AGENDA #9
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: I-40 Congestion Management Study Presentation
DATE: February 25, 2002
This memorandum reviews the background of the ongoing I-40 Congestion Management Study and includes information to be presented tonight to the Town Council by representatives of Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade and Douglas.
In May, 2000 Phase I of the I-40 High Occupancy Vehicle/Congestion Management Study was completed. Phase I of the I-40 High Occupancy Vehicle/Congestion Management Study was intended to identify and provide preliminary analysis of transportation strategies designed to relieve congestion in the Research Triangle region. The I-40 Study was funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The I-40 High Occupancy Vehicle/Congestion Management Phase I Study reviewed several strategies and recommended the following strategies be included for more detailed analysis in the Phase II Study:
· Traditional Capacity Improvements-general widening for all traffic.
· High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes-lanes restricted to use by vehicles with 2 or more occupants.
· High Occupancy Toll Lanes-High occupancy vehicle lanes that allow single occupant vehicles at certain times of day but charge a toll to those vehicles.
· Public Transit-express buses operating along the I-40 corridor.
· Intelligent Transportation Systems-Systems designed to provide motorists with real time data about congestion and operating conditions.
· Freeway Management-Improving freeway capacity through operational improvements.
· Transportation Systems Management-Small scale operational improvements such as signal timing, designed to improve peak hour capacity.
· Transportation Demand Management-Employer based efforts to encourage employees to use alternative modes of transportation.
The Phase I Study recommended that the following strategies not be included in the Phase II analysis:
· Toll Road-Charging a fee to use the highway.
· Truck Lanes-Restricting trucks to limited lanes during peak periods.
· Express Lanes-Identifying lanes for through traffic only.
· Ramp Restrictions/Closures-Limiting traffic entering highway at on ramps to improve the peak period congestion.
· Congestion Pricing-Charging a variable fee to use the highway during peak periods.
Phase II of the I-40 Congestion Management Study was initiated in August, 2000. The consultant team of Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade and Douglas completed a preliminary evaluation in November, 2001. Public meetings were held in early December in Durham, Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park to release the preliminary findings.
Representatives from Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade and Douglas will present information related to their preliminary recommendations to the Council at tonight’s meeting. Attachment 1 includes information from their presentation.
The consultant expects to continue with preliminary engineering during this period and prepare a draft and final report in May, 2002.