Highways & Roads
Engineered noise barriers, retaining walls, and safety hardware tested for the demands of modern transportation infrastructure.
Learn more about Highways & RoadsFirst Ever TL-4 Project for Illinois
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Project Overview
As part of the Elgin O’Hare Western Access (EOWA) Project, the Illinois Tollway implemented a new, all-electronic toll road system.
OwnerIDOT
ContractorLorig Construction
Engineer/ArchitectCH2M Hill
The EOWA Project
As part of the Elgin O’Hare Western Access (EOWA) Project, the Illinois Tollway implemented a new, all-electronic toll road system that resulted in:
Restoring, widening and extending Illinois Route 390
Given its scale, the federal transportation legislation designated the EOWA Project as a “Project of National and Regional Significance.”
The improvements would have a substantial impact on the surrounding suburbs. With the coming rise in traffic flow, there was a real need for both increased safety measures and noise mitigation.
A Lightweight Solution
Because this interchange was a bridge, there was also a real need for a solution that was lightweight enough to be retrofitted onto the existing structure. Weight is especially significant in that each bridge is built to withstand a specific amount of weight. Any increase in the weight could result in additional work on the bridge to accommodate heavier loads.
The Illinois DOT was certainly not interested in additional construction, so EKHO’s MASH TL-4 Transparent Noise Barrier was the perfect solution weighing in at as little as 100 lbs per linear foot.
Meeting Crash-Test Standards
IDOT’s policy for structure-mounted barriers stipulated that they be crash-tested.
As the only system to meet that spec, our crash-tested barriers have been designed to utilize a W8 x 40 post.
Without straying too far from the crash-tested wall design, our team came up with a solution that would meet IDOT’s preference on wall heights not to exceed 8’ while still saying within the crash-tested requirements.
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