Operation Green Light Keeps Traffic Moving Across the Metro

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) works to improve infrastructure as part of their Operation Green Light (OGL) initiative. Their goal is to provide bands of easy travel between cities and across state lines by maintaining interconnecting arterial streets. OGL’s efforts provide a seamless experience for drivers and pedestrians.

The OGL team is continually compiling a list of the devices that need to be upgraded within the Kansas City metro area. They look for improvements that should be made as they perform work in each of these communities. Those are then ranked. They work to determine which improvements will provide the largest impact, while fitting into their budget. In addition to prioritizing changes, they also gather funding and look for matching dollars from local cities to complete an infrastructure project every few years.

The Affinis team, including subconsultants Olsson and Merge Midwest, was selected for OGL’s most recent infrastructure design project. Our team designed a number of controller upgrades, added cameras to select locations, and integrated detection for cars and pedestrians. We also designed plans to add two miles of fiber in Leawood, Kansas.

For this effort, we worked with a number of entities. The cities in Kansas include Kansas City, Lansing, Merriam, Mission, and Leawood. The cities in Missouri include Raymore, Belton, Independence, Kansas City, and North Kansas City. We also coordinated with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). Balancing each stakeholder’s standards and needs added complexity to this project.

To keep everyone informed, MARC holds monthly meetings. At these gatherings, they summarize project plans and operations by the cities and Departments of Transportation (DOT) and facilitate interlocal agreements.

Currently, this project is out to bid. Once complete, it will support efforts to connect our region and move these communities forward. With the planned improvements, drivers and pedestrians will continue to have a seamless experience as they cross city and state boundaries.