Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Plan Update Nick Donohue Deputy - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Plan Update

Nick Donohue Deputy Secretary of Transportation July 2018

SB 971 Legislation Requirements

• Board shall study financing options for the I-81

Corridor

• Study shall evaluate-

– Tolls on heavy commercial vehicles – High-occupancy toll lanes

• Study shall not evaluate tolling options that apply

to commuters

• Board may consider other funding and financing
• ptions, including regional fuels tax

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SB 971 Legislation Requirements

• Board shall develop I-81 Corridor Improvement

Plan The plan shall-

– Identify segments of I-81 for improvement – Identify targeted set of improvements, for each segment that can be financed by evaluated financing options – Include corridor-wide incident management strategies – Evaluate concepts to minimize impact of truck-only tolls

• n local truck traffic and diversion of truck track

– Assess economic impacts on corridor for toll financing

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Problem Identification What Makes I-81 Unique - Delay

DELAY

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All VA Interstates 72% Recurring 5% Holiday 1% Weather 6% Workzone 16% Incidents 21% Recurring 10% Holiday 3% Weather 15% Workzone 51% Incidents

Problem Identification What Makes I-81 Unique - Delay

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I-81 has the lowest proportion of Recurring Delay and the highest proportion of Incident Delay of any interstate in Virginia

61% 87% 36% 21% 29% 70% 69% 30% 88% 91% I-64 I-66 I-77 I-81 I-85 I-95 I-264 I-295 I-395 I-495 25% 7% 35% 51% 23% 15% 24% 21% 8% 4% Percent of Recurring Delay* Percent of Incident Delay*

*Incidents defined as lane-impacting crash and disabled vehicle events on the interstate mainline that last > 30 minutes

Person Hours of Delay between Interchanges – Average per One Mile Segment

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12,000 9,000 6,000 3,000 3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000

Tennessee SL Bristol Abingdon Chilhowie Marion Smyth County Wytheville Fort Chiswell Pulaski Montgomery Christiansburg Roanoke Buchanon Lexington Staunton Harrisonburg Woodstock Winchester West Virginia SL

Person-Hours of Delay per Year per Mile

Person Hours of Delay (Northbound) Person Hours of Delay (Southbound)

80 60 40 20 20 40 60 80

Tennessee SL Bristol Abingdon Chilhowie Marion Smyth County Wytheville Fort Chiswell Pulaski Montgomery Christiansburg Roanoke Buchanon Lexington Staunton Harrisonburg Woodstock Winchester West Virginia SL

Hours of Lane Closures per Year

NB Hours of Lane Closures Due to Incidents SB Hours of Lane Closures Due to Incidents

Duration of Incident-Related Lane Closures between Interchanges

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Equivalent Property Damage Only – One-Mile Segments

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1,000 800 600 400 200 200 400 600 800 1,000

Tennessee SL Bristol Abingdon Chilhowie Marion Smyth County Wytheville Fort Chiswell Pulaski Montgomery Christiansburg Roanoke Buchanon Lexington Staunton Harrisonburg Woodstock Winchester West Virginia SL

Equivalent PDO Crashes

EPDO (Northbound) EPDO (Southbound)

2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500

Tennessee SL Bristol Abingdon Chilhowie Marion Smyth County Wytheville Fort Chiswell Pulaski Montgomery Christiansburg Roanoke Buchanon Lexington Staunton Harrisonburg Woodstock Winchester West Virginia SL

Equivalent PDO Crashes per 100 Million VMT

EPDO per 100M VMT (Northbound) EPDO per 100M VMT (Southbound)

EPDO per 100M VMT – One Mile Segments

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Public Involvement

• Public Meeting Attendance

– June 6: Bristol - 41 – June 12: Staunton (Strasburg) - 101 – June 13: Staunton (Weyers Cave) - 104 – June 14: Salem - 153

• Several options to provide general and location/issue

specific comments -

– Public meeting display map dot activity and study website online map: 680 public comments by geographic location – Comment forms, Email and Phone: 195 public comments

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Public Comments by Geographic Location (680)

Congestion (37%) Safety (26%) Other (37%)

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Public Comment Forms, Email and Phone (195)

Development of Potential Improvements

• Examining each identified problem to determine

the cause(s)

– Sharp curves – Steep grades – Traffic volumes – Weaving – Short acceleration and deceleration lanes – Lack of alternative routes and traveler information

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Development of Potential Improvements

• Develop potential improvements that address

causes of the identified problems

– Improved operations and incident management – Widening – Geometric improvements – Truck climbing lanes – Interchange improvements – Acceleration and deceleration lanes

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Operations/Incident Management Improvements

• Expanded operations / incident management

component will form basis of all potential recommendations packages

• Potential options include:

– Innovative incident response – Freight safety service patrol – Dynamic message signs – Corridor management to improve parallel routes – Instant tow dispatch – Towing response incentive program

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August Public Meetings

• Summarize congestion and safety issues, public

feedback received in June meetings

• Present potential improvements to address identified

problems

• Provide information on potential revenue generation

mechanisms

• Seek public feedback on potential recommendations

and revenue generation mechanisms

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August Public Meetings

• Meeting dates and locations:

– August 20: Bristol – Holiday Inn Bristol Conference Center – August 22: Staunton (North) – Lord Fairfax Community College – August 23: Staunton (South) – Blue Ridge Community College – August 28: Salem – Salem Civic Center

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Next Steps After August Meetings

• Evaluate potential recommendations using

SMART SCALE process along the corridor

• Evaluate economic impact of revenue generation

mechanisms

• Develop recommended package of improvements

and financing/funding options

• Host Fall public meetings along the corridor
• Present updated recommended package to the

Board for consideration

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