Bristol Street Improvements and Widening

The Bristol Street Improvements project was planned and designed to incorporate complete street concepts with storm drain quality features and implementation of Green Street technologies.  The City was awarded with a Bronze Certification from GreenRoads, which is a third party rating system that rewards roadway projects that exceed public expectations for environmental, economic, and social performance.  The improvements included widening of the street from 4 lanes to six lanes, with bus turnouts, raised median, class II bike lanes, and sound walls.  The project also brings native and drought tolerant landscaping that beautifies a fully developed urban area and requires no irrigation after establishment.  The project team selected a biofiltiration BMP for Bristol Street Improvements. A series of drought tolerant vegetated bio-swales were designed to capture and filter a 2 year storm. The swales did not only include run-off from the project foot print but also run-on from the whole drainage area boundary.  Storm drain run-off flows from adjoining neighborhood streets to the main arterial where a storm drain facility is proposed in the project.  The project includes a creative low impact development solution by incorporating a vegetated bio-swale in proposed parkways. The bio-swale will disconnect impervious areas, filter storm drain run-off, and contain flows from moderate rain storms. Additionally, the bio-swale will bring a native, organic and drought tolerant pre-development landscape theme to a fully built-out transportation corridor that will require no irrigation after establishment.