Chicago Street Reconstruction and Widening

Chicago Street is a major east-west corridor in Hammond, extending from the East Chicago city limits to the Illinois state line. The corridor faced major safety issues, which led to 80 traffic accidents in an average year. Many accidents involved heavy trucks traveling along a designated heavy truck route.

American Structurepoint’s road and traffic engineers redesigned the existing roadway with safety at the forefront. Two 90-degree intersections, that were extremely difficult to navigate by heavy trucks, were replaced with appropriately sized roundabouts. The improved roadway includes variable width travel lanes in each direction with designated turn lanes at several intersections. The project also includes stormwater improvements, sanitary sewer improvements, intersection improvements including the roundabouts and a new traffic signal, new sidewalks and enhanced roadway lighting.

American Structurepoint thrives on project complexities. Our team helped the City of Hammond acquire 163 properties so that the roadway could be widened. Our engineers also collaborated closely with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District (NICTD) to coordinate the project with NICTD’s plans to expand commuter rail service from Chicago to Hammond and other high-growth areas of northwest Indiana.

The results are a much-improved major east-west artery moving traffic more safely and efficiently while creating a sense of place in the community. At American Structurepoint, we excel at solutions that lead to better outcomes and improve the quality of life for the people and communities we serve.