Challenges: A Tangle of Stakeholders and Tight Timelines

This project touched so many different agencies and jurisdictions,” said Arminta Syed, Transportation Planner at MAG. “Everyone had their own expectations—especially since the funding was a legislative
appropriation—and we needed to land on a solution that could be delivered quickly enough to tie into ADOT’s existing widening project.”

While some stakeholders envisioned a large, elevated interchange—mirroring designs from other parts of the valley—MAG’s analysis showed such a structure would be expensive, unnecessary, and impractical. But
explaining that to non-technical audiences proved challenging.

“We had tried sketches, talking through examples, everything,” said Syed. “But it wasn’t getting through. The concept of a ‘bridge to nowhere’ was abstract—until we showed them exactly what that would look like in a 3D visualization.”

Visualizing The Path Forward

MAG brought in RDV Systems to develop an interactive 3D model that clearly communicated what a structure at the current stage of development would actually mean—and what a smarter, phased approach could look like instead.

“RDV’s visualization was the turning point,” said Syed. “We showed stakeholders what the interim design looked like from a driver’s perspective, and how it could be easily upgraded in the future. That’s when the lightbulbs went off. It gave them confidence in a plan they weren’t familiar with and helped them see that it was both logical and future-proof.”

With little existing design data available, RDV delivered an accurate and compelling model on a tight timeline, translating conceptual plans into something stakeholders could understand and support. “They worked quickly and flexibly with minimal input—just layouts and concepts—and still delivered a powerful visualization,” she said.