Freeway Beautificaiton MTA

LAMTA, working with Caltrans District 7, targeted major intersections along the 710 and 110 freeways to receive landscape enhancement in a very short two month period of time. The scope of work for this project included planting design for three interchanges in Los Angeles County: Interstate 710 at Interstate 91, Interstate 105, and Interstate 60, with an aggregate area of about 36 acres. The proposed design replicated the flow of traffic by using waves of planting with diverse foliage color and texture, and bloom time and color, to provide year round visual interest for passersby. The biggest challenge for the project was a fixed budget where the design team under took several value engineering strategies to keep the construction cost within a $ 1 million budget. These strategies included the following:

 Including low-cost ground cover only in combination with trees as the planting palette

 Accentuating and supplementing the existing tree zones to create focal points through the corridor

 Proposing clean-up of planting areas where existing planting could be efficiently maintained

 Using plant material that required minimal irrigation modifications

 Incorporating mulch within the overall planting design composition especially in areas without existing irrigation

Cornerstone Studios, working as sub-consultant to RBF Consulting, completed the project on time and on budget.