I-94 Business Loop SPUI
| The US-131 at I-94 BL (Stadium Drive) project was a true feat of innovation, local partnerships and stakeholder collaboration. Benesch played a key role in redesigning the corridor, which serves as a main artery to Western Michigan University (WMU) and many residential and commercial areas.
A complex, two-year schedule was developed to replace the existing cloverleaf configuration with a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) utilizing prefabricated substructure elements for the new Stadium Drive bridge—including piers, abutments and retaining walls—shaved six weeks off the schedule, reducing costs and traffic impacts. At the time of its construction, the bridge was the largest, most complex structure in Michigan to utilize prefabricated elements. Other project highlights included local agency/developer partnerships to relocate Century Drive and reconstruct/widen Stadium Drive, as well as ‘Complete Streets’ elements such as a new shared-use path and sidewalk, carpool lot, interchange lighting and new pedestrian facilities. Best Management Practices were also used to separate private and roadway runoff, rerouting it through a detention basin and natural areas before reaching Asylum Lake. The redesigned interchange greatly improved capacity, mobility, safety and sustainability—all on an accelerated schedule to open in time for WMU’s home opener football game and meet local developer milestones. |
