Project Highlight
When IKEA announced their plans for a new store in West Chester Township, Butler County knew the existing roadway would have to be redesigned to meet the demand. That redesign would not only include widening of the existing roadway for turn lanes, but also multiple entrances to IKEA and new signals to help control traffic flows. Furthermore, since IKEA’s office was located in Pennsylvania, they would need a consultant with a local knowledge of the area and of Butler County requirements. To satisfy these conditions they turned to Bayer Becker. For the project Bayer Becker completed traffic counts, prepared a traffic impact study, and sight distance analysis for the project area. Based on the results of the study, Bayer Becker prepared roadway improvement plans and signalization plans, including both mastarms and spanwires.
Bayer Becker attended several meetings with the County to determine specific project needs. A key concern to the County was the overpass where Allen Road crosses Interstate 75. Bayer Becker worked closely with the Butler County Engineer’s Office and by modifying the length of the left turn lane into IKEA was able to avoid impacting the overpass but still maintain acceptable access management and adequate sight distance along Allen Road. In addition to the County, Bayer Becker also provided coordination with IKEA’s site engineer as necessary throughout the design process, especially relative to the site’s drainage and driveways. The bottom line for both IKEA and the County was a design that not only safely controls traffic flow in the area, but also allows for easy entrance and exit to IKEA’s parking lot.
