CHAPTER 7: TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS

7.0 DEFINITIONS

Three types of transportation corridors are identified in the 2005-2030 Oklahoma Statewide Intermodal Transportation Plan:

• Transportation Improvement Corridors: These are highway corridors where projected traffic volumes indicate additional capacity will be needed by 2030.

• National High Priority Corridors: These are Congressionally-identified corridors of national significance. There are four such corridors in Oklahoma: (1) US 287 [Ports-to-Plains Corridor] from Texas to Colorado in Cimarron County; (2) US 54 [TransAmerica Corridor] from Texas to Kansas in Texas County; (3) I-35 from Texas to Kansas; and, (4) US 412 from Tulsa to Memphis, Tennessee. These corridors are eligible for special discretionary funding from the National Corridor Planning and Development (NCPD) program.

• Freight Operational Improvement Corridor: These corridors represent highways with high truck traffic but do not indicate capacity needs by 2030. However, the efficiency of the these corridors is compromised by conditions such as stops in towns and cities, bridge deficiencies, geometrics, urban speed zones, school zones, at grade rail crossings, or other operating conditions that reduce the efficiency of freight movements. These corridors can benefit from corridor studies and improvements from a menu of improvements such as bypasses; intelligent transportation systems for driver information on traffic flows, weather conditions, etc.; bridge upgrades; rail grade separations; signal timing; and, geometric roadway improvements.

7.1 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT CORRIDORS

7.1.1 Definition

The Transportation Improvement Corridors are highway corridors needing capacity upgrades by 2030. Transportation Improvement Corridors were first identified in the 1995 Oklahoma Statewide Intermodal Transportation Plan and resulted in the policy “To provide for continued safe and efficient movement, the plan includes the development from two to four lanes along the corridors”. The 2005 – 2025 Statewide Intermodal Transportation Plan continued this policy. This policy is continued in this version of the plan with additional consideration of upgrading four-lane facilities to six-lane facilities or to obtain right-of-way for the ultimate Corridor configuration.

Delineation of Transportation Improvement Corridors in this plan utilized the following method:

• Files of current traffic volumes (2003) by highway control section were used along with historical traffic growth factors to calculate future traffic volumes (2030). 177 • Level-of-Service (LOS) C capacities were determined for each existing highway (2 lane, 4 lane, 4 lane divided) by terrain type (level, rolling, or mountainous) for each highway control section. • Calculated 2030 volumes were compared to the LOS C capacities for each existing highway control section. This resulted in a volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio. • LOS C has a v/c ratio of 1 and results in a satisfactory LOS. Highway sections exceeding LOS C (greater than 1.0) were considered as candidates for Transportation Improvement Corridors. • Final delineation of corridors also considered the following factors:

o judgment that congestion is resulting from a genuine capacity problem that would require more lanes rather than a capacity problem that could be alleviated by reconstruction and improvement of existing lanes with better geometrics and traffic handling characteristics.

o judgment for logical termini: corridors defined with lengths that could demonstrate independent utility, not result in a mixture of highway segments with differing lanes and transition points; connect from highway junction to highway junction or city to city. Thus, some non-congested segments are included in defined corridors.

o judgment on constructability: some congested areas are scenic highways or have some other factor that would preclude addition of capacity.

o judgment that some capacity problems could be alleviated with “spot” or localized capacity additions and definition of a corridor was not needed.

7.1.2 2005-2030 Transportation Improvement Corridors

Seventeen corridors have been identified as Transportation Improvement Corridors based on the above process. These Corridors may coincide with National High Priority Corridors (such as I-35) but generally are separate. When they coincide, description and analysis is contained under ANational High Priority Corridors@. Most of the corridors selected are projected to be four-lane highway facilities; however some facilities, such as I-40 or I-35 may need six or more lanes to adequately handle projected traffic.

The State Transportation Improvement Corridors for the 2005 - 2030 Oklahoma Statewide Intermodal Transportation Plan, totaling 17 and shown in Figure 7.1 are the following:

1. US 270 / SH 3 from the junction with SH 34 in Woodward, Woodward County southeast to Watonga, Blaine County and continuing southeast on US 281 and US 281 Spur to the junction with Interstate 40 in Canadian County, a total of 95 miles.

2. Interstate 40 from the junction with US 81 Spur in Canadian County east to the 178 junction with SH 18 in Pottawatomie County, a total of 82 miles.

3. US 81 from the junction with SH 9 in Chickasha, Grady County north to the junction with Interstate 40 in Canadian County, a total of 31 miles.

4. SH 9 from the junction with Interstate 35 in Norman, Cleveland County east to the junction with SH 99 in Seminole, Seminole County, a total of 48 miles.

5. US 270 from the junction with SH 9 in Seminole, Seminole County southeast to the east junction with US 270 Bus. in Holdenville, Hughes County, a total of 23 miles.

6. SH 33 from the junction with Interstate 35 in Guthrie, Logan County east to the junction with SH 18 in Cushing, Payne County, a total of 29 miles.

7. US 177 from the junction with SH 9 in Tecumseh, Pottawatomie County south to the junction with SH 3W in Pontotoc County and continuing southeast on SH 3W to the junction with SH 19 in Pontotoc County, a total of 39 miles.

