The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1.14 Traffic StudyENERT/A • • • • CONSUL -MG + • • • • • • • GROUPLLC December 20, 2017 Mr. Patrick Waller, Sr. Planner Garfield County Community Development 108 8th Street, Suite 401 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 RE: Traffic Impact Letter Report Ziegler Solar Garden 31154 State Highway 6, Garfield County Dear Mr. Waller: 1529 Market Street, Suite 200 Deriver, CO 80202 720.473.3131 sean.ohearn@enertiacg.com In partial fulfillment of the Garfield County Land Use Change permitting requirements, Enertia Consulting Group (Enertia) has completed this Traffic Impact Letter Report for the proposed SunShare Solar Garden (the Project) located along the north side of State Highway 6, approximately 1.3 miles west of the Town of Silt, CO. The intent of this Report is to provide traffic related information and identify potential Project impacts to affected roadways within Garfield County. The following information is included in this letter report: • Project Location, Components and Construction Schedule • Designated Travel Route • Daily Vehicle Trip Generation • Conclusions. Project Location, Components and Construction Schedule Location The Project is located at 31154 State Highway 6 (on Parcel No. 217905400056), approximately 1.3 miles west of the Town of Silt. in the southeast quarter of Section 18, Township 3S, Range 64W. The 9.5 acre solar garden is scheduled for construction in the spring of 2018. Figure 1 illustrates the Project location. Components The Project generally includes: a 1 MW solar garden with a maximum of 3,000 solar panels mounted on steel I -beams, concrete pad mounted transformer and inverter, an access drive with hammerhead cul-de-sac and perimeter fence with gate. Mr. Patrick Waller, Sr. Planner Page 2 Construction Schedule It's currently anticipated that the Land Use Change Permit will be issued by Garfield County in or before March 2018. Accordingly, a construction start/mobilization date of March 21, 2018 has been established. Based on this, the following preliminary schedule has been prepared: • Solar Garden Component Delivery March 21, 2018 — March 31, 2018 • Perimeter Fence Installation March 15, 2018 — March 30, 2018 • Solar Panel Foundation Installation April 1, 2018 — May 1, 2018 • Solar Panel Installation April 15, 2018 — June 1, 2018 • Transformer and Inverter Installation May 15, 2018 — June 1, 2018. Designated Access Route The designated access route is: 1-70 to Exit 97 (Silt); north on 9th Street (0.12 mi); west on State Highway 6/Main Street (2 mi); and north on the private driveway (both existing and proposed classified as a primitive access/driveway) to the subject property. Figure 1 illustrates the access route. The following is a brief description of the public roads within the access route. 9th Street - The segment of 9th Street included in the travel route is asphalt -paved with a posted speed limit of 20 mph approaching the 9th Street traffic circle. The pavement width is 25' with no shoulders over the bridge, transitioning to 2' approaching the traffic circle. The road surface appears to be in good condition. State Highway 6 — The segment of State Highway 6 included in the travel route is a 2 -lane (with center turn lane and intermittent acceleration/deceleration lanes within the Town of Silt), asphalt -paved regional arterial with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. Asphalt and shoulder width varies. The road surface appears to be in good condition. Daily Vehicle Trip Generation and Distribution Project development may be divided into the following 3 phases: material and equipment delivery; solar garden construction; and solar garden maintenance). The following Table 1 illustrates the estimated average daily trip generation by vehicle type for each Project phase. Table 1 — Vehicle Trip Generation Project Phase (Time Period) Vehicle Type Estimated Gross Vehicle Weight Number of Vehicles Per Day Maximum and Average Vehicle Trips Per Day Material and Equipment Delivery (approx. 