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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.08 Traffic StudyTraffic Study PDC Energy Piceance Centralized Soil Treatment Facility OLSSON ASSOCIATES OA Project No. 011 -2627 760 Horizon Drive, Suite 102 1 Grand Junction, CO 81506 1 TEL 970.263.7800 1 FAX 970.263.7456 LEVEL TWO ASSESSMENT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PICEANCE SOIL TREATMENT FACILITY GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO O\OLSSON ASSOCIATES OA Project No. 011 -2627 January 2013 826 21 1/2 Road 1 Grand Junction, CO 81 505 1 970.263.7800 1 Fax 970.263. INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE This document summarizes findings of a Level Two Assessment performed for a proposed land farm facility located on State Highway 6/24 in Garfield County approximately six miles northeast of Parachute, CO. In the vicinity of the project, this highway also serves as the Interstate 70 frontage road. State Highway 6/24 will be used as the primary roadway to access the site entrance located approximately 3.5 miles northeast of Parachute, CO. A vicinity map is included in Appendix A. Activity at the land farm facility will consist of three phases over approximately 20 years. These phases include: • Facility Construction (14 days) • Operation (20 years) • Reclamation (14 days) EXISTING NETWORK This land farm facility will be accessed from State Highway 6/24. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) State Highway Access Code, this road is classified as a Rural Highway (R -A). State Highway 6/24 is a two -lane asphalt roadway with 12 -foot driving lanes and approximately two -foot surfaced and four -foot gravel /dirt shoulders. The road has a posted speed limit of 50 mph. EXISTING PARCELS Current land uses for parcels along the gravel access road are primarily natural gas development with limited rural residential and agricultural use. The majority of existing traffic is related to natural gas development activities. Access to the site will be demonstrated via review and approval of a subdivision exemption application, which is being submitted as a separate application. No additional access to state highways or railroad crossings will be required. BACKGROUND TRAFFIC Peak hour turning movement counts were performed for the intersection at the site entrance on State Highway 6/24. Counts were performed on Tuesday, January 11, 2013. The count data includes passenger cars, single -unit vehicles, and multi -unit vehicles. Peak hour counts were converted to passenger car equivalents (PCE) for the purpose of this study. Level Two Traffic Assessment Page 1 Traffic data that is available on the CDOT Online Traffic Information Systems (OTIS) for the section of State Highway 6/24 southwest of the intersection at 1st Street within Parachute, CO. This data was used to find current and horizon year ADTs. Growth factors and DHV distributions from the closest count station in Parachute, CO on State Highway 6/24 at reference point 75.212 were assumed to be similar for the section of roadway near the site. The DHV at the closest count station is approximately 12% of the ADT. The existing AM peak hour is assumed to be the design hourly volume (DHV). It was found that the ADT for background existing conditions is approximately 345 vpd. A 20 -year growth factor was used to find the 2033 ADT. Applying the growth factor yielded a 2033 ADT of approximately 635 vpd. Note that the 2033 horizon year corresponds with end of the site life cycle. Existing and future traffic data for State Highway 6/24 at reference point 75.212 from the CDOT OTIS is included in Appendix B. TRIP GENERATION & 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 this. To estimate trips expected for this site, information was gathered regarding the expected traffic based on previous projects similar to this one. Table 1 summarizes the expected average and maximum trips for each phase discussed previously. Table 