Baldwin Road Reconstruction
Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) and Orion Township
Orion Township, MI
Transformed Corridor Will Relieve Delays, Enhance Safety
The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) and Orion Township, Michigan teamed with OHM Advisors to increase capacity and spur economic growth along a three-mile stretch of the Baldwin Road corridor and intersecting roadways. Bearing nearly 30,000 vehicles per day as a result of increased growth in the region, the corridor had long suffered from extreme daily congestion and delay.
At the start of the multi-year, $30+ million project, our transportation engineers worked closely with the RCOC and Orion Township on a plan addressing an expansive project scope—beginning with the goal of widening the roadways to accommodate significant commuting traffic to and from I-75, as well as improving direct access for businesses, accommodating multimodal transportation and enhancing traffic safety. The project’s stakeholders sought a plan that ultimately generates an environment to spur economic growth and creates an aesthetically pleasing community public space.
To meet these goals, our team designed a plan with a widened boulevard with five multi-lane roundabouts, overcoming a variety of design constraints and complexities. Those included an overall plan around the built and natural environment, which required varying roadway elevation changes, nearly 100 parcel impacts, several miles of underground and overhead utility relocations within limited space, and nearly two miles of water main replacement. Our team also planned for the replacement of a major culvert carrying the Brown Drain and included underground and above-ground stormwater management features.
The completed project is a transformed corridor grounded by the latest engineering principles united with aesthetic placemaking strategies in a new roadway infrastructure that is safe, accessible, and will be celebrated by the community for years to come.
Project Highlights: transportation engineering, traffic engineering, survey engineering, transportation planning, multi-agency coordination, engineering design, roundabout design, landscape architecture and urban design, utility coordination, culvert replacement, wetland preservation, stormwater management
