HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.14 Traffic Study
Article 4-203.L
Traffic Study
Ursa Operating Company
Speakman A Booster
Compressor
OA Project No. 015-3104
Technical Memorandum
2111 South 67th St, Suite 200 TEL 402.474.6311 Page 1 of 1
Omaha, NE 68106 FAX 402.474.5160 www.olssonassociates.com
Date:
January 15, 2016
To: Glenn Harmann
From: Christopher M. Rolling, PE, PTOE
RE: Speakman A Booster Compressor
Traffic Update
Project #: OA Project 015-3104
Cc: File
INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this memorandum is to serve as a supplement to a traffic study performed by
Olsson Associates in February of 2014 for the Speakman A well pad in the Battlement Mesa PUD
located in Garfield County, CO. The well pad is operational and the operator (URSA) plans an
additional use for the site, a booster compressor. This document summaries an evaluation of
potential traffic generation for a proposed booster compressor on the existing Speakman A well
pad.
SITE TRIP GENERATION
There is expected to be limited “construction” traffic to the site as the booster compressor is
currently on-site. Construction efforts will be limited to installation of the booster compressor which
is expected to last approximately three days. Two low boy trailers, one crane, and six one-ton
service trucks will access the site for the booster compressor installation. This will result in
approximately 18 daily trips (two-way) for the duration of the three-day construction timeline.
Once the construction is complete, there is not expected to be additional traffic associated with
the monitoring and maintenance of the new facility. The site will be monitored by personnel
already visiting the site for other well pad duties.
F:\Projects\015-3305\40-Design\Reports\TRFC\Doc\16-01-15_TRFC_Trip Gen.docx
BASIC TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
URSA OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
SPEAKMAN A INJECTION WELL
GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO
OA Project No. 013-3151
February 2014
760 Horizon Dr., Suite 102 | Grand Junction, CO 81506 | 970.263.7800 | Fax 970.263.7456
Speakman A Injection Well February, 2014
Ursa Operating Company, LLC
Basic Traffic Analysis Page 1
INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE
This Basic Traffic Analysis summarizes findings of a traffic analysis performed for the Ursa
Operating Company, LLC proposed Speakman A Injection Well. The current use of the site is as
a well pad and the injection well is proposed to be an additional use on the property. The injection
well will be used to dispose of produced water from three well pads in the vicinity of the site:
Speakman A, Watson, and Monument Ridge. The facility is currently constructed as a well pad,
but will require minor infrastructure improvements for the additional use as an injection well. It is
expected that the lifespan of the site will be 20 or more years. An Area Map is included as an
attachment at the end of this document.
The site is approximately 10 travel miles south, southwest of Parachute, CO. The facility is located
in the northeast ¼ of the southwest ¼ of Section 24, Township 7 South, Range 96 West of the 6th
Principal Meridian in unincorporated Garfield County. The subject site encompasses
approximately 4 acres. The property is leased from James and Monique Speakman and the
facility is operated by Ursa Operating LLC.
The objective of this analysis is to provide traffic data for the additional land use, review the
existing road network, and provide traffic projections for public roads impacted by site traffic.
EXISTING ROAD NETWORK
Regional trips will use the I-70 West Parachute Interchange southwest of Parachute, Colorado or
along the I-70 frontage road (Highway 006M). Vehicles traveling to the sites will drive west along
the I-70 frontage road to CR 300 (Stone Quarry Road), then south and east along CR 300
approximately 4.5 miles to Daybreak Drive (private road). At this intersection, vehicles will turn
south along Daybreak Drive and travel south approximately 0.25 miles to the existing Speakman
A well pad. The haul route for transportation of produced water to the injection well will be along
CR 300, CR 300O, and CR 303. Maps showing the access route, haul route, and county
roadways within one mile of the pad are included as an attachment at the end of this document.
Table 1 tabulates roadway geometry and characteristics for the county roads used by vehicles
visiting this site.
Table 1: Roadway Geometry and Characteristics
Roadway Lanes Road
Width
Roadway
Type
Speed
Limit Condition Year of
Impmt.
Functional
Classification
CR 300* 2 24’ Asphalt 35 mph Good (‘05) 2007 Local
CR 300** 2 46’-52’ Asphalt 35 mph Good (’02) 2009 Local
CR 300O 2 22’ Asphalt 35 mph Good (’02) 2006 Local
CR 303 2 11’ Asphalt 35 mph Good (’02) 2006 Local
*From CR 353 to Thunderberg Trail
**From Thunderberg Trail to Battlement Pkwy.
Speakman A Injection Well February, 2014
Ursa Operating Company, LLC
Basic Traffic Analysis Page 2
The Garfield County Road Inventory Report, 2011 Garfield County HUTF Report, and 2002
Garfield County Road & Bridge county-wide traffic study were all used to identify the roadway
geometry and characteristics of the facilities being used by site traffic.
TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS
Background traffic volumes were obtained from the 2002 Garfield County Road & Bridge county-
wide traffic study and updated count data provided by Garfield County. The updated count data,
from April of 2007 included one week’s worth of daily counts for CR 300. Average daily traffic
(ADT) from this count showed 11,110 vpd.
There was not traffic data available for CR 300O or CR 303, however, there is data provided in
the 2002 county wide traffic data for CR 302. These are similar facilities with similar connectivity
and cross section, so for the purposes of estimating background traffic it was assumed CR 300O
and CR 303 traffic would be similar to that on CR 302. To provide a more current estimate of daily
traffic, 2002 volumes were increased using a similar growth factor as what is shown on CR 300.
Note that the volumes on CR 300O and CR 303 would likely not increase as much as CR 300,
which is the thru route, but applying similar growth would give a conservative estimate of daily
traffic on CR 300O and CR 303.
