HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.08 Traffic Study.pdfBasic Traffic Study OXY USA WTP LP Core Pad Storage OLSSON ASSOCIATES OA Project No. 013 -0867 760 Horizon Drive, Suite 102 1 Grand Junction, CO 81506 1 TEL 970.263.7800 1 FAX 970.263.7456 BASIC TRAFFIC ANALYSIS OXY USA WTP LP CORE PAD STORAGE AREA GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO OkOLSSON ASSOCIATES OA Project No. 013 -0867 August 2013 760 Horizon Dr., Suite 102 1 Grand Junction, CO 81506 1 970.263.7800 1 Fax 970 •3.7456 INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE This Basic Traffic Analysis summarizes findings of a traffic impact analysis performed for the OXY USA WTP PL (Oxy) Core Pad Storage Area. This facility will be used to store equipment and material associated with natural gas operations. The facility is currently constructed as a well pad. It is expected that the lifespan of the site will be approximately 30 years. The site is located approximately 23 travel miles north of the DeBeque Interchange (MP 61.6) along Interstate 70 (1 -70). The facility is located in the Southwest 1/4 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 9, Township 6 South, Range 97 West of the 6th Principal Meridian in unincorporated Garfield County. The subject site encompasses approximately 1.49 acres on a 7,732.52 acre parcel. The property and facility is owned and operated by Oxy. The objective of this analysis is to review the existing road network, provide traffic projections and trip assignment for the facility, and assess the need for access permitting. EXISTING ROAD NETWORK Regional trips to this facility will use the 1 -70 exit at DeBeque, Colorado. Vehicles traveling to the site will drive north through the Town of DeBeque and on Mesa County 45 Road (Roan Creek Road) for approximately 3.75 miles until the road crosses the Garfield /Mesa County Line where the road transitions to Garfield County Road (CR) 204. Approximately 4.25 miles north of the county line, vehicles will turn right onto CR 213 (Conn Creek Road) and travel approximately 4 miles to the end of the county road. From this point, travel is on a series of private roads that were built and are maintained for the exclusive use of the natural gas industry. These private roads are located on property owned by Oxy. The facility is located an additional 11 miles up Cascade Creek and on the top of the Roan Plateau. There are no County or public roads within a 1 -mile radius of the facility. Both CR 204 and 213 are preferred haul routes according to maps available on the Garfield County web -site. Both of these roads are generally used for access to ranches and agricultural operations, rural residential uses, oil and gas operations and access to public lands managed by the BLM. According to the Garfield County Road Inventory Report, CR 204 is classified as Local road and is a two lane asphalt roadway with gravel shoulders. The 2011 Garfield County HUTF Report describes the roadway as is in good condition. The road has a posted speed limit of 45 mph. Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 1 August, 2013 Basic Traffic Analysis During 2002, Garfield County Road & Bridge conducted a county -wide traffic study where daily traffic was counted for county roads. The study concluded that the average daily traffic (ADT) was 337 vehicles per day (vpd) on this road at that time. According to the Garfield County Road Inventory Report, CR 213 is classified as Local road and is a two lane road consisting of a section constructed of a combination of soil, gravel, and stone and a section consisting of graded and drained natural soil. The 2011 Garfield County HUTF Report describes the roadway as is in good condition. The 2002 Garfield County Road & Bridge conducted county -wide traffic study showed the CR 213 ADT to be 9 vpd for this road. There is a right -turn lane for northbound traffic on CR 204 turning right onto CR 213. The intersection is stop controlled with CR 213 as the minor leg. TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS Background traffic volumes were increased to present day values for comparison purposes. Given the lack of data regarding traffic growth for this area, a growth rate of 3% is assumed. This rate was applied to the existing counts to obtain background traffic for the year 2013. This results in an estimated ADT of 446 in 2013 for CR 204. The result for CR 213 in 2013 is an estimated ADT of 12 (Table 1). Table 1: Background Traffic Projections — Oxy Core Pad Storage Area TRIP GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION Trip generation is generally determined using rates found in the ITE Trip Generation manual. Rates from this publication are applied to values related to the size of the proposed site to estimate the trips expected to enter and exit the site. In this case, no rates are provided for facilities similar to these. To estimate trips expected for this site, information was gathered regarding the expected traffic based on the existing operations. Vehicle activities during daily operations will consist of one (1) pickup truck per day and three (3) additional pick -up trucks and three (3) transport trucks every month. Trip generation will increase to three (3) pickup trucks and three (3) transport trucks per week during drilling and completion operations plus the daily operational pick -up truck trip. Drilling and completion activities will occur periodically throughout Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 2 August, 2013 Basic Traffic Analysis 2002 Actual 2013 Estimated CR 204 337 446 CR 213 9 12 TRIP GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION Trip generation is generally determined using rates found in the ITE Trip Generation manual. Rates from this publication are applied to values related to the size of the proposed site to estimate the trips expected to enter and exit the site. In this case, no rates are provided for facilities similar to these. To estimate trips expected for this site, information was gathered regarding the expected traffic based on the existing operations. Vehicle activities during daily operations will consist of one (1) pickup truck per day and three (3) additional pick -up trucks and three (3) transport trucks every month. Trip generation will increase to three (3) pickup trucks and three (3) transport trucks per week during drilling and completion operations plus the daily operational pick -up truck trip. Drilling and completion activities will occur periodically throughout Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 2 August, 2013 Basic Traffic Analysis the life of the project. The following Table 2 summarizes the expected average and maximum trips for the operational life of the facility. Table 2: Trip Generation — Oxy Core Pad Storage Area Phase Average Trips /Day Maximum Trips /Day Percent Trucks Average Total Trips /Phase Phase Duration Operation <2 7 43% <21,900 30 years Drilling & Completions 2 7 43% N/A N/A Based on the background traffic calculated above, Oxy's Core Pad Storage Area facility related traffic will have a maximum <2% increase on daily traffic activity during operations of the facility in 2013 on CR 204. The following Table 3 summarizes the expected percentage of trips this facility will generate on CR 204. Table 3: CR 204 Trip Distribution — Oxy Core Pad Storage Area Year Estimated CR 204 VPD Generate Average Operation ps /Day Generated Percent of Trips/Day Generated Maximum Trips /Day Generated Percent of Maximum 2013 446 <2 <1% 7 <2% Based on the background traffic calculation, Oxy's Core Pad Storage Area facility related traffic will have a maximum 58% increase on daily traffic activity on CR213 during drilling operations associated with the facility in 2013. Table 4 summarizes the expected percentage of trips this facility will generate on CR 213. Table 4: CR 213 Trip Distribution — Oxy Core Pad Storage Area Year Estimated CR 213 VPD Generated Average Operation ps /Day Generated Percent of Average Generated Maximum Trips /Day Generated Percent of Maximum 2013 12 <2 17% 7 58% Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 3 Basic Traffic Analysis August, 2013 Note that the CR 213 will see a significant increase in traffic only because it currently has a very low baseline of traffic volume. Additionally, the majority of traffic on this road is currently associated with the natural gas industry. CONSTRUCTION PHASE The pad area has already been graded and additional excavation of the site will not be necessary. Only minor construction traffic will be generated by this project to create the storage area. No staging of materials outside of the storage area will be required to complete this site. No lane closures or traffic interruptions will be necessary to develop this facility. ROADWAY ANALYSIS Existing Parcel Current land use on the subject parcel is primarily natural gas development. The majority of existing traffic on CR 213 is related to natural gas development activities, very limited agricultural activities and very low density rural residential uses. State Highway Crossings and Access The roadway access to this site does not cross any highway right -of -ways managed by the Colorado Department of Transportation. CR 204 is accessed via Mesa County 45 Road which intersects 1 -70 at Exit 62, in DeBeque, Colorado. This grade- separated interchange is controlled by stop signs at the top of each exit ramp. Site distances are adequate in both directions at these ramp terminals. The US Highway 6 / 1 -70 Frontage Road terminates at Mesa County 45 Road approximately 300 feet northwest of the DeBeque interchange. This intersection is two -way stop - controlled. Traffic traveling to this site from 1 -70 has the right -of -way at this intersection. Railroad Crossings Mesa County 45 Road crosses under a main railroad line approximately 0.5 miles north of 1 -70. This rail line is generally used for the transport of freight, coal, and passenger rail traffic. This railroad crossing is grade separated. Clearance for transport trucks under this rail bridge is adequate. Additional improvements are not needed at this location. The roadway access to this site does not cross any other active railroad right -of -ways. Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 4 August, 2013 Basic Traffic Analysis Intersection of CR 204 & 213 As noted above, there is a right -turn deceleration lane for north bound traffic on CR 204 turning right onto CR 213. A stop sign controls west bound traffic on CR 213 at the intersection of that road with CR 204. Given the amount of traffic estimated to be generated from the proposed facility, it is not expected that additional improvements at this intersection are not needed at this time. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the expected trip generation rates discussed above, the increase in average daily traffic is not expected to be significant on roads generally used by the public. CR 204 will see only a minor increase in traffic. CR 213 will see a significant increase in traffic only because of a very low baseline of traffic volume. However, the total traffic volumes will remain very low and can be accommodated by the existing roadway. Additionally, the majority of traffic on this road is associated with the natural gas industry. At worst, there would be a minor increase in traffic which would peak during drilling and completion activities. As mentioned in the Roadway Analysis, the addition of traffic generated by the proposed facility does not increase existing volumes to levels required for State or County permits. Attachments RA -1 Road Access Map TV -1 Traffic Volumes Map Oxy Core Pad Storage Area 5 August, 2013 Basic Traffic Analysis Legend Q Project Site — County Road Site Access Route — Highway 0 0.75 1.5 Miles 3 PROJECT NO: 013 -0867 DRAWN BY: Jenna Muhlbach DATE: 7/24/2013 ROAD ACCESS MAP OXY USA WTP LP CORE PAD STORAGE GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO OLSSON ASSOCIATES 760 HORIZON DR., SUITE 102 GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81506 TEL 970.263.7800 FAX 970.263.7456 FIGURE RA - 1 Legend Q Project Site — Site Access Route — Private Access Road [_ County Road [XXX] Average Daily Traffic, 2013 Highway [XXX] Average Daily Traffic, Operations ; County [XXX] Maximum Daily Traffic, Drilling 0 0.75 1.5 Miles 3 PROJECT NO: 013 -0867 DRAWN BY: Jenna Muhlbach DATE: 8/7/2013 TRAFFIC VOLUMES MAP OXY USA WTP LP CORE PAD STORAGE GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO OLSSON ASSOCIATES 760 HORIZON DR., SUITE 102 GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81506 TEL 970.263.7800 FAX 970.263.7456 FIGURE TV -1