Lochmueller provided multimodal roadway design services for the Walnut Street project for the City of Evansville, Indiana. Walnut Street was a four-lane urban arterial that provided east-west access between downtown Evansville and Vann Avenue. A significant amount of traffic that once used Walnut Street to access downtown now uses the Lloyd Expressway to make these trips, so the need for four lanes of traffic was no longer warranted.
The Walnut Street project is the first road diet multimodal project developed in Evansville that introduces a ten-foot multi-use trail through primarily residential neighborhoods. The trail replaces the sidewalk on the north side of Walnut Street, connecting Evansville’s Downtown with 3.1 miles of trail to city park facilities on the east side. The roadway improvements called for reducing four travel lanes with a single lane in each direction along with a two-way left-turn lane and replacing the sidewalk on the south side. The public involvement plan implemented a project website, large-scale public meetings, stakeholder meetings, and three special invitation neighborhood meetings to provide every property owner immediately adjacent to the corridor with the opportunity to meet directly with project designers to discuss their questions and concerns.
Within the project limits, the City of Evansville incorporated over $2 million worth of Green Infrastructure applications to reduce stormwater entering their combined sewer system. Specifically, the Green Infrastructure from Linwood Avenue to Kentucky Avenue in phase three included large underground chambered detention systems located under the pavement and within the city right of way. These detention systems will greatly improve the city’s Federally mandated CSO reduction requirements.
Lochmueller identified historic districts along the corridor that required further consultation, some of which are now designated mid-century historic districts. These districts include the Lawrence Court Historic District, the Alvord Boulevard Historic District, the Lincoln Walnut Terrance-Lant Place Historic District, and the Johnson Place Historic District. Historic Churches, the old Canal system, and numerous other historic features are also noted within the project limits and are now documented for future reference.
Multiple unique traffic calming and safety features have been designed for the Walnut Street corridor project. A speed table was designed at Vann Avenue, and this raised pavement area works in conjunction with a new pedestrian overhead Hawk signal at Vann Avenue that allows safe passage for pedestrians to move from the Walnut Street corridor to the Vann Avenue Park Trail. A four-way stop was replaced with a new signal added at Boeke Avenue. All other signalized intersections within the corridor were upgraded to include pedestrian pushbuttons and improved crosswalk access. Additionally, the improvements within the University of Evansville limits added decorative intersection treatments at Weinbach Avenue and Rotherwood Avenue, new solar flashing crossing beacons, improved raised pedestrian crosswalks that also act as traffic calming features, and a new decorative plaza that is protected by decorative bollards to allow for gatherings for varies events like student orientation and mini-marathons.
Phase one of the Walnut Street Project was from US 41 to Weinbach, phase two was from Weinbach to Vann, including the Vann Park Multi-Use Trail, and phase three was from MLK Jr. Boulevard to US 41. Phases one and two have been constructed and are complete, and phase three is currently under construction and on schedule to be completed in Spring 2025.