1: Trip Generation — Land Farm Facility Phase Average Trips /Day (PCE) Maximum Trips /Day (PCE) Peak Maximum Hour Trips p rPCE Trip Distribution P Enter Exit Total Hour Enter Peak Trips Exit [Percent AM Peak Hour Construction of Facility 18 32 6 33% 10 70% 30% 7 3 Operation 14 27 2 90% 6 50% 50% 3 3 Reclamation 20 30 5 40% 9 70% 30% 6 3 PM Peak Hour Construction of Facility 6 33% 10 30% 70% 3 7 Operation 2 90% 6 50% 50% 3 3 Reclamation 5 40% 9 30% 70% 3 6 PCE: Passenger Car Equivalent Level Two Traffic Assessment Page 2 For the Construction and Reclamation phases, it is assumed that all pickups enter during the AM peak and exit during the PM peak to coincide with workers arriving and leaving, respectively. For the Operation phase, there are not expected to be full time staff, so trips from pickups are assumed to be constant throughout the day. It is also assumed that entering and exiting heavy trucks will be constant throughout a work day. Detailed tables showing daily trips for each phase are shown in Appendix C. Based on background traffic volumes and expected site trips, daily traffic volumes are expected to increase by approximately 5.2% in 2013. Based on the CDOT OTIS, the design hourly volume (DHV) is 12% of the background ADT on State Highway 6/24. Site peak hour volumes are an approximation of the DHV, and therefore the peak hour volume site traffic is expected to increase approximately 19.6% from the existing peak hour volume in 2013 and 10.6% in 2033. Traffic volume increase calculations are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Traffic Volume Increase Calculations — Land Farm Facility Year Background ADT Average Daily Site Trips Daily Increase DHV Peak Site Trips Peak Hour Increase 2013 345 18 5.2% 41 10 19.6% 2033 635 20 3.1% 76 9 10.6% With respect to the distribution of site trips, discussions with the client have indicated that all trips will be entering from and exiting to the west, using the 1 -70 interchange at Parachute. CONSTRUCTION PHASE Staging areas and temporary access points will not be required during construction for this project. The access into this facility from State Highway 6/24 is already permitted by the Garfield County Road and Bridge Department; therefore, no additional permits are required. There will be no road closures or traffic interruptions. During the construction phase, it is expected that there will be approximately four to five heavy trucks enter and exit the site daily. This traffic will be primarily delivering and retrieving equipment on a 22 -wheel low boy truck or delivering materials on 18 -wheel flatbed trucks. AUXILIARY LANE ANALYSIS As defined by the Colorado State Access Code, Interstate 70 Frontage Road is classified as a Rural Highway (R -A). With this classification, auxiliary lanes are required for left turns greater than 10 vph and right turns greater than 25 vph in the peak hour. Level Two Traffic Assessment Page 3 Eastbound left turns at the site access are expected to be approximately 5 vph and 9 vph during the Construction and Reclamation phases, respectively. Site trips to be added to this movement for each phase are 7 vph (PCE) and 6 vph (PCE), resulting in 12 vph and 15 vph, respectively. However, note that these phases are 14 days each. While these volumes exceed the threshold for a left turn auxiliary lane, a solution such as appropriate temporary traffic control and a public information effort to alert drivers of the increase in traffic during this short period, would be more appropriate than a permanent solution like an auxiliary lane. For the majority of the life of this facility, it is expected the daily traffic will be of a continuous nature and evenly distributed throughout the day. The peak hour trips are expected to be approximately 3 vph (PCE) entering and 3 vph (PCE) exiting. Given the small addition of traffic the land farm facility is expected to generate during the peak hour, it is expected that the existing plus site eastbound