8. SH 99 from the junction with SH 1 in Ada, Pontotoc County north to the junction with US 62 in Prague, Lincoln County, a total of 49 miles.

9. US 70 from the junction with Interstate 35 in Carter County east to the Arkansas State Line in McCurtain County, a total of 173 miles.

10. SH 20 from the junction with US 75 in Tulsa County east to the junction with SH 88 in Claremore, Rogers County, a total of 12 miles.

11. SH 88 from the junction with SH 20 in Claremore, Rogers County north to the junction with US 169 and continuing north on US 169 to the Kansas State Line in Nowata County, a total of 52 miles.

12. US 59 from the junction with US 412 in Delaware County north to the junction with Interstate 44 in Ottawa County, a total of 47 miles.

13. US 59 from the junction with SH51 in Stilwell, Adair County north to the junction with US 412 in Delaware County, a total of 26 miles.

14. SH 51 from the junction with SH 72 in Coweta, Wagoner County east to the Arkansas State Line in Adair County, a total of 75 miles.

15. SH 9 from the junction with SH 2 in Haskell County east to the junction with US 59 in LeFlore County, a total of 28 miles.

16. US 59 from the junction with SH 128 in Heavener, LeFlore County north to the junction with Interstate 40 in Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, a total of 47 miles. 179

17. SH 112 from the junction with US 59 in Poteau, LeFlore County northeast to the junction with US 271 in LeFlore County, a total of 17 miles.

7.1.3 Transportation Improvement Corridor Funding

Table 7.1 presents data for each Transportation Improvement Corridor such as miles, miles built, and estimated construction costs. Summary statistics for the Transportation Improvement Corridors are the following:

$ Total Estimated Cost for all Transportation Improvement Corridors: $2,304,620,000

$ Historical funding and project funding contained in the FFY 2005 - FFY 2012 Construction Work Plan have provided and will provide approximately 38% of Transportation Improvement Corridor estimated construction needs.

$ Historical funding and Construction Work Plan funding has generally scheduled the highest cost projects in the Corridors first and generally in urban and/or high average daily traffic locations.

7.1.4 Transportation Improvement Corridor Mileage

$ Total Transportation Improvement Corridor Mileage: 829 miles

$ Historical funding and Construction Work Plan funding has completed and will complete, respectively, approximately 40 per cent of total Corridor mileage.

7. 2 NATIONAL HIGH PRIORITY CORRIDORS

7.2.1 Definition

Congress has specified some 45 routes on the National Highway System (NHS) as AHigh Priority Corridors@. These designations were made on the importance of the route in serving regional, national, and international freight and vehicle movements. Designation of these routes began with the ISTEA transportation bill from 1992 to 1997 and continued with the TEA-21 transportation bill.

The significance of designation as a NHS High Priority Corridor is that it allows National Corridor Planning and Development Funds, a discretionary fund administered by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in cooperation with Congress, to be spent to plan, construct, or maintain these corridors. The Corridors can also ultimately be designated Interstate routes if built to Interstate standards. Designation and improvements may prove useful in economic development and safety improvements for the movement of freight and other vehicles.

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7.2.2 Oklahoma=s NHS High Priority Corridors

Oklahoma has four routes designated as NHS High Priority Corridors. These corridors locations are the following and are depicted on the NHS High Priority Corridor Map in Figure 7.1:

NHS High Priority Corridor #3: The East-West Transamerica Corridor which extends from the Atlantic Coast in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia extending westward to California across West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. In Oklahoma, US 54 in Texas County from the Kansas Stateline southwest to the Texas Stateline is included. This section of US 54 is also a Transportation Improvement Corridor.

NHS High Priority Corridor #8: Highway 412 East-West Corridor which extends from Tulsa, Oklahoma eastward through Arkansas to Nashville, Tennessee.

NHS High Priority Corridor #23: The Interstate Route 35 Corridor extending from Laredo, Texas northward through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, to the Canadian border.

NHS High Priority Corridor #38: The Ports-to-Plains Corridor from Laredo, Texas, northward through Oklahoma, New Mexico, to Denver, Colorado. In Oklahoma, US 287 in Cimarron County from the Texas Stateline northward to the Colorado Stateline is included.

7.2.3 Planning for NHS High Priority Corridors

Programmed Improvements

The FFY 2004 - FFY 2011Construction Work Plan has approximately $285 million in improvements programmed for Oklahoma=s NHS High Priority Routes and is shown in the chart below by corridor.

