As part of the design-build team, WRA developed an approach and conceptual design that met or exceeded the technical requirements set forth in the RFP and implemented several design improvements resulting in value-added benefits to the project.  Some of these design improvements included minimizing impacts to the traveling public by condensing the project limits; avoiding utility impacts by eliminating lowering US Route 11; and simplifying constructability by eliminating drainage features.

Covering 24 blocks of the downtown area, WRA provided the design for the replacement of water and sanitary sewer lines, drainage improvements, pedestrian accessibility, conversion to two-way traffic, transit upgrades, streetscape improvements, updated signing, and traffic calming features.

The main goal of the TSMO project is to reduce recurring and non-recurring congestion along approximately twenty miles of I-695, from I-70 to MD 43, which includes six of the top fifteen most congested roadway segments in Maryland.  WRA was responsible for the preparation of the NEPA Categorical Exclusion and associated technical reports; wetland delineations; noise analyses; concepts to utilize the inside shoulder as a peak period general purpose lane; preparation of the procurement documents and evaluation of technical submittals; and assistan

The Triple Bridges project will address the structural needs at the interchange, improve safety, reduce congestion, reduce future interchange maintenance, and retain all existing access improvements.  WRA is preparing the NEPA document and associated technical reports, wetland delineations, and noise impact analysis and barrier design; reviewing conceptual alternatives prepared by others and developing new alternative designs; performing highway, water resources, structural, traffic, geotechnical, and utility engineering services; and preparing

Selection for this contract was based upon a fixed price with a variable scope. WRA, as part of the design-build team, was selected based on a proposal that included the maximum possible continuous 4-lane dualized roadway miles to address the more than 75% increase in ADT projected by 2040.  The design-build team also proposed additional improvements at the I-70/MD 32 interchange to improve traffic operations and safety while being designed to accommodate future planned improvements.

WRA is providing full-service construction management and inspection (CMI) services on the $900,000 project which includes federal Transportation Enhancement Funding. The Warrenton Branch Greenway was the only trail in Virginia to be designated a National Recreation Trail in 2012. The project includes the construction of a 4,765 LF, ten-foot-wide asphalt shared use path on top of an existing abandoned gravel Railroad bed with the rails and timber removed.

With selection based upon the lowest Adjusted Price proposal, a combination of price and schedule, WRA as part of the design-build team met and surpassed the design and construction milestones of this aggressive project.   The project required close coordination with MDOT SHA, Howard County DPW, BGE and Verizon, permitting/approval authorities, property owners, and project stakeholders.

WRA's Beth Kreider, Ryan Seymore, Brian King, and Ed Roethlein presented at this year's Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association Conference (PPTA). They detailed implementation of Battery Electric Buses (BEB’s), planning to get BEB’s; those with plans for a pilot program with a limited number of buses, or complete fleet changeovers. Whether incorporating BEB’s into an existing facility or a planned facility upgrade project, we will explore the impacts of BEBs and considerations necessary to address these impacts.

Andy Cooper, an Associate in the Water/Wastewater Group, was awarded the Carl John Lauter Award at the 2021 Tri-Association Conference. It is given each year to a member of the Chesapeake Section who has given outstanding service through higher work as an officer, committee chair or committee member.  

WRA designed the renovation of an underutilized space in this College of Engineering building to create a new 46 seat, interactive distance learning case room. The design also addressed the need for  increased cooling loads and seamlessly integrated more robust audio-visual system infrastructure, while improving sightlines to instructor presentations, and augmenting the thermal envelope to meet current energy conservation codes.