Draft Purpose and Need Statement
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DRAFT Draft Purpose and Need Statement As part of the Environmental Review Process for I-515/US 95/US 93 Downtown Access Project Federal Highway Administration, Nevada Division Nevada Department of Transportation NDOT Project Number 74291 FHWA Project Number SPI-515-1(040) May 2020 I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement 1 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 2 AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 3 EA Environmental Assessment 4 EIS Environmental Impact Statement 5 FHWA Federal Highway Administration 6 HOV high-occupancy vehicle 7 I-15 Interstate 15 8 I-515 Interstate 515 9 MVM million vehicle miles 10 NDOT Nevada Department of Transportation 11 PDO property damage only 12 PEL Planning and Environmental Linkages 13 US 93 U.S. Highway 93 14 US 95 U.S. Highway 95 MAY 2020 CHAPTER 1: WHY IS THE PROJECT NEEDED? iii DRAFT – WORK IN PROGRESS I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................... iii Why is This Project Needed?................................................................................................ 1-1 1.1 Project Limits ........................................................................................... 1-2 1.2 Why is the Project Needed? .................................................................... 1-4 1.2.1 Deteriorated Bridge Condition ..................................................... 1-4 1.2.2 Reduce Travel Delay and Traffic Congestion ............................. 1-10 1.2.3 Improve Safety ........................................................................... 1-17 1.2.4 Importance of I-515 ................................................................... 1-20 1.3 Project Background ................................................................................ 1-20 1.3.1 I-515/Charleston Boulevard Interchange Improvement Environmental Assessment .................................................................... 1-21 1.3.2 I-515 Alternatives Development Study ...................................... 1-21 1.3.3 I-515 Southbound Auxiliary Lane and Viaduct Rehabilitation Project 1-23 1.3.4 Downtown Access Project Builds off Previous Studies .............. 1-24 1.4 Public, Local Government, and Agency Input on Need for the Project . 1-24 1.5 Purpose of the Project ........................................................................... 1-24 1.6 References ............................................................................................. 1-25 Figures Figure 1-1a. Project Vicinity ......................................................................................................... 1-3 Figure 1-1b. Project Limits ........................................................................................................... 1-5 Figure 1-2. Viaduct Deterioration ................................................................................................ 1-7 Figure 1-3a. Morning Rush-Hour Average Speeds ..................................................................... 1-11 Figure 1-3b. Evening Rush-Hour Average Speeds ...................................................................... 1-12 Figure 1-4. Average Speeds on I-515 South ............................................................................... 1-13 Figure 1-5. Average Speeds on I-515 North ............................................................................... 1-13 Figure 1-6. I-515 North Closely Spaced Ramps in Downtown Las Vegas .................................. 1-15 Figure 1-7. Locations of Traffic Issues ........................................................................................ 1-16 Figure 1-8. Summary of Study Area Crashes on I-515 and Interchanges, July 2011 to July 2014 .................................................................................................................. 1-17 Figure 1-9. I-515 Corridor Crashes by Roadway Segment, July 2011 to July 2014 .................... 1-19 Figure 1-10. I-515 Corridor Crash Rates per Million Vehicle Miles (MVM) by Roadway Segment, July 2011 to July 2014............................................................................................. 1-19 Figure 1-11. Studies in the Project Vicinity ................................................................................ 1-22 MAY 2020 CHAPTER 1: WHY IS THE PROJECT NEEDED? v DRAFT – WORK IN PROGRESS I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement 1 CHAPTER 1 2 WHY IS THIS PROJECT NEEDED? 