Project Info:
Location: Cumberland County, North Carolina
Role: Prime
Owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Client: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Construction Cost: $82,000,000
Services:
- Construction Phasing Plan Development
- Cost Estimate Development
- Engineering Quantity Take-Offs
- Environmental Assessment
- Existing Conditions Analysis
- GIS Analysis/Mapping
- Highway/Roadway Design
- Inter-Agency Coordination
- Interchange Design
- Natural Resource Evaluation
- NEPA Documentation
- Noise Analysis
- Permit Acquisition/Coordination
- Public and Media Outreach Material Development
- Public Involvement
- Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) Design
- Stakeholder Facilitation
- Traffic/Transportation Analysis
- Website Development and Maintenance
As part of an upgraded security plan for Fort Bragg Military Reservation, Bragg Boulevard, which runs north/south through the base, will be closed to non-military traffic. This will force all through traffic onto Murchison Road, which already operates at close to capacity. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is therefore proposing to widen three miles of Murchison Road from the Fayetteville Outer Loop to Bragg Boulevard in the Town of Spring Lake.
As prime consultant, Lochner was responsible for all engineering and design in this project, from initial concepts through to final design and construction documentation. NCDOT required the four-lane road to be widened to six lanes with a median barrier. As the roadway ran through the Fort Bragg base, right of way limits were very constricted. Lochner’s design accommodated the additional lanes within the existing median as far as possible.
Lochner performed detailed traffic simulation and analyses to determine interchange requirements for the roadway. Two new interchanges were deemed necessary to deal with the increased traffic levels. Interchange design required Lochner to coordinate regularly with Fort Bragg to meet the base’s access and security needs.
Lochner also performed the Environmental Assessment (EA) in this project, which evaluated the impact of design alternatives on factors such as noise, air quality, wetlands, endangered species, water quality, and socio-economic issues. Identification of an endangered species within the project bounds led Lochner to refine its designs to minimize potential negative impacts.