Mitigating Traffic Impacts on Utah

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Mitigating Traffic Impacts on Utahs I-15

• Making Work Zones Work Better Workshop

John Leonard, PE Utah Department of Transportation
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Utah - Crossroads of the West
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Project Limits
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Project Scope

• 17 miles of Interstate Highway
• Utahs First Car Pool Lanes
• 8 Major Interchanges Reconstructed
• 3 Freeway to Freeway Junctions Rebuilt
• 144 Bridges Replaced
• 9 Million Cubic Yards of Embankment
• 3.4 Million Square Yards of Pavement
• Program Cost 1.59 Billion

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Social and Traffic Trends
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Background

• Early Public Perception
• Freeway is working OKwhy do we need to rebuild?
• No public will to endure major construction
• No public desire to fund major project
• We will take care of it when it gets bad

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Background

• By 1994, public begins to believe freeway needs
  to be rebuilt
• Congestion and travel times increasing
• Major deterioration visible
• 1995, UDOT created a team to lead the Project and
  move it to completion
• Project Director
• Financial Manager
• Structures
• Design
• MOT/Operations
• Staff Support

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Background

• FEIS process
• Formal public meetings
• Open houses
• Community Councils
• Citizens groups
• NEPA process
• Over 130 separate meetings

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Conclusion of Research (1995)
The public would prefer a greater level of
impact in exchange for a shorter construction
duration
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Research
Get in, Get it Done, And Get out!!
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Background

• Original concept was traditional construction
• Design-Bid-Build
• 8-10 year duration
• Investigated different and innovative design and
  construction strategies
• Design/Build was chosen in January 96
• Construct project in 4 ½ years

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Maintenance of Traffic
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Maintenance of Traffic

• Large impact to traffic patterns
• We need to take a different approach to managing
  traffic during construction

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Maintenance of Traffic

• The UDOT I-15 Team Approach
• UDOT
• Contractor
• DAQ
• Local Communities
• Emergency Services
• Public!!!!

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Team Approach

• Maintenance of Traffic
• Transportation Demand Management
• Public Information Plan

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Maintenance of Traffic

• Development of impact mitigation alternatives
• Parallel street projects
• Capacity improvements on corridors

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Cost Influence Curve
Conceptual Planning
High
High
Design
Ability to Influence Cost
Project Expenditures
Procurement
Construction
Start-up
Low
Low
Complete
Start
Time
DBIA
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Process

• Involvement process began early
• Met with mayors, city engineers, and public works
  directors of affected jurisdictions
• 6 Cities, 1 County on corridor
• 8 Cities, 1 County off corridor
• Received endorsement for D/B concept
• Presented preferred alternative and potential
  construction schedule

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Parallel Streets

• Reviewed routes along the corridor
• Identified capacity constraints, community
  issues, and possible alternate routes
• Identified 21 potential projects to make
  improvements
• Used a macroscopic model to evaluate potential
  improvements
• 9 projects recommended for construction, with a
  value of 50 Million

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Parallel Street Projects

• 2 projects were on the shelf
• Had completed EISs
• Widened a parallel route from 2 to 6 lanes
• Remainder were spot improvements
• Removed choke points
• Removed medians and added lanes
• Enhanced intersection capacity

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Parallel Street Projects

• All projects were to be fast track advertised
  by early 1996, with required completion prior to
  major construction beginning in summer 1997
• UDOT Region assisted both with design and project
  oversight

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Emergency Responders

• Facilitated cooperative meetings among all
  emergency agencies
• Law enforcement
• Fire
• Medical

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Emergency Responders

• Created command structure, and created cross
  jurisdictional responses
• Best able to respond
• Utah Highway Patrol was lead law enforcement
  agency
• Alleviated fears of increased response time

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Trucking Industry

• Large impacts to interstate travel
• Crossroads of the west
• Need to coordinate with closures
• Provide real time information for routing
• Detours to local streets for LCVs and Hazmat
  carriers

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Business Community

• Hosted business fairs
• Encouraged flexible schedules
• Car pools
• Telecommuting
• how to cope seminars
• Print ready materials

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Transportation Demand Management

• A variety of methods for reducing transportation
  demand on the street system.
• Coordination with existing Utah Transit Authority
  programs
• Employee-sponsored bus passes (deep discount
  program)
• Rideshare (carpooling) - computerized rider
  matching program
• Vanpool (UTA financed van purchase or lease)
• Other trip reduction strategies
• Flextime
• Telecommuting
• Public Information Plan

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Public Information Plan Challenges

• Creating partnerships with the media,
  Communities, Businesses, and Public
• Convincing a change in driver habits -- promoting
  the benefits
• Communicating the vision

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Public Information Plan

• Information to the public
• Whats the schedule?
• What is open and closed?
• How do we cope?
• Information from the public

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• Design/Build

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Request for Proposals

• Set the framework for the contract
• Laid down the ground rules
• Provided contractor with flexibility, but with
  constraints
• Assigned risk to those who could best handle it
• Issued October, 1996
• Best and Final Offer in February, 1997

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Request for Proposals

• Maintenance of Traffic Specification
• Responded to community concerns
• Provided maximum flexibility
• Allowed for innovation

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Maintenance of TrafficPerformance Specification

