East River Road Rehabilitation

What Was the Challenge?

The East River Road Improvement Project addressed the need for a safer, more functional, and accessible transportation corridor for the residents, students, and businesses of Henrietta. The project specifically addressed the ongoing and future traffic needs as a result of heavy development along the corridor as well as needs to accommodate significant pedestrian and bicycle traffic generated from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

The project required maintaining mobility along a busy corridor while addressing deteriorated pavement, outdated drainage systems, and inconsistent shoulder widths. Construction took place on an active travel route serving residents, businesses, and RIT, so the team carefully sequenced work to limit delays and maintain access. The County worked with various stakeholders, such as utility companies and RIT, to combine roadway, drainage, and multimodal upgrades into one project.

How did Barton & Loguidice Provide a Solution?

B&L delivered preliminary and final design, as well as construction inspection services, to support Monroe County throughout project execution. Following an evaluation of roadway and traffic conditions, B&L focused on rehabilitation strategies that delivered needed safety and mobility upgrades without the costs of full roadway reconstruction. By limiting full-depth reconstruction to targeted areas and using milling, resurfacing, and large culvert rehabilitation, the project team maximized the construction budget and extended the corridor’s service life. Effective coordination with the County, Town, RIT, private developers, and utility companies prevented duplicate work, reduced mobilization expenses, and minimized disruption to the community.

Why Was This Project a Success?

The East River Road project presents a gold standard for project collaboration and creative problem solving. Monroe County and the Town of Henrietta worked extensively over the course of many years with stakeholders to deliver a transformational project that not only upgrades the existing infrastructure, but also creates new accommodations and capacity improvements for this developing, active corridor. The County and Town leveraged multiple funding sources to make this project a reality including a cost sharing plan whereby developers contributed to the cost for capacity improvements based on the anticipated number of vehicle trips generated by new development.