Working as the City Engineer for a number of years allowed Yamabe & Horn to help the Public Works staff identify and prioritize their highest value improvements, as well as those most likely to be funded by Federal funding sources since the State budgets had been cut so severely in recent years. Having served on the Scoring Committee for numerous funding sources over the past decade, as well as securing millions of dollars in Federal funding for City clients, Yamabe & Horn played a critical role for the City, going well beyond basics of engineering.

While pursuing Federal Highway Administration funding for this project, the timing also coincided with the Federal Regional Surface Transportation Program funding release, resulting in securing nearly double the funding the City had anticipated in the process.

This stretch of Kearney Boulevard was a 4-lane undivided road with a mix of commercial and residential buildings along both sides. There were numerous road hazards that had been attempted to be repaired over the years and there was limited street parking. Additionally, the minor streets that cross Kearney along this section had poorly marked crosswalks despite a Middle School, three churches and a library all bringing significant foot traffic to them.

Given the amount of traffic in the area, special care was taken during construction to provide safe access to the churches. The Middle School Administration was coordinated with prior to construction to educate them on what measures were being taken to provide their students safe access to the school, as well as what areas were off limits to students to preserve their safe passing. Throughout the project, high visibility signs clearly marked safe paths for all traffic types as well as construction warning signs for areas off limits for safety purposes.

Finally, as a safety measure during the delivery and removal of heavy machinery in the course of construction, the City Police were utilized for traffic management.

A 2-lane divided road was designed and constructed, allowing for a number of enhancements to be created for the City.

• New landscaping: The new medians provided space to beautify the street according to the Kerman Landscape Standards and featured drip irrigation and drought tolerant plants that thrive in the local climate. The median noses and island border strips were finished with colored and stamped concrete as well.
• Exclusive left turn lanes: Placing these turn lanes at critical points along the road eliminated back flow that results from vehicles turning across oncoming traffic which frequently causes accidents from trailing vehicles.
• High Visibility Crosswalks: These provide clear paths for the daily flow of pedestrians to cross with high visibility to all surrounding traffic.
• Handicap ramps: These are ADA compliant and were installed in each intersection.
• Bike lane: This helps keep sidewalks free of bicyclists and gives dedicated space for their travel along the road with clear visibility and ample space for vehicles in the traffic and turn lanes.
• Dedicated street parking: This allows the residents to have closer parking that is safer due to the buffer space away from the traffic lanes.