Bonnie View Road runs 1.9 miles from southeast Dallas to Lancaster, Texas. Serving a highly dynamic and dense area, the road connects a fire station, two parks, multiple churches, retail, business and residential properties in addition to the predominant International Inland Port of Dallas (IIPOD) – a 7,500-acre intermodal and logistics district that links large companies to logistic transportation infrastructure. The infrastructure includes railroads, international airports, interstate highways, an intermodal terminal and trade zone sites. Originally, Bonnie View was a two-lane asphalt road with ditches which was not adequate to support the area’s growing traffic demand. Dallas County Public Works contracted B&N to design improvements that enhanced roadway capacity, connectivity and helped drive job creation and economic growth in the IIPOD area.
The now four-lane divided roadway includes wide turn lanes at four large intersections and concrete sidewalks along the entire length. B&N provided:
- Phase I: Preliminary Design/Preliminary Engineering
- Phase II: Primary/Final Design
- Drainage Improvements
- Stakeholder Coordination
- Public Involvement Assistance
Extensive Coordination
Because the area is populated and robust, extensive coordination with multiple developments, city departments and engineering firms occurred throughout the design. The Bonnie View Road improvements were coordinated with four other projects associated with the IIPOD development, including the Dallas Water Utilities design and construction of new water and sewer mains and the inclusion of a 96-inch water main adjacent to the roadway. Other projects involved roadway connections to collector streets as part of new developments.
Maintaining open communication with all parties allowed the project to move forward efficiently. B&N developed a project charter that addressed goals and responsibilities for all project stakeholders. The project team utilized a design charrette in the early planning stages that allowed the project stakeholders to have a voice and feedback throughout the project. B&N also assisted Dallas County in coordinating with the City of Dallas Public Works and the City of Lancaster.
Long-lasting Benefits
The Bonnie View Road improvements provided many infrastructure benefits. Most importantly, they provided the county with improvements in capacity, accessibility and economic growth. According to Dallas Economic Development, the Bonnie View Road reconstruction increased accessibility to over 10 million square feet of new construction, which created over 17,000 job opportunities in the IIPOD.
“The Bonnie View Road project collaboration is a textbook example of how interagency coordination results in comprehensive infrastructure improvements delivered in a single project, thereby optimizing the benefit to Dallas County constituents. This supports Public Works’ mission to improve the quality of life for our customers and further enhances our reputation of being an effective project delivery agent and valued partner.” – Alberta Blair, PE, Dallas County Director of Public Works