1 week) Conex Container and Delivery Trucks 30,000-50,000 lbs 5-15 10-30 Equipment Hauling Trucks 20,000-40,000 lbs 0-4 0-8 Max — 38/Ave - 10 Solar Garden Installation (2 months) Passenger Vehicles 2,000 to 10,000 lbs 5-15 20-30 Fuel Truck 20,000 to 30,000 lbs 1 2 Material Delivery Truck 20,000 to 30,000 lbs 1 2 Max — 34/Ave - 24 Operations (Ongoing) Utility Vehicle 2,000 to 10,000 lbs 1 per month or less Max - 2/Ave - 0 Mr. Patrick Waller, Sr. Planner Page 3 As illustrated in Table 1, the majority of traffic generated as a result of solar garden installation shall occur during the 2 month solar garden installation (max 38/ave 10vtpd). This traffic will generally be site worker passenger vehicles. The majority of heavy truck traffic including conex container delivery (30-50 conex containers/delivery trucks) and equipment (rubber tire loader, pile driver, fork lift) delivery and pickup will travel to and from the Project between 9:30 AM and noon and 1:30PM and 4:OOPM. Project related traffic during all phases will not be significant during AM and PM peak periods (7:30 — 9:00 AM and 4:30 — 6:00 PM, respectively). The solar garden access driveway was designed as a primitive road due to the Operational Average Daily Traffic being within the 0-20 ADT range specified in Table 7-107 of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code Table. All design standards within Table 7-107 of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code Table are reflected in the Ziegler Solar Garden civil documents. Conclusions 1. The project is expected to generate 1 vehicle per month or less during solar garden operation, which classifies the solar garden driveway as a primitive road according to Table 7- 107 of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code. The driveway width, material, and grades were designed per the Land Use code's requirements. 1. The Project is expected to generate up to 38 vehicle trips per day during material and equipment delivery (anticipated to be one week at the beginning of the project and one week at the end of the project), 34 vehicle trips per day during solar garden installation (2 months). 2. Project installation is anticipated to begin in April 2018 (material and equipment delivery) and end in June 2018 (container and equipment pick-up). The phase with the greatest amount of traffic (solar garden installation) is expected to occur over a 2 month period (April - May 2018). 3. Daily Project related truck traffic is not expected to impact AM and PM peak traffic periods. 4. Site distance at the Project entrance (existing private drive - 31154 State Highway 6 is over 1,000' both east and west. 5. As proposed, the solar garden installation (material/equipment delivery — approx. 1 week, solar garden installation 2 months and solar garden operations - ongoing) is not anticipated to create adverse traffic related impacts on public roads in Garfield County. Based on anticipated vehicle type and weight, the project is not anticipated to degrade/damage Garfield County roads. 6. In accordance with Article 7, Section 7-107 of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code, the existing driveway is classified as primitive access given that it will continue to experience less than 20 vehicle trips per day after the solar garden is operational. The south segment of the driveway utilized for the project meets all Table 7-107 requirements for a primitive access including: width (+/-15 feet); maximum grade (less than 5%); and cross slope (2%). Drainage swales on the east and west side of the driveway are not warranted. Mr. Patrick Waller, Sr. Planner Page 4 7. In accordance with Article 7, Section 7-107 of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code, the proposed driveway is classified as primitive access given that it will experience Tess than 20 vehicle trips per day after the solar garden is operational. Accordingly, the driveway shall meet all Table 7-107 requirements for a primitive access including: width (16 feet); maximum grade (less than 5%); and cross slope (2%). Drainage swales on the north or south side of the driveway are not warranted. We trust that this Traffic Impact Letter Report for the Ziegler Solar Garden is acceptable and complete. Please contact me at sean.ohearn@enertiacg.com or (720) 473-3131 should you require additional information. Sincerely, ENERTIA CONSULTING GROUP, LLC J. Sean O'Hearn, PE, PG Managing Partner attachment pQ R EG/6' N") 1.$'0E-Alv o 3 335 z ENERTIA • CONSULTING GROUP 1529 MARKET STREET SUITE 200 DENVER, CO 80202 (720) 473-3131 FIGURE 1 - ZIEGLER GARDEN DESIGNATED TRAVEL ROUTE GARFIELD COUNTY, CO DATE: 10/26/2017 SCALE: 1" = 2000' BY: JAC