City of Cedar Rapids Williams Boulevard SW

Background

Williams Boulevard SW is a major arterial corridor in Cedar Rapids that was experiencing high traffic volumes and deteriorating pavement. The city sought to improve the safety and manage the capacity of the corridor, while enhancing roadway aesthetics. Foth was tasked with redesigning the corridor and maintaining traffic throughout construction for this 3R project.

Approach

Our team completed the functional design of the corridor, including modeling traffic for signal design modifications and four multilane roundabouts at high-volume intersections. Based on this information, we completed conceptual layouts, functional geometrics and roundabout design, and utility impacts. We also provided cost estimates and funding breakdowns, outlining phasing recommendations for current and future improvements.

Final design includes full reconstruction of 1.5 miles of roadway and the intersection of Williams Boulevard SW and Edgewood Road SW with PCC pavement, stormwater management, utility improvements, and traffic signals. The intersection’s horizontal and vertical alignments were adjusted to reduce skew and optimize traffic signal effectiveness and ease of turning movements. Other improvements to the corridor include lane reductions in some areas and mill and overlay in other areas. A multistage construction sequencing and traffic control plan was also created.