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Home My WebLink About1.15 Traffic AnalysisTraffic Analysis Encana Oil and Gas (USA) Inc South Middle Fork Water Facility OLSSON ASSOCIATES OA Project No. 012-0400 826 21 '/2 Road 1 Grand Junction, CO 81505 1 TEL 970.263.7800 1 FAX 970.263.7456 Auxiliary Lane Assessment Encana South Middle Fork Water Facility County Road 215 near Wheeler Gulch Road April 13, 2012 (Revised June 7, 2012) Prepared for: Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. 2717 Count`- Road 215 Suite. 100 Parachute, CO 81635 Prepared by: RIVERCITY 744 Horizon Court, Suite 110 Grand Junction, CO 81506 Phone: (970) 241-4722 Fax: (970) 241-8841 Job No. 1086-012 TABLE OF CONTENTS I L Introduction and Existing Conditions 1 A. Background 1 B. Project Location 1 C. Site Use 1 D. Existing Conditions and Access 1 II. Proposed Conditions 2 A. Proposed Access Location 2 B. Traffic Conditions 2 III. Conclusions and Recommendations 3 IV. References 4 FIGURES General Location Map 1 South Middle Fork Water Facility Site Plan 2 County Road 215 Plan & Profile 3 Background Traffic Volumes Year 2027 AM/PM Peak Hour 4 Site -Generated Traffic AM/PM Peak Hour 5 Total Traffic Volumes Year 2007 AM/PM Peak Hour 6 Total Traffic Volumes Year 2027 AM/PM Peak Hour 7 S:\PROJECTS\1086 EnCana\042 SMFWF\ Design \ Traffic \EncanaSMFWF-AuxLaneAssessment.doc 1 I. Introduction and Existing Conditions A. Background This Auxiliary Turn Lane Assessment addresses the trip generation, directional distribution, site -assignment of trips, and recommendations for auxiliary turn lanes associated with the proposed Encana Oil & Gas South Middle Fork Water Facility site in Parachute, Colorado. This analysis was prepared in accordance with the Colorado Department of Transportation Region III's guidelines for auxiliary turn lanes. B. Project Location The site for the proposed Encana Oil & Gas Water Facility is approximately three miles north of the Parachute, Colorado city limits on County Road 215. The site is located on the west side of CR 215 in the vicinity of the Wheeler Gulch Road. The site encompasses approximately 20.5 acres. The location is shown on Figure 1. In more legal terms, they lie at the NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 05, Township 3 South, Range 2 East of the Ute Meridian. Refer to Figure 1 for the General Location Map. C. Site Use The proposed use for the site is a water facility. Future development may occur on the unused portion of the property to the south/west. The water facility will consist of a dissolved air floatation treatment system, various tanks, secondary containment, piping and appurtenances, and four lined ponds with a total storage capacity of approximately 1 million barrels of storage (42 million gallons). D. Existing Conditions and Access Roadway and Access The primary roadway system within the study area consists of County Road (CR) 215. In this vicinity, CR 215 is a two-lane roadway with a posted speed limit of 35 MPH. For purposes of this study, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Access Category Classification of Rural Highway, Category R -B was utilized. The R- B category is appropriate for use on highways that have the capacity for moderate to high travel speeds and moderate traffic volumes. There is an existing access to this site that is located north of the Wheeler Gulch Road intersection. This access will be eliminated when the new access is constructed and the Water Facility is completed. S:\PROJECTS\1086 EnCana\042 SMFWF\ Design \ Traffic \EncanaSMFWF-AuxLaneAssessment.doc 1 Traffic Volumes Traffic Volumes have been based on a previous report by Ann Bowers & Associates, August 2007 and stated as follows: Traffic volumes on CR 215 were provided by Garfield County. These counts were collected in April, 2007. Traffic counts were not collected on Wheeler Gulch Road as the volume of traffic on this roadway does not have any bearing on whether auxiliary turn lanes are required for the proposed Encana access. Sight Distance Sight distance does not appear to be an issue along this section of CR 215. According to AASHTO-Geometric Design of Highways and Streets and CDOT Roadway Design Guide, required sight distances are 250' for stopping sight distance, 525' for decision sight distance and 1280' for passing sight distance. The existing roadway is straight with minimal grade change to the north of the proposed intersection while to the south, there is a horizontal curve that crests a hill approximately 900' from the intersection. The existing roadway is marked to restrict passing. Several digital pictures of the roadway in both directions as well as at the access points indicate that adequate sight distance is available for both the vehicles on CR 215 as well as the vehicles utilizing the proposed access. II. Proposed Conditions A. Proposed Access Location Access is proposed via a new access to County Road 215. This access will be the fourth leg of the County Road 