Two Benesch Projects Honored by ACEC-IL, Longmeadow Parkway Corridor Named Lincoln Grand Conceptor

CHICAGO, IL – Two Benesch transportation projects have been recognized for their outstanding engineering, innovation and community impact at the 2025 American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC IL) Engineering Excellence Awards.

• The Wolfs Crossing and Harvey Roundabout earned a Special Achievement Award for its forward-thinking design and strategic approach to improving mobility in one of Illinois’ fastest-growing communities.
• The Longmeadow Parkway Corridor received ACEC IL’s highest honor, the 2025 Lincoln Grand Conceptor Award, along with an Honor Award, recognizing its role in improving regional connectivity and boosting economic growth in Northern Kane County.

Learn more about these projects below.

Wolfs Crossing and Harvey Roundabout – Special Achievement Award

As part of a long-term vision to improve safety and multimodal connectivity, the Village of Oswego undertook a transformative effort to enhance safety, mobility, and multimodal connectivity along Wolfs Crossing Road. The first phase widened a key segment of the road to four lanes and replaced a high-traffic, four-way stop at Harvey Road with a modern roundabout, significantly easing congestion and improving traffic flow.

Benesch served as the prime consultant, providing design services to support the Village’s long-range plan, which includes widening Wolfs Crossing Road to five lanes, introducing five new signalized intersections and incorporating four roundabouts. The Harvey Roundabout was prioritized due to its high traffic volume and proximity to Oswego East High School.

Several innovative solutions were integrated into the project, including a dual-purpose pressure-reducing valve and booster pump station to enhance the water distribution system’s efficiency across varied pressure zones. The project also embraced updated Bulletin-75 rainfall data, necessitating the resizing of detention ponds and strategic property acquisitions to manage stormwater effectively. Given the corridor’s historical significance and proximity to the high school, careful planning was required to minimize impacts on cultural resources and school operations.

With the completion of the Harvey Roundabout, the community looks forward to continued improvements along Wolfs Crossing Road that will transform the corridor into a more efficient and welcoming gateway.

Longmeadow Parkway – Honor Award & Lincoln Grand Conceptor

To alleviate congestion and support future growth in Algonquin, Illinois, the Kane County Division of Transportation (KDOT) set out to extend Longmeadow Parkway into a modern multi-modal corridor. Now complete after more than 30 years of planning and development, the project significantly improves mobility, enhances safety and supports economic growth in Northern Kane County.

The 5.6-mile corridor features a new four-lane roadway and a bridge carrying traffic over the Fox River—addressing a longstanding barrier to east-west travel in the region. Benesch has played a key role in the project during two phases: the firm completed the project’s original Environmental Impact Study for five potential bridge corridors; years later, Benesch led construction management for two critical segments of the project.

Benesch’s construction management responsibilities began with Section D, which involved building a half mile of new roadway and widening Illinois Route 62 to accommodate the new section with Longmeadow Parkway. Following the successful completion of this section, Benesch was selected to oversee Section C-2, which completed the corridor with an additional mile of roadway, a steel-beam bridge over Sandbloom Road, a multi-use path and new traffic signals.

Given the project’s proximity to the Fox River and other sensitive environments, erosion and sediment control were key priorities. The project team made significant adjustments to the erosion control plans to improve sediment management and minimize environmental impact.

During construction, unexpected soil conditions and misplaced utilities posed challenges that could have significantly delayed progress. To keep the project on track, Benesch developed two redesigns—one that completely revamped a bypass sewer and another that adjusted the roadway geometry to avoid a gas line conflict in a ravine. These solutions saved both time and cost compared to alternative approaches.

Another key challenge was a hill containing hazardous lead levels that had to be addressed before completing the roadway. When an agreement on material removal could not be reached between the C-2 contractor and the Illinois and Kane County Departments of Transportation, Benesch helped KDOT restructure the work to keep the project on track.

With the Longmeadow Parkway corridor now fully operational, the region benefits from improved traffic flow, enhanced safety and a modern transportation link designed to support future growth.

Project team members were presented with the awards on February 27 at the 2025 ACEC IL Engineering Excellence Awards. This marks the third consecutive year that Benesch played a key role in the top project in Illinois (I-74 over the Mississippi River in 2023, and I-55 and Weber Road in 2024).