FINAL REPORT December 2014 PREPARED FOR PREPARED BY HNTB Corporation 3715 Northside Parkway 200 Northcreek, Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30327 (404) 946-5700 FINAL REPORT CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 1.1 Study Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Operational Planning Study (OPS) ...................................................................................................1 1.1.2 Managed Lanes Implementation Plan (MLIP) ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Study Area ................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Purpose of this report .......................................................................................................................... 4 2 STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION AND OUTREACH .................... 5 2.1 Stakeholder and CID Committees ................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Additional Agency Coordination ...................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Industry Engagement ........................................................................................................................... 9 3 DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................10 3.1 Summary of Previous Studies ......................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Summary of Planned or Programmed Projects ....................................................................... 12 3.3 Traffic Data .............................................................................................................................................. 13 3.3.1 Existing Data .......................................................................................................................................... 13 3.3.2 New Traffic Data Collected ............................................................................................................... 14 3.3.2.1 Speed Data .............................................................................................................................. 14 3.3.2.2 Traffic Count Data ............................................................................................................... 15 3.3.3 Windshield Survey ............................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.4 Other Input Data ................................................................................................................................... 19 4 NEEDS ASSESSMENT ...............................................................20 4.1 Data Used to Assist with Bottleneck Identification ............................................................... 20 4.1.1 NaviGAtor Data ..................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1.2 Skycomp Aerial Congestion Surveys ............................................................................................ 25 4.1.3 TomTom GPS Speed Data ................................................................................................................. 30 4.1.4 Existing Crash Data ............................................................................................................................. 34 4.2 Stakeholder Input used to assist with Bottleneck Identification .................................... 36 4.2.1 GDOT TMC ............................................................................................................................................... 36 DECEMBER 2014 i FINAL REPORT 4.2.2 HERO Unit Operators ......................................................................................................................... 38 4.2.3 GDOT Operations Staff ....................................................................................................................... 38 4.2.4 GRTA Bus Drivers ................................................................................................................................ 38 4.2.5 Stakeholder Committee Members................................................................................................. 38 4.3 Summary of Operational Bottlenecks .......................................................................................... 39 5 DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIAL OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATION .....................................................................45 5.1 Menu of Operational Strategies ...................................................................................................... 45 5.2 Applying Operational Strategies to Specific Locations ........................................................ 52 5.2.1 Ramp Strategies .................................................................................................................................... 58 5.2.1.1 Ramp Metering ..................................................................................................................... 58 5.2.1.2 Ramp Widening .................................................................................................................... 60 5.2.1.3 Dynamic Ramp Closures ................................................................................................... 61 5.2.1.4 Modify Ramp Geometrics and Upgrade Signage to Accommodate Trucks . 62 5.2.1.5 Ramp Meter Bypass Lanes ............................................................................................... 63 5.2.2 Auxiliary Lanes ...................................................................................................................................... 66 5.2.3 Collector/Distributor Roads (C/D Roads) ................................................................................. 68 5.2.4 Upgrade Signage ................................................................................................................................... 69 5.2.5 Channelization ....................................................................................................................................... 71 5.2.6 Re-striping .............................................................................................................................................. 72 5.2.7 Ramp Terminal Reconfiguration ................................................................................................... 73 5.3 Summary of Development of Strategies ..................................................................................... 76 6 EVALUATION OF PROJECTS .....................................................77 6.1 Project Screening .................................................................................................................................. 77 6.1.1 Tools Used to Evaluate Projects ..................................................................................................... 78 6.1.1.1 Capacity Analysis for Planning of Junctions (CAP-X) ............................................ 78 6.1.1.2 2010 Highway Capacity Manual/Highway Capacity Software ......................... 79 6.1.1.3 CORSIM .................................................................................................................................... 80 6.1.1.4 VISSIM ...................................................................................................................................... 80 6.1.1.5 B/C Ratio Spreadsheet Tool ............................................................................................ 84 6.1.2 Operational Projects Eliminated as a Result of Screening .................................................. 84 DECEMBER 2014 ii FINAL REPORT 6.2 OPS Goals ................................................................................................................................................. 85 6.3 Planning Themes .................................................................................................................................. 88 6.3.1 Planning Theme 1: Transportation Mobility ............................................................................ 90 6.3.1.1 Vehicle Throughput ............................................................................................................ 90 6.3.1.2 Travel Time Savings per Vehicle ................................................................................... 90 6.3.1.3 Reduction of Vehicle Delay .............................................................................................. 90 6.3.1.4 Facilitation of Transit Options ....................................................................................... 91 6.3.2 Planning Theme 2: Financial Feasibility ..................................................................................... 91 6.3.2.1 Capital Cost ............................................................................................................................ 92 6.3.2.2 Benefit/Cost Ratio ............................................................................................................... 92 6.3.3 Planning Theme 3: Safety ................................................................................................................