KLJ Receives 2022 Engineering Excellence Award for the Trunk Highway 22 Corridor Study

KLJ was awarded a “2022 Engineering Excellence Award” by The American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota (ACEC/MN) for our work on the Trunk Highway (TH) 22 Corridor Study project.

TH 22 from St. Peter, Minn. to Mankato, Minn., is the highest-trafficked section of two-lane highway in Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 7, an area in the southwest corner of Minnesota encompassing roughly 10 percent of the state by land area and total roadway.

Considering extensive community input, projected growth in traffic volumes, and construction costs, MnDOT and KLJ determined that expanding the roadway to three-lanes, with center left-turn lanes, and passing lanes, maximized corridor benefits for the community. The TH 22 Corridor Study evaluated various design options along the corridor and at high volume intersections—CSAH 21, County Road 101, and CSAH 57—quantifying the expected impact of proposed designs to determine which improvements would most benefit community safety and traffic operations. The Study analyzed traffic safety and operations over a 24-hour period. While studies like this commonly focus on a narrow window of time, when traffic is heaviest, the 24-hour approach provides a comprehensive understanding of road conditions as they change throughout the day and night.

Recommended improvements include roundabout and continuous “T” intersections, which limit signalized intersections. Moving forward, the planned alternatives outlined in the Study’s results are expected to improve safety, increase reliable speed, and minimize corridor delays, and are projected to decrease the costs of future crashes and delays by more than 50 percent.