Traffic volumes on Daybreak Drive were estimated based on an inventory of parcels currently
being served by the road, including a residence and multiple well pads. It was assumed that a
single pickup would visit multiple pads for inspections on a daily basis.
Due to the surge in oil and gas production and the corresponding traffic in 2007 and the
subsequent “leveling-off” of activity since, it was assumed that the 2007 data would provide a
reasonable estimate of existing traffic volumes. The estimated background traffic volumes are
shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Background Traffic Projections
Roadway 2002 2007
CR 300 2527 11110
CR 300O 90* 400**
CR 303 90* 400**
Daybreak Dr. - 10
*Assumed from comparison to CR 302
**Projected using CR 300 growth factor
Speakman A Injection Well February, 2014
Ursa Operating Company, LLC
Basic Traffic Analysis Page 3
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.
Although the injection well is being constructed on an existing well pad site, there will be a short
construction phase to add the infrastructure needed to inject produced water. This construction
phase will last for approximately three (3) days. Daily traffic during that phase will include two (2)
lowboys making two round trips (4 one-way trips) for equipment and tanks. One (1) additional
lowboy would arrive on day 2 and leave on day 3 to transport an earthmover. There will be 2
pickups per day arriving in the morning and leaving at the end of the work day.
Expected drilling and completions activities include the following. For the next year, there are four
drilling and completion events planned that would last between 90-100 days each. During each
event, there would be 4-5 days at the beginning and end for mobilization and demobilization of
equipment, respectively. During that time, there would be approximately twenty round trips (40
one way trips) per day distributed evenly through a ten-hour work day. Vehicle trips outside the
first and last weeks would be minimal including a daily pickup truck for monitoring.
Current production phase traffic is generated from three well pads, Speakman A, Watson, and
Monument Ridge. Each well produces approximately five (5) trucks (10 one-way trips) per day
for a total of 30 trips per day for the purpose of transporting produced water. These trips are
assumed to arrive evenly throughout the ten-hour work day. The current injection well that accepts
produced water from these well pads is located near Silt, CO.
Produced water from these sites will now be delivered to the Speakman A injection well after its
construction. With the elimination of trips from the Speakman A well, total traffic on public roads
generated as a result of this site will be twenty (20) one-way trips, ten each for the Watson and
Monument Ridge pads. Upon the completion of a planned water line going from these to pads to
the Speakman A pad, all production trips will be eliminated. It is not clear at this time when this
pipeline will be completed.
Based on the background traffic calculated above, traffic volume increases related to the
additional use as an injection well are summarized in Table 3 below.
Speakman A Injection Well February, 2014
Ursa Operating Company, LLC
Basic Traffic Analysis Page 4
Table 2: Background Traffic Projections
Roadway Background
Traffic
Drilling &
Completion*
Total
Traffic Operations Total
Traffic
CR 300 11110 40 11150 20 11130
CR 300O 400 - - 20 420
CR 303 400 - - 20 420
Daybreak Dr. 10 40 50 20 30
*Traffic during mobilization/demobilization for first and last weeks of 13‐week phase
ROADWAY ANALYSIS
Existing Parcel
Current land use on the subject parcel is a mix of agricultural and natural gas development with a
residence for the land owner. There are multiple pads up Daybreak Drive that use this roadway.
State Highway Crossings and Access
The roadway access to this site does not cross any highway rights-of-way managed by the
Colorado Department of Transportation. CR 300 is accessed directly from Highway 006M
approximately 4.25 miles southwest of Parachute. Access to I-70 is the Parachute West
interchange. The ramp terminals at this grade-separated interchange are roundabouts. Site
distances are adequate in both directions at these ramp terminals.
The US Highway 6 / I-70 Frontage Road intersects CR 300 approximately 2.5 miles southwest of
the Parachute West interchange. This is a two-way stop-controlled intersection with CR 300 as
the minor roadway. Left-turn and right-turn deceleration lanes are provided the highway.
Railroad Crossings
There is an at-grade crossing on CR 300 adjacent to the Highway 006M intersection. There is
adequate sight distance at the crossing. The crossing is also equipped with gates and flashers.
The roadway access to this site does not cross any other active railroad rights-of-way.
Intersection of CR 300 & Daybreak Road
The intersection of CR 300 & Daybreak Drive is a “T” intersection with Daybreak Drive as the stop-
controlled minor approach. Directly west of this intersection is a crest vertical curve and horizontal
curve. This roadway geometry along with some obstructions from roadside features such as trees
limits intersection sight distance for a westbound left-turning vehicle to approximately 400 feet,
however this is adequate for a 35 mph posted speed. “Caution Trucks Entering Roadway” signage
exists to the east of the intersection.
Speakman A Injection Well February, 2014
Ursa Operating Company, LLC
Basic Traffic Analysis Page 5
Intersection of CR 300 & CR 300O
The intersection of CR 300 & CR 300O is a “T” intersection with CR 300O as the stop-controlled
minor approach. This intersection is located on a horizontal curve turning away from the side
road. Sight distance as measured from the stop sign on CR 300O is expected to be adequate
looking north and west.
Intersection of CR 300O & CR 303
The intersection of CR 300O & CR 303 is a “T” intersection with CR 303 as the stop-controlled
minor approach. Sight distance is expected to be adequate looking north and south.
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. The county roads
discussed will see only a minor increase in traffic as compared to existing traffic volumes. The
addition of traffic generated by the proposed updated site use does not increase existing volumes
to levels required for State or County permits. The geometry at all intersections where site traffic
will be turning is expected to be adequate for site traffic.
Attachments
Area Map
Access Road Map
Haul Route Map