left turning volumes will be approximately 8 vph in both peak hours and will not meet auxiliary lane requirements. Near the end of the Operations phase in 2033 with the increase in background volumes, it is expected that eastbound left turning volumes will be approximately 12 vph in the peak hours and will meet auxiliary lane requirements. SIGHT DISTANCE ANALYSIS At the intersection of State Highway 6/24 & Site Access, exiting site distance for westbound movements on Site Access are at least 850 feet looking both north and south along State Highway 6/24. Likewise, entering site distance for southbound left turning movements on State Highway 6/24 are at least 850 feet looking south. Note that, for State Highway 6/24, with posted speed limit of 50 mph, a minimum of 500 feet, 650 feet, and 850 feet for passenger cars, single unit trucks, and combination trucks, respectively, is required. Site distance is expected to be designed for combination trucks with State Highway 6/24 operating as a truck route. Due to the horizontal curvature of State Highway 6/24 to the northwest of the site access, westbound traffic must look over their shoulder to see oncoming traffic. Ideally, intersection legs would meet at 90° angles to minimize the angle a person must turn to see oncoming traffic. The current angle of the site access to State Highway 6/24 is 45 °. Realignment of the site access is not expected to be possible with Interstate 70 to the south and a large embankment to the north. While it would be desirable to realign this intersection to reduce the angle, the throat of the drive is wide enough such that westbound vehicles may orient themselves closer to 90° at the intersection. Photos of the intersection of State Highway 6/24 & Site Access can be found in Appendix D. Level Two Traffic Assessment Page 4 RECOMMENDATIONS State Highway 6/24 is currently an Access Control facility. However, the roadway is being considered for relinquishment to Garfield County. After this the roadway will lose its status as an R -A access category, fall under the jurisdiction of Garfield County, and undergo improvements. From an access control standpoint, it is not expected that traffic from the and farm facility will interfere with the access category change. However, based on the expected site trips in the horizon year analysis, a left turn auxiliary lane is required at the site entrance. When considering the change in ownership of the roadway and the expected improvements thereafter, it is recommended that the intersection be reevaluated for the need of auxiliary lanes in the future as part of future roadway projects. Based on the number of expected site trips discussed above, the increase in traffic is not expected to increase average daily traffic or peak hour traffic by 20 %. Based on the results of the auxiliary lane analysis, no auxiliary lanes are recommended for the land farm facility. During the Construction and Reclamation phases, when truck traffic is at its peak, it is recommended that the owner implement a traffic control plan that will alert drivers of the increase in truck traffic. Level Two Traffic Assessment Page 5 PDC Soil Treatment Facility Garfield County, CO LEGEND Study Intersection NTS e,'\ Interstate 70 O‘OLSSON ASSOCIATES Vicinity Map FIGURE 1 APPENDIX B Traffic Volumes for Highway 006M ROUTE REF PT END REF AADT AADT AADT AADT YR 20 DHV AADT PT YR SINGLE COMB FACTOR TRUCKS LOCATION 006M 74.875 75.042 2600 2011 150 100 1.83 12 250 ON SH 6 1ST ST SW /O PARACHUTE AVE PARACHUTE 006M 75.042 75.212 2600 2011 150 90 1.83 12 240 ON SH 6 1ST ST NE /O PARACHUTE AVE PARACHUTE 006M 75.212 88.895 4800 2011 330 230 1.83 12 560 ON SH 6 1ST ST SW /O PARACHUTE CREEK RD CR 215 PARACHUTE 2033 Traffic Volumes for Highway 006M END REF PROJ PROJ AADT PROJ AADT ROUTE REF PT AADT DHV LOCATION AADT SINGLE COMB PT 006M 74.875 75.042 2600 12 4974 287 191 ON SH 6 1ST ST SW /O PARACHUTE AVE PARACHUTE 006M 75.042 75.212 2600 12 4974 287 172 ON SH 6 1ST ST NE /O