Blake Road serves as an important travel route for the city of Edina, Minnesota. The road is highly traveled, as it is the only North-South route between various freeways surrounding the area. The existing roadway was visibly aging and contained two T-intersections, which posed safety threats due to a lack of stop signs.
The City of Edina wanted to improve the safety of these intersections and create a multi-modal roadway to connect with a separate multi-modal project on Blake Road in Hopkins, Minnesota. Knowing WSB’s expertise in the field, and previous success with digital delivery, the City of Edina contracted WSB to lead this project.
The preliminary design utilized ORD to model 3 design options and respond quickly with design changes. The goal of using digital delivery on this project was to aid in conversations with the city and stakeholders, like utility companies and property owners. Digital delivery allowed WSB to test potential design changes in real time in order to make key decisions in an efficient manner. Additionally, the 3D model was able to show the interaction of different design aspects, including the permanent retaining walls with the roadway and the fill in the flood plain.