HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO 2035 LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN FREIGHT MOBILITY TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization 601 East Kennedy Blvd. – 18th Floor Tampa, FL 33601 (813) 272-5940 www.hillsboroughmpo.org The preparation of this report has been financed in part through grant(s) from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f) of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. April 2009 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Freight Mobility Technical Memorandum TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... I-1 1.0 FREIGHT MOBILITY IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY ............................................ 1-1 1.1 Existing and Emerging FACs ........................................................................ 1-1 1.1.1 Anderson Road/Tampa International Airport ..................................... 1-4 1.1.2 Port Tampa ........................................................................................ 1-4 1.1.3 Hooker’s Point (Port of Tampa) ......................................................... 1-4 1.1.4 Rockport/Port Sutton/Pendola Point (Port of Tampa) ....................... 1-4 1.1.5 Alafia River (Port of Tampa) .............................................................. 1-4 1.1.6 Big Bend/Port Redwing (Port of Tampa) ........................................... 1-5 1.1.7 Southeast Tampa Industrial Area ...................................................... 1-5 1.1.8 South I-75 (Sabal Park Industrial Area) ............................................. 1-5 1.1.9 East Central Tampa Industrial Area .................................................. 1-5 1.1.10 Plant City Airport Industrial Area ....................................................... 1-5 1.1.11 East Plant City Industrial Area ........................................................... 1-6 1.2 Freight Mobility System ................................................................................. 1-6 1.2.1 Roads ................................................................................................ 1-7 1.2.2 Rail ..................................................................................................... 1-7 1.2.3 Waterways ......................................................................................... 1-9 1.3 Freight Highway and Road System .............................................................. 1-9 1.3.1 Strategic Intermodal System Highways ........................................... 1-11 1.3.2 Regional Goods Movement Corridors ............................................. 1-11 1.3.3 Local Truck Routes .......................................................................... 1-11 2.0 STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION .......................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Mobility Issues and Needs ............................................................................ 2-1 2.1.1 Tampa International Airport (TIA) ...................................................... 2-1 2.1.2 Port of Tampa .................................................................................... 2-2 2.1.3 CSXT ................................................................................................. 2-2 2.1.4 Trucking Stakeholders ....................................................................... 2-3 2.2 Future Industry Conditions ............................................................................ 2-4 2.2.1 Tampa International Airport ............................................................... 2-4 2.2.2 Port of Tampa .................................................................................... 2-4 2.2.3 CSXT ................................................................................................. 2-5 2.2.4 Trucking Industry ............................................................................... 2-6 3.0 FREIGHT SYSTEM NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND PRIORITIES ...................... 3-1 3.1 Prioritization of Needs ................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Lower Cost Needs ........................................................................................ 3-3 3.3 Long-Term and Capacity Needs ................................................................... 3-4 3.4 Freight Opportunities .................................................................................... 3-4 3.5 Recommended Short-Term Funding .......................................................... 3-16 4.0 DESIGN STANDARDS, PERFORMANCE MEASURES, AND PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA ........................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Truck-FRIENDLY Design Standards ............................................................ 4-1 4.2 Recommended Performance Measure Criteria ............................................ 4-2 4.3 Establish Project Priorities in LRTP .............................................................. 4-3 5.0 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 5-1 ii 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Freight Mobility Technical Memorandum LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Existing, Emerging, and Potential Freight Activity Center Descriptions Appendix B Freight Mobility Corridor Descriptions LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1-1 Existing and Emerging Freight Activity Centers within Hillsborough County ..... 1-2 1-2 Goods Movement Roadway Corridors ............................................................. 1-10 2-1 Estimated Port of Tampa Truckload Generation ................................................ 2-5 3-1 Freight Needs Prioritization and Scoring Methodology ...................................... 3-2 3-2 Hillsborough County Freight Hot Spots ............................................................. 3-7 3-3 Truck Routes Segments Requiring Capacity Improvements ........................... 3-10 3-4 Regional Goods Movement Issues and Opportunities ..................................... 3-13 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1-1 Existing and Emerging Freight Activity Centers within Hillsborough County ..... 1-3 1-2 Rail Lines and Volumes ..................................................................................... 1-8 1-3 Hillsborough County Strategic Intermodal System Facilities ........................... 1-12 1-4 Hillsborough County Regional Goods Movement Corridors ............................ 1-13 1-5 Hillsborough County Truck Routes .................................................................. 1-14 3-1 Hillsborough County Freight Hot Spots ............................................................. 3-5 3-2 Above Capacity Truck Routes ........................................................................... 3-6 iii 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Freight Mobility Technical Memorandum INTRODUCTION Freight mobility is important to the economic vitality of Hillsborough County and a key factor in attracting new employers to the area. In addition, the importance of freight mobility has been recognized by the United States Congress, which included increased emphasis on freight planning within the last three transportation bills: the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA); the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21); and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this Technical Memorandum is to ensure that freight mobility is integrated into the Hillsborough County Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) as it is updated and extended to the year 2035. This document addresses freight mobility needs and priorities that will facilitate the consideration, prioritization, and incorporation into the Plan as required by SAFETEA-LU and its predecessors. Included are tables of long-term capacity needs, short-term operational needs known as freight “Hot Spots,” and freight-related issues and opportunities. The technical memorandum is divided into four sections: • Freight Mobility in Hillsborough County; • Stakeholder Participation; • Freight Systems Needs, Opportunities, and Priorities; and • Design Standards, Performance Measures, and Project Selection. Section 1.0 describes the freight transportation system in Hillsborough County including descriptions of the regional Freight Activity Centers (FACs) and Freight Corridors as designated by the Tampa Bay Regional Goods Movement Study1, and the local truck route system. Also described are the major rail corridors within the county and their relationship to the FACs. Section 2.0 discusses the importance of the freight corridors to local stakeholders as well as their needs, operational problem areas, and trends that affect their operations. Section 3.0 provides tables of prioritized systems needs, freight operation “Hot Spots,” and freight-related issues and opportunities. This section also recommends a funding box to be used to address the operational issues identified in the freight “Hot Spots” list. Section 4.0 discusses design standards that should be implemented during improvements to all freight corridors and truck routes and recommendations, performance measures, and freight-related criteria that should be considered in the