PARACHUTE AVE PARACHUTE 006M 75.212 88.895 4800 12 9182 631 440 ON SH 6 1ST STSW /O PARACHUTE CREEK RD CR 215 PARACHUTE APPENDIX C CONSTRUCTION OF PICEANCE CENTRALIZED SOIL TREATMENT FACILITY Activity Day Trucks Weights No. Trucks Equipment Equipment Wt. Daily Trips/Truck Dally Trips Daily PCE Trips Phase Total (PCE) Construction of Pad 1 22 Wheel low -boy 170000 GCW 1 D9 85000 1 1 3 3 1 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GCW 1 1 1 3 3 122 Wheel low -boy 120000 GCW 1 Grader 35000 1 1 3 3 1 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GCW 1 1 1 3 3 5 18 -wheel belly dump 80000 GCW 3 Soils /Gravel 50000 1 3 9 9 5 18 -wheel belly dump 30000 GCW 3 1 3 9 9 9 18 -wheel belly dump 80000 GCW 3 Soils /Gravel 50000 1 3 9 9 9 18 -wheel belly dump 30000 GCW 3 1 3 9 9 14 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GVW 1 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 170000 GCW 1 D9 85000 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GVW 1 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 120000 GCW 1 Grader 35000 1 1 3 3 Every Day of Construction 1 -14 Fuel /Maintenance 60000 GCW 1 Fuel 25000 1 1 3 42 1 -14 Fuel /Maintenance 35000 GCW 1 1 1 3 42 1 -14 Pickup or other light vehicle 8000 GVW 4 2 8 8 112 Total Trips (One Way) 256 Average Trips/Day 18 Maximum Trips /Day 32 NOTE: All trips are one -way. OPERATION OF PICEANCE CENTRALIZED SOIL TREATMENT FACILITY Activity Day Trucks Weights No. Trucks Equipment Equipment Wt. Daily Trips /Truck Daily Trips Daily PCE Trips Phase Total (PCE) Operation of Facility Pickup or other light vehicle 8000 GVW 2 0.29 0.57 0.57 3577.14 Pickup or other light vehicle 8000 GVW 1 0.03 0.03 0.03 208.67 30 Ton Dump Truck 115000 GCW 2 Soil 57500 1 2.00 6.00 37560.00 30 Ton Dump Truck 57500 GCW 2 1 2.00 6.00 37560.00 10 Wheel Water Truck 60000 GCW 1 Water 35000 0.14 0.14 0.43 2682.86 10 Wheel Water Truck 25000 GCW 1 0.14 0.14 0.43 2682.86 22 Wheel low -boy 170000 GCW 1 D9 85000 0.14 0.14 0.43 2682.86 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GVW 1 0.14 0.14 0.43 2682.86 For life of facility - assumed 20 years Total Trips (One Way) 89637.24 Average Trips /Day 14.32 Maximum Trips /Day 27.00 NOTES: 1. All trips are one -way. 2. Trip Generation assumptions are as follows 1350 trucks per year 1 water truck per week 1 lowboy with equipment for soil movement per week 2 pickup trucks per week or oversight 1 pickup per month for samples 3. Average Trips are AADT 4. Maximum Trips assume all daily, weekly, and monthly trips arrive and leave the same day RECLAMATION OF PICEANCE CENTRALIZED SOIL TREATMENT FACILITY Activity Day Trucks Weights No. Trucks Equipment Equipment Wt. Daily Trips Daily PCE Trips Phase Total (PCE) Regrading and Final Contour 1 22 Wheel low -boy 120000 GCW 1 Grader 35000 1 3 3 1 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GCW 1 1 3 3 1 22 Wheel low -boy 170000 GCW 1 D9 85000 1 3 3 1 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GCW 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GVW 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 170000 GCW 1 D9 85000 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 85000 GVW 1 1 3 3 14 22 Wheel low -boy 120000 GCW 1 Grader 35000 1 3 3 Every Day of Construction 1 -14 Fuel /Maintenance 60000 GCW 1 Fuel 25000 1 3 42 1 -14 Fuel /Maintenance 35000 GCW 1 1 3 42 1 -14 Pickup or other light vehicle 8000 GVW 6 2 12 168 Total Trips (One Way) 276 Average Trips /Day 20 Maximum Trips /Day 30 NOTE: All trips are one -way. APPENDIX D OLSSON ASSOCIATES PDC Soil Treatment Facility — Sight Distance Photos OA #11 -2627 PHOTO 1: Looking east from State Highway 6/24. PHOTO 2: Looking northwest from site access. O‘OLSSON ASSOCIATES PDC Soil Treatment Facility — Sight Distance Photos OA #11 -2627 PHOTO 3: Looking west from site access. PHOTO 4: Looking southeast from site access. r0/ OLSSON ASSOCIATES PDC Soil Treatment Facility — Sight Distance Photos OA #11 -2627 Looking southeast along State Highway 6/24.