• I-15 Mainline
• 2 lanes open each direction during peak hours
• Peak Hours
• 6 AM to 10 PM weekdays
• 8 AM to 7 PM weekends
• Junctions
• maintain freeway to freeway movements through
  existing ramps or freeway detours
• Downtown
• 2 accesses open at all times

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Maintenance of TrafficPerformance Specification

• Interchanges
• cross streets at interchanges may be closed for a
  maximum of 6 months
• This may occur IF one is south of the I-15/I-215
  Junction, and one is north of it.
• complete remaining construction in following 6
  months
• close movement if it is available at adjacent
  interchange

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Maintenance of TrafficPerformance Specification

• Other
• Coordination with ATMS system
• Provide off-duty uniformed officer and car on the
  corridor
• Provide motorist guidance
• Aid in emergency response
• Provide a courtesy patrol
• Provide emergency pullouts every km

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The Selection Process
Technical Proposal
Price
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Proposal Evaluation

• Price and technical proposals had equal weight
• Maintenance of traffic was 1 of 6 technical areas
• Proposals were evaluated for Best Value

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EVALUATION FACTORS

• Technical Solutions
• Maintenance of Traffic
• Geotechnical
• Structures
• Pavement
• Maintainability
• Aesthetics, Drainage, Roadway Geometry, Lighting,
  Traffic Signals, Signing, Water Quality,
  Harmful/Hazardous Materials Remediation, Concrete
  Barriers, and ATMS
• Work Plan/Schedule
• Management
• Organizational Qualifications
• Price

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Proposals

• Enhancements by successful proposer
• Maintain 3 lanes on southern end of project
  through junction with I-215
• Restripe west side of I-215 belt route to 4 lanes
  each direction
• Required modification and enhancements
• Reduce interchange cross street closure to 4
  months
• Expanded use of night operations
• Freeway closures in the off-peak hours

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Proposals

• Enhancements by successful proposer
• Added courtesy patrol to west side belt route
• Expanded use of off-duty law enforcement
• Much simpler construction phasing
• Better driver expectancy
• Opened south end of project 1 year early

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Proposals

• Enhancements by successful proposer
• Provided glare screen entire length of corridor
  to reduce construction gawking and improving
  capacity
• Use of ITS elements as they became available
• Dedicated staff for both design and
  implementation of MOT

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Coordination

• Weekly meetings with UDOT, the contractor,
  design, UHP, all Segments, public information,
  and local jurisdications
• Coordinated proposed work schedule for following
  week corridor wide
• No conflicts or overlaps
• Conformance with contract

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Coordination

• Web site and phone tree up to date
• Constant interaction with local entities
• Personal visits to affected neighborhoods
• Personal visits to affected businesses
• Photo-ready maps and materials
• Respond to individual requests
• Dedicated contractor staff to work out any issues
• Hot line
• Interactive
• Could leave message or talk to real person

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How the Public is Informed

• 60 of Drivers get information from the Media
• 15 from the Internet
• 9 from UDOT
• 3 from I-15 Hotline (1-888-INFO-I15)
• Only 7 dont know where to get information
• this number continues to decline

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Deseret News/Dan Jones PollJuly 28, 1997

• 82 inconvenienced
• 86 are well informed
• 70 still agree with design/build decision

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Traffic Conditions
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Corridor Traffic Conditions

• 209,000 vehicles per weekday on I-15 in June,
  1996
• Lane use of 17,400 vplpd in 12 lanes
• 24 hour per day use
• 12 lanes, full shoulders
• 93,500 vehicles per weekday on I-15 in June, 1999
• Lane use of 23,400 vplpd in four lanes
• 16 hour per day use (closed 10 pm to 6 am)
• 11 lanes, 2 shoulders
• 115,500 vpwd displaced

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Results

• This indicated traffic was not entering local
  neighborhoods, as originally feared by residents
• Parallel street projects provided route
  continuity and capacity
• Public education informed motorists which routes
  were available

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Summary

• The decision to fast track the project was driven
  by the public, not the Department
• The public was a partner in the development of
  the MOT specification, through many outreach
  meetings and focus groups

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Summary

• Local governments were a partner in the process,
  including the determination of early action item
  improvements to surface streets
• Emergency responders were partners in the
  determination of restrictions on adjacent
  movements, and were involved intimately
  throughout the Project

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Summary

• Other transportation industry stakeholders were
  partners, including the trucking industry, the
  recreation industry, bus transit, light rail, and
  the cab/private hire industry
• The business community were partners in changing
  work and delivery schedules

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Summary

• The media was a partner in providing up to date
  and accurate information to the public
• Traffic reporters were in the loop on what was
  going to happen
• The approval rating of UDOT was higher than it
  had ever been
• Seen as responsive to the public needs

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Summary

• Communication is the key
• If you arent sick of communicating, you are not
  communicating enough
• Work with all stakeholders, find common ground,
  and keep all commitments
• Be proactive when possible
• Be reactive when necessary

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Summary

• Maintain flexibility
• Allow innovation
• Think outside the box
• Project mitigation begins long before the first
  barrel hits the pavement

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Questions?

• John Leonard, PE
• Operations Engineer
• Division of Traffic and Safety
• Utah Department of Transportation
• 801-965-4045

jleonard_at_utah.gov