Chapter 3 - The Transportation System of the Texarkana Region MAP-21 requires the identification of the regional transportation facilities as a necessary component of the MTP, (including major roadways, transit, multimodal and inter-modal facilities, non-motorized transportation facilities, and inter-modal connectors if possible) that should function as an integrated metropolitan transportation system, giving emphasis to those facilities that serve important national and regional transportation functions. Roadways Major highway corridors include I-30, I-369, I-49, US 59, US 67, US 71, and US 82. Interstate - 49: Except for a section from Texarkana to Fort Smith and a short portion in the vicinity of Bella Vista, Arkansas, I-49 connects Fort Smith to Kansas City, a major international intermodal center and to the south of Texarxkana, I-49 connects to Lafayette, Louisiana and I-10. Future Interstate 49: From Shreveport to Kansas City this route is part of High Priority Corridors 1 and 72: North-South Corridor, while the future section between New Orleans and Lafayette is part of High Priority Corridor 37: U.S. 90. US 59: The 2035 State LRTP identified US 59 from the Houston MPO boundary to Texarkana MPO boundary as the highest rated Texas Trunk corridor (Other Trunk Highways) in need of improvement. The I-69 Corridor: This program being studied in Texas extends from Texarkana, Texas, and Stonewall, Louisiana, to Laredo and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. With Houston near the midpoint, I- 69 will improve regional mobility and provide new freight movement capacity accessing seaports at Houston, Freeport, Victoria, Point Comfort, Corpus Christi and Brownsville. It will extend the reach of Texas ports into new national and international markets. Over $900 million is currently dedicated to the development of I-69 Texas projects. The Texas Transportation Commission appointed the I-69 Corridor Advisory Committee to evaluate the current and long-term needs for I-69 corridor. The committee published a report in December 2008 that provided similar recommendations as the I-35 analysis followed by the Segment One Committee report issued in 2012. The committee reports may be found here: http://www.txdot.gov/drivenbytexans/publications.htm. I-69 is a proposed national Interstate that extends from Michigan through Texas. In Texas, the route for I-69 includes several existing roads: US 59, US 84, US 77, and US 281. US 59 north of Tenaha is intended to function as an Interstate spur (an offshoot to the north of I-69), I-369, eventually connecting the future national I-69 route along US 59/US 84 to I-30 in Texarkana. Interstate spur routes connecting with a main Interstate route at one end are required to carry a 3-digit Interstate number that begins with an odd number followed by the number of the main route. I-369 was approved as the Interstate spur designation by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). *** The first section of I-369, from I-30 to Loop 151 in Texarkana, was signed in May 2013. Once the remaining sections of US 59 between Tenaha and I-30 are upgraded to meet Interstate standards and are connected to or are planned to connect to the existing Interstate system by July 2037, they would also be designated as I-369, per Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) federal legislation. Jarvis Parkway (U.S. 59) at Texarkana was unveiled as Interstate 369 by the Texas Highway and Transportation Department during a ceremony held on September 23, 2013. This added 3.5 miles of U.S. 59 to the Interstate system from SH 93 and 151 north to IH 30. 30 MPO Road Mileages: In 2014, local roads accounted for 58.62% of the mileage in the MPO planning boundary, and these roads are generally the responsibility of cities and counties, and not eligible for federal funding. The rest of the roads are the responsibility of a city, county or State, are classified as collector and above, and generally do qualify for federal funding. Mileage in each functional Functional Classification % of Total classification Interstate 72.16 5.92% Freeway 20.8 1.71% Other Principal Arterials 78.93 6.47% Minor Arterial 91.68 7.52% Major /Urban Collector 196.42 16.11% Minor Collector 44.55 3.65% Local Roads 715.06 58.62% Totals 1219.61 100.00% * Mileage in each class is rounded. Source: MPO Geographic Information System. State maintained highways in the Miller and Bowie County urban area total 107.8 miles. 31 Figure 11: Map of the 2014 Texarkana MPO Road System, Along With the Functional Classification of the Roads 32 Bridges Bridges in Texas and Arkansas are inspected and rated for sufficiency on a regular basis, and the sufficiency rating criteria is based on structural adequacy, traffic data, and the width and age of the structure. Bridges classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete are not considered unsafe. Structurally deficient bridges have routine maintenance concerns not posing safety risks or are flooded frequently. To remain open to traffic these bridges are often posted with reduced weight limits restricting the gross weight of vehicles using them. Classification as functionally obsolete means the bridge met design standards when built, but over time has become obsolete due to an increase in traffic volume or other factors. Functionally obsolete bridges do not have adequate lane widths, shoulder