Parsons Brinckerhoff by: Thomas W. Malcolm Cory M. Schulz, ASLA Gary O. Perkins, ASLA Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) is a century-old engineering and program management firm with a strong portfolio of projects in the St. Louis area. Founded in New York in 1885, PB provides multidisciplinary services for transportation, power, buildings, environmental and telecommunications projects. The firm employs 8,500 people in 250 offices throughout the U.S. and the world. PB expanded its presence in the Midwest with its acquisition, in 1998, of Booker Associates, Inc. of St. Louis, an engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, planning and construction management firm prominent in the St. Louis area since its founding in 1949. MetroLink Light Rail The firm was one of the principal designers of the original St. Louis MetroLink light rail transit system, which runs from East St. Louis, Illinois, through the St. Louis, Missouri central business district, and on to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. PB provided a number of services, for the initial 18-mile segment. Subsequently, PB, in joint venture, provided program management services on the 17-mile St. Clair County MetroLink extension, which is now in construction and will serve additional Illinois communities when it opens in 2001. In conjunction with the St. Clair County extension, PB Landscape Architects prepared the final design of a companion bicycle and pedestrian trail that is located within the MetroLink right-of-way. The joint use trail provides a separate transportation route as well as connections to the MetroLink stations. PB, in joint venture, was recently selected to design and manage construction of a second extension, the 8-mile Cross County MetroLink, which will extend service to Missouri suburban areas of St. Louis, including Clayton, Richmond Heights and Washington University, when it opens in 2005. It is anticipated that landscape, urban design and bicycle facility enhancements will be incorporated in this project as well. Kiel Plaza Triangle Park PB has a strong landscape architecture practice in the Midwest, and has been involved in many important public infrastructure projects in the St. Louis area. In association with Peter Walker, William Johnson and Partners Landscape Architecture Incorporated, PB provided landscape architectural design and infrastructure design and construction engineering services for Kiel Plaza Triangle Park. The two-acre, multi-functional park is located between the Savvis Center (formerly the Kiel Center), St. Louis's premier indoor sports and entertainment complex, and the adjacent MetroLink station. As an extension of the Savvis Center, the park provides a place for community activities. The plaza design includes multi-colored bands of pre-cast concrete and asphalt paving, 10 sculptural stainless steel enclosures, which can emit steam, water, and light via a computer-controlled program. Off-center in the plaza is a large raised planter intended to provide a meeting place and seating for park users. The site's two planted areas consist of a formal grove of bald cypress trees and a naturalized prairie adjacent to the MetroLink right-of-way. The two landscaped spaces are separated by a paved central promenade-lined with monolithic concrete benches-that accommodates pedestrians arriving and departing the Savvis Center from the MetroLink station. Landscape Master Plan for Adams Dairy Parkway For the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, PB prepared a master plan for the landscape development of a two-mile section of the Adams Dairy Parkway. This section of the Parkway is highly visible because of its proximity to I-70 and adjacent high-tech commercial development area and the city golf course. PB's master plan identified the overall design intent and appropriate amenities for the parkway. PB assisted the city in the preparation of a grant application and the city was successful as the recipient of the first Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) enhancement award in Missouri. PB prepared final construction documents and provided construction observation for the implementation of $1.2 million in landscape improvements for the parkway. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport PB prepared a landscape master plan for the entrance to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, a longtime client of the firm. The master plan included three miles of airport frontage road along I-70, which provides access to the terminal areas, parking garages, and two MetroLink Stations. The landscape development includes flowering, canopy and evergreen trees as well as evergreen and deciduous shrubs and groundcover. The plantings are supported by an automated below-grade irrigation system that can be centrally monitored and controlled. PB also provided landscape architectural design services for five phases of implementation to complete the objectives of the previously prepared airport landscape master plan. In addition to planning and irrigation, the implementation included the development of pedestrian walkways from adjacent hotels and parking facilities to the primary pedestrian entrance at the main terminal. PB has been involved in projects at Lambert-St. Louis Airport for 20 years, and is currently, in joint venture, performing the grading design of the airport's new west runway and related utility design in connection with a $1 billion expansion of the airport. I-70/Florissant Road Aesthetic Enhancements As part of the Missouri Department of Transportation's improvements to the I-70 corridor, PB developed aesthetic design concepts to enhance the appearance of a seven-lane bridge proposed along I-70. PB also designed streetscape enhancements along Florissant Road from the bridge interchange to a proposed University of Missouri-St. Louis campus entrance off Florissant Road. Architectural enhancements consist of cast-in-place concrete barrier walls that include horizontal reveals to provide shadow lines and visual interest in the upper and lower portions of the exterior barrier walls. Concrete form liners will be used to emulate natural stone on bridge columns, abutment walls and adjacent retaining walls. A concrete surface color system-consisting of a base color and two accent colors-will be applied to the stone pattern to simulate the color range of the natural limestone being replicated. Limestone form liners provide a cost-effective and easily maintained alternative to stone. Streetscape enhancements include tiered landscape retaining walls and plantings below the bridge structure, as well as street trees, media plantings and new street lighting. Street trees will be placed along each side of the roadway adjacent to pedestrian walkways. The Keil Plaza Triangle Park design includes multi-colored bands of pre-cast concrete and asphalt paving, and 10 sculptural stainless steel enclosures, which can emit steam, water, and light via a computer-controlled program. The custom retaining walls were specified to add visual excitement to Adams Dairy Parkway, a highly visible stretch of road along I-70 (bottom).