide for a functionally safe riding surface for buses and automobiles, the design called for and construction implemented to remove the concrete curb and gutters and the asphalt curb lanes and construct monolithic concrete curb and curb lanes in their place, relocated bus stops and bus shelters from the nearside of the intersections to the far side of the intersections, repaired, grinded and resurfaced the two east and two westbound travel lanes and the center median / left turn lane, and re-striped the roadway to convert the east and west bound curb lanes to weekday peak period bus and right-turn only lanes, as well as designed and installed infrastructure for Automatic Traffic Surveillance And Control Systems, and traffic signal improvements.
The design and construction teams went above and beyond standard practices of developing and implementing traffic and pedestrian control plans. Maintaining safe conditions for pedestrians, motorists and construction crews without causing avoidable delays to vehicular traffic and pedestrians and without adversely impacting construction quality and efficiency was an important concern and factor and a significant challenge. The design and the construction teams overcame this challenge by collaboratively analyzing alternative construction staging scenarios with alternative construction work hours and developed and implemented specific site and work hour traffic control plans that best addressed the various safety concerns and challenging construction needs. Pedestrian access was maintained at all times. Two lanes of traffic in each direction were maintained during weekday morning and afternoon peak hours. The work elements, such as installation of concrete curb lanes and resurfacing work along the raised landscaped median islands, that could only be performed safely by maintaining one lane of traffic were staged and performed during weekends. Due to the collaborative efforts of the project teams, the safety issues and concerns were addressed, the impact to pedestrians and traffic was minimized, and quality and efficiency of the construction was maintained. Also, Public Outreach started prior to start of construction and continued through construction informing the pass through and local commuters as well as the immediate community of the location and nature of the immediate work, duration and impact of work, of alternative remedies provided as well as what they can do to minimize impact.
The project achieved high construction quality. The craftsmanship and quality of the concrete work exceeded expectations. Particularly, the quality and craftsmanship of the monolithic concrete curb and concrete curb lanes was exceptional. The construction team constructed the concrete curb lanes to functional cross and longitudinal grades, thickness, and finished and cured them very professionally and efficiently. Approximately 6 miles of monolithic curb and concrete curb lanes was constructed and the end product was free of cracks, and deficiencies. This was due to having appropriate mix design, quality material, material testing, timely production, timely delivery, usage of appropriate and efficient equipment and techniques, skilled and professional concrete installers, finishers, and curers, as well field supervision and inspection.
Due to diligent planning, coordination, design, and construction work the project was delivered on time and budget.
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Suggested Award Summary: |
Wilshire BRT and Wilshire Middle Lanes – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard project.
Wilshire Boulevard is the most heavily used transit corridor in County of Los Angeles with over 80,000 weekday bus boardings. Wilshire Boulevard – Western Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard is a 3.6 miles segment that runs through the densely populated mid-western portion of the City of Los Angeles from just west of downtown Los Angeles at Western Avenue to the City of Beverly Hills boarder line at San Vicente Boulevard. To improve transit service, bus passenger travel times, service reliability, ridership of the existing Wilshire Bus Rapid (BRT) system, and encourage a shift from automobile use to public transit, and to also improve the riding surface and the flow of traffic at the middle lanes, the project removed the detoriated concrete curb and gutters and the asphalt curb lanes and constructed monolithic concrete curb and curb lanes, relocated bus stops and bus shelters from the nearside of the intersections to the far side of the intersections, repaired, grinded and resurfaced the two east and two westbound travel lanes and the center median / left turn lane, and re-striped the roadway to convert the east and west bound curb lanes to weekday peak period bus and right-turn only lanes. The project also installed infrastructure for Automatic Traffic Surveillance And Control Systems, and traffic signal improvements.
The Bureau of Engineering, Department of Public Works of the City of Los Angeles led and managed the design and construction of the project. PSOMAS provided design and MGE Engineering Inc., provided construction management services. The project had a construction budget of $14,000,000. Its construction was awarded to Griffith Company and broke ground in January of 2014 and was completed and held opening ceremony in April 2015 on time and budget.
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