Transportation / Transit Planning and Preliminary Design

The Wilson T. Ballard Company has been providing Project Planning Services for various types of transportation-related projects continuously since the 1970s. The scope of our project planning capabilities is extensive, spanning across all project development phases and all modes of transportation. We perform highway planning, transit (Light Rail, Heavy Rail, Commuter Rail and Bus), Bicycle and Pedestrian – for a wide range of clients including the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Maryland Transportation Authority, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and numerous counties, towns and other jurisdictions throughout Maryland and portions of Pennsylvania.

Our experienced Project Planning Staff is uniquely trained and qualified, gaining exposure over a period of years to a wide variety of assignments so that each person’s experience is broad-based. The key staff comprising our Project Planning Team includes licensed Professional Engineers (PEs), American Institute of Certified Planners (AICPs), environmental specialists, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists, Certified Professional Traffic Operations Engineers (PTOEs) and Professional Transportation Planners (PTPs). Our staff has a broad background in areas such as final highway and structure design, transit facilities design, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) assessments, hydrology/hydraulics analyses, utility design, traffic control plans and environmental assessment that are incorporated into our project planning process.

Our Planning and Preliminary design services include:

Project Feasibility and Definition

  • Purpose and Need Documentation
  • Logical Termini/Segmentation Analysis
  • Master Plan/Transportation Plan Development
  • Interstate Access Point Approval (IAPA) Requests
  • Feasibility Studies

 

Highway Planning

  • Alignment Studies
  • Multi-Modal Corridor Studies
  • Interchange Layout
  • Intersection Capacity Analysis
  • Performance Based Practical Design Analysis
  • Safety Analysis and Remediation
  • Value Engineering
  • Pedestrian and Bicycle Studies
  • Stormwater Management Concept Plan Development
  • Other Highway Design Services

 

Transit Planning

  • Heavy Rail Planning — Alignment Studies, Station Amenities, Facility Support
  • Light Rail Planning — Alignment Studies, Station Amenities, Support Facilities, Grade Crossing Analysis
  • Bus Rapid Transit — Alignment Studies, Station Amenities, Support Facilities, Grade Crossing Analysis
  • Local, Regional and Express Bus – Bus Stop Planning
  • Transit Center Planning, Programming and Design
  • Vehicle Maintenance Facility Site Search and Feasibility
  • Parking Analysis
  • Passenger Surveys
  • Project Management for multi-disciplined transit projects (e.g., involving architectural and mechanical/electrical engineering services by others)

 

Technical Analyses and Environmental Documentation

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Agency and Public Coordination

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