The project to reconstruct and install traffic signals to increase safety for those using the north entrance at Waubonsee Community College’s Sugar Grove Campus has won honors for the engineering firm the college hired to design the improvements.
On Feb. 6, Lisle-based Patrick Engineering Inc. received a 2015 Engineering Excellence Merit Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois for the engineering firm’s work on all three phases of the intersection project.
The college, in partnership with Patrick Engineering, undertook the project following a 2010 traffic accident, which claimed the lives of Waubonsee students Brandon Utley and Ryan Sherrod.
Following the accident, an Illinois Department of Transportation study determined a traffic signal at the Route 47 intersection was warranted. Waubonsee officials advocated for the new signal and worked with IDOT to enhance safety at the north entrance. A partnership of municipal, township and county authorities, as well as state elected officials, collaborated with Waubonsee to obtain funding and bring the project to completion.
IDOT activated the traffic signals on April 25, 2014.
David Bender, Executive Director of ACEC-Illinois, said the Waubonsee North Entrance project was recognized by his organization for enhancing safety for all using the intersection, as well as for the manner in which engineers designed the intersection to handle stormwater drainage.
“We recognized this project made the intersection safer for students, staff, faculty, commuters and everyone on Route 47,” said Bender. “It’s great work from a great engineering company.”