3 The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration 4 (FHWA) are studying alternatives to address structural issues on the Las Vegas Viaduct, reduce 5 congestion, and improve safety on the 3.5 miles of Interstate 5151 (I-515) between Rancho 6 Drive on the west and Mojave Road on the east in Las Vegas, Nevada. A key deficiency is the 7 condition of the 1.6-mile-long Las Vegas Viaduct that carries I-515 over the Union Pacific 8 Railroad and several local streets and parking lots. This project is referred to as the Downtown 9 Access Project. What is a Viaduct? A viaduct is a type of bridge with several spans of almost the same length. Viaducts typically connect two points with similar heights. They are built to cross railroads, multiple cross-streets, or both. Part of the Las Vegas Viaduct is shown below. 1 U.S. Highway (US) 93 and US 95 are also routed along this segment of freeway. While they are important routes, this document will refer to Interstate 515 (I-515) rather than I-515/US 93/US 95. MAY 2020 CHAPTER 1: WHY IS THE PROJECT NEEDED? 1-1 DRAFT – WORK IN PROGRESS I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement 1 Chapter Summary 2 This chapter has the following major sections: 3 • 1.1 Project Limits 4 - Explanation of where the project is 5 • 1.2 Why is the Project Needed? 6 - Deteriorated condition of the Las Vegas Viaduct 7 - Reducing travel delay and congestion 8 - Improving safety 9 - Importance of I-515 to the Las Vegas Valley and beyond 10 • 1.3 Project Background 11 - Explanation of how this project relates to recent NDOT studies of I-515 12 • 1.4 Public, Local Government, and Agency Input on Need for the Project 13 - A brief summary of meetings held with local government, organizations, and the 14 public [to be completed in 2020] 15 • 1.5 Purpose of the Project 16 This chapter summarizes detailed technical information regarding bridge 17 conditions, traffic operations, traffic forecasts, and safety. 18 1.1 Project Limits 19 I-515 extends 14 miles between the Las Vegas Which way is north? 20 “Spaghetti Bowl” interchange at I-15 and the I-215 Drivers on I-515 see signs for 21 interchange in Henderson, with several interchanges I-515 North and I-515 South 22 serving both cities and unincorporated areas of Clark because I-515 is generally a 23 County (Figure 1-1a). At its northwest end, I-515 north-south freeway. However, in the project area for the 24 provides access to downtown Las Vegas and I-15. At Downtown Access Project, I-515 25 its southeast end, I-515 connects to the Las Vegas lies in more of an east-west 26 Beltway (I-215) and I-11 in Henderson. direction. “Southbound” vehicles (on I-515 South) are headed east 27 The Downtown Access Project is between the toward Henderson, and 28 recently completed Project NEON to the west, which “northbound” vehicles (on I-515 29 reconstructed I-15 and several of the ramps North) are headed west toward 30 connecting I-15 to I-515 the Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl. 31 (http://ndotprojectneon.com/), and planned 32 improvements to I-515 from Eastern Avenue to Charleston Boulevard to the east, which are 33 scheduled to be built in 2022 (https://www.nevadadot.com/projects-programs/programs- 34 studies/i-515-charleston-boulevard-interchange-environmental-assessment). MAY 2020 CHAPTER 1: WHY IS THE PROJECT NEEDED? 1-2 DRAFT – WORK IN PROGRESS I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement 1 Figure 1-1a. Project Vicinity 2 MAY 2020 CHAPTER 1: WHY IS THE PROJECT NEEDED? 1-3 DRAFT – WORK IN PROGRESS I-515 Downtown Access Project Draft Purpose and Need Statement 1 The Downtown Access Project’s western limit is Rancho Drive, west of I-15 (Figure 1-1b), 2 because there is traffic congestion on I-515/U.S. Highway 95 (US 95) through the Spaghetti 3 Bowl that this study will address. The project’s east limit is Mojave Road a few blocks east of 4 Eastern Avenue. The north and south limits are far enough to include I-515 connections to local 5 streets and tie back into I-15, but the recently 6 completed Project NEON improvements will not be What are Functionally 7 affected. Obsolete and Structurally Deficient Bridges? 8 1.2 Why is the Project Needed? Bridges that cannot reliably support the load of vehicles may 9 1.2.1 Deteriorated Bridge Condition be considered structurally 10 The Las Vegas Viaduct is approximately 1.6 miles long, deficient. Bridges with not enough 11 from 21st Street (west of Eastern Avenue) to Mesquite room for full shoulders and/or full- width lanes or not enough 12 Avenue west of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, and clearance over the road below 13 made up of two multispan bridges that connect just the bridge, are deemed 14 east of 4th Street. There is a full interchange at Las functionally obsolete. If the road 15 Vegas Boulevard, an on-ramp to westbound I-515 from below the bridge is too narrow 16 4th Street, and an off-ramp from eastbound I-515