215/Wheeler Gulch Road intersection. A copy of the site plan is shown on Figure 2. Figure 3 shows the proposed access layout/design for the South Middle Fork Water Facility. B. Traffic Conditions Again, traffic data used was supplied by the Bowers report and is sited as follows: The Garfield County Engineer requested analysis of the existing and 20 -year future traffic conditions. Background traffic is that traffic that is unrelated to the project traffic and takes into account general growth in the county. Background traffic projections for the Year 2027 were obtained by applying a 4% annual increase to the traffic volumes on CR 215. These numbers were rounded to the nearest five vehicles. The Year 2027 Background traffic volumes are shown on Figure 4. The site - generated traffic, Figure 5, was added to the existing and background traffic S:\PROJECTS\1086 EnCana\042 SMFWF\ Design \ Traffic \EncanaSMFWF-AuxLaneAssessment.doc 2 projections to develop total traffic projections. These projections are shown in Figures 6 and 7. Since the generation of the Bowers report the proposed use of the site has changed. The owner anticipates one employee to be intermittently on site throughout the day and a need for 6 parking spaces. The anticipated trips generated will be 45 truck transports and 10-15 pickup truck/passenger vehicles per day. Due to the nature of the site it is anticipated these trips will be spread evenly over a 24 hour period. Nevertheless, the trip generation numbers from the Bowers report have been used in determining auxiliary lane warrants in an attempt to remain conservative in design. III. Conclusions and Recommendations This Auxiliary Turn Lane Assessment addressed the sight distance, trip generation, directional distribution, site -assignment of trips, and recommendations for auxiliary turn lanes associated with the proposed Encana Oil & Gas South Middle Fork Water Facility near Parachute, Colorado. Based on the CDOT Access Code, the projected trip generation and directional distribution, a northbound left -turn deceleration lane is not warranted based on the revised use and trip generation but will be provided due to truck traffic. These conclusions are summarized in the following table. Required/ Actual Warrant Resolutionil r Reference Stopping Sight Distance 250' >800' Acceptable PGDHS Exhibit 3-3 Decision Sight Distance 525' >800' Acceptable PGDHS Exhibit 3-3 Passing Sight Distance 1280' <900' No Passing Zone PGDHS Exhibit 3-3 Left Turn (NB) Lane 10 vph 12 vph Provided CDOT Access Code, Section 3.9 Right Turn (SB)/ Deceleration Lane 25 vph 4 vph Not Warranted CDOT Access Code, Section 3.9 Acceleration (SB) Lane 50 vph* 9 vph Not Warranted CDOT Access Code, Section 3.9 S:\PROJECTS\1086 EnCana\042 SMFWF\ Design \ Traffic \EncanaSMFWF-AuxLaneAssessment.doc *Posted Speed > 45mph 3 The left turn lane is required to include deceleration length, taper length, plus storage. Based on a 35 MPH speed limit, the deceleration lane length is 190 feet, the bay taper length is 120 feet, and the required storage length is 40 feet. There is also a taper length required to transition the road from two lanes to three lanes and back to two lanes. The required taper length for these transitions is 320 feet each (20:1). The design details for the intersection (lane lengths, tapers, geometry, radii, etc.) were derived from the CDOT State Highway Access Code August 31, 1998. V. REFERENCES 1. ENCANA OIL & GAS (USA), INC. WAREHOUSE/OFFICE BUILDING Auxiliary Turn Lane Assessment, prepared for Encana Oil & Gas (USA), by Ann Bowers & Associates, LLC, August, 2007. 2. STATE OF COLORADO State Highway Access Code, Volume 2, Code of Colorado Regulations 601-1, March 2002. 3. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Roadway Design Guide 2005, Update November 2011. 4. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (PGDHS), 2004 edition S:\PROJECTS\1086 EnCana\042 SMFWF\ Design \ Traffic \EncanaSMFWF-AuxLaneAssessment.doc 4 FIGURES Project Site Location J I «r %;// i 1 Thr / Wheeler Gulch Rood 1 .1 _f • 1f 1- m County Road 215 -r xGY - ,' - - __ II.r r J. .7 fj South Middle Fork Water Facility GENERAL. LOCATION MAP DATE ISSUED: 04/13/2012 NOT TO SCALE FIGURE RIVER CITY C o h S U LTA N TS i. A7 Ercana Ui) & 11 VA •,•1 • 4,1 , • 'n • \ ••, • ••••• LP,• • •• •• •••,.:•.:••• • . '•; LI • , . A• ' • i. t ..., 5 •,. i l• • .f. - 2 •,. I IL 0 (2 •. i -I 1 I I,.: , .,• ,.. • t. : Encana Site 2 1 I) (1 0 Vt./heeler Gulch Road N Not to Scale Figure 4 Year 2027 Background Traffic Volumes AM / PM Peak Hour (2,000): Average Daily Proposed Encana Access 4/4 + _/gam N Not to Scatt Wheeler Gulch Road Figure 5 Site -Generated Traffic AM i PM Peak Hour Proposed Encana Access n , 4J 4 + _I cJ 0 4- ! Lra vs N Not foScaE v heeler Gulch Road Figure 6 Year 2007 Total Traffic Volumes AM / PM Peak Hour Proposed Ertcana Access w. f� 4 - .... -1- 4/4 !- 10 N U *41.' f' N Not to Scat Wheeler Gulch Road Figure? Year 2027 Total Traffic Volumes AM / PM Peak Hour