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Table 7.2 Oklahoma=s National High Priority Corridor Programming* by Federal Fiscal Year

Federal #3 (US 54 Texas #23 (I-35 in #38 (US 287 Fiscal Year County) Oklahoma) Cimarron County)

2004 $ 210,000.00 $ 48,241,983.00 $ 675,305.00

2005 $ 2,204,678.00 $ 66,572,658.00 $ 0.00

2006 $ 1,750,000.00 $ 16,297,000.00 $ 382,445.00

2007 $ 2,200,000.00 $ 25,002,554.00 $ 7,765,360.00

2008 $ 5,936,653.00 $ 18,531,113.00 $ 358,230.00

2009 $ 2,500,000.00 $ 20,219,589.00 $ 75,000.00

2010 $ 1,935,000.00 $ 43,234,780.00 $ 9,141,286.00

2011 $ 10,655,000.00 $ 0.00 $ 597,050.00

TOTALS $ 27,391,331.00 $ 238,099,677.00 $ 18,994,676.00 Source: FFY 2004 B FFY 2011 Construction Work Plan, Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Includes amounts for right-of-way purchase, utility relocation, resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, bridge replacement, and highway construction. Routine maintenance for both roadways and bridges excluded. *NHS High Priority Corridor #8 (US 412 from Tulsa east to Arkansas Stateline): No programmed projects from FFY 2004 to FFY 2011. Most of this High Priority Corridor is already four- lanes through funding by ODOT and the Oklahoma Transportation Authority.

Total National High Priority Corridor Cost Estimates

Studies for the National High Priority Corridors have been completed for two corridors in Oklahoma: the Ports-to-Plains Corridor in Cimarron County and the I-35 Corridor. The US 54 Transamerica Corridor is and will be essentially complete to four lanes in Oklahoma by 2011 given current funding estimates. The US 412 Corridor is already four lanes in Oklahoma and does not need additional capacity.

• US 287 Ports-to-Plains Corridor: Estimated construction costs to provide for a four lane facility are $177 million for Oklahoma. As noted above, approximately $19 million is already programmed for this facility. The “Ports to Plains: Corridor Development and Management Plan” completed in 2004 is the basis for these costs. No funding has been 182 identified for the remainder of the estimated construction costs.

• I-35 Corridor: The “I-35 Trade Corridor Study” completed in 1999 made the following recommendations for I-35 in Oklahoma:

1. From the Kansas/Oklahoma Border to northern transition of Oklahoma City: 6 lanes recommended. 2. From the northern transition of Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma City core: 8 lanes recommended. 3. For the Oklahoma City Core: 8 lanes recommended with additional construction of a relief route. 4. From the Oklahoma City Core to southern transition of Oklahoma City: 6 lanes recommended with additional construction of a relief route. 5. From the southern transition of Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma/Texas border: 8 lanes recommended. 6. Constructions costs were estimated at $880 million for Oklahoma.

As noted above, $238 million is programmed for I-35 through 2011 and most of this is for rehabilitation of the existing facility. No funding has been identified for the additional capacity upgrades from the “I-35 Trade Corridor Study”.

National Corridor Planning and Development Program

As previously noted, the National Corridor Planning and Development Program (NCPD) is a discretionary fund of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation used to plan, design, construct, and maintain the NHS High Priority Corridors. Oklahoma, through its Congressional Delegation, has received approximately $6 million in NCPD funds to date ($3 million for I-35; $1.5 million for US 412; $1.5 million for US 287). The Department in cooperation with Oklahoma=s Congressional delegation will continue to aggressively seek NCPD funds for these corridors.

7.3 FREIGHT OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT CORRIDORS

7.3.1 Definition

These corridors represent highways with high truck traffic but do not indicate capacity needs by 2030. However, the efficiency of the these corridors is compromised by conditions such as stops in towns and cities, bridge deficiencies, geometrics, urban speed zones, school zones, at grade rail crossings, or other operating conditions that reduce the efficiency of freight movements. These corridors can benefit from corridor studies and improvements from a menu of improvements such as bypasses; intelligent transportation systems for driver information on traffic flows, weather conditions, etc.; bridge upgrades; rail grade separations; signal timing; and, geometric roadway improvements.

7.3.2 2005-2030 Freight Operational Improvement Corridors 183

Two highway segments have been identified as Freight Operational Improvement Corridors. These corridors are depicted on Figure 7.1 and are the following:

• US 69 Freight Operational Improvement Corridor: This corridor extends from the Oklahoma/Texas state line northeastward approximately 215 miles to I-44 near Vinita. This corridor experiences significant truck delays due to reduced speeds and stops through cities and towns along the route and lack of access control in several segments along US 69.

• US 54 Freight Operational Improvement Corridor: This corridor extends from the Oklahoma/Texas state line northeastward to the Oklahoma/Kansas state line in Texas County. US 54 is both a Transportation Improvement Corridor and National High Priority Corridor (see above) and is scheduled to be completed as a four-lane highway by 2011. However, there are still numerous truck delays along this route with the same conditions as noted for US 69 above.

7.3.3 Freight Operational Improvement Corridors Planning and Costs

Only one study has been completed for a Freight Operational Improvement Corridor. This study was conducted on US 69 by the Oklahoma Transportation Authority in 2001 for improvements to make US 69 a turnpike. However, many of the same improvements to make a turnpike would likely be necessary to improve freight movements. This study included bypasses, environmental costs, local access roads costs, reconstruction costs, and right-of-way costs. Total cost for improvement (including toll plaza costs) was $449 million.

Studies on US 54 would be necessary to determine the appropriate measures to improve freight movements since upgrades for the facility are already built or programmed.

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