BH Receives ACEC Tennessee Honor Award for I-40/I-240 Interchange Improvements Project

Buchart Horn is proud to receive the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee’s Honor Award for our design of Phase II improvements to the I-40/I-240 interchange in Shelby County, TN. BH Project Manager, Andy Pinkley, PE, CPESC, and BH Vice President of Southern Transportation Operations, Jimmy Dickerson, PE, PS, accepted the award at ACEC Tennessee’s 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards and 50^th Anniversary Gala held October 26 at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, TN.

Already a point of molar-grinding gridlock, the future of I-40/I-240 promised no relief. With more than 200,000 vehicles per day using this intersection, it was a huge bottleneck. By 2030 the volume will expand to 350,000 vehicles per day. Something had to be done, and TDOT selected BH to do it. BH has been in Memphis for more than a half a century. The very first project the Memphis office tackled involved TDOT and the same interstate.

Working with TDOT, BH had completed design on Phase I of the I-40/I-240 interchange project with construction wrapping up in 2003. Phase II, designed by BH in concert with TDOT Structures Division, included the roadway, six bridge structures, and numerous retaining wall structures along I-40, I-240, and Sam Cooper Boulevard. The new directional interchange includes four levels rising to approximately 75 feet, the first of its kind in West Tennessee. Improvements to the interchange enhanced the flow of traffic through this highly traveled area by the addition of ramps and auxiliary merging lanes. At the time this project was bid, it was the largest single job bid by TDOT at $109 million.

BH also assisted with the inspection and field monitoring of Phase II construction, supporting the prime consultant, Smith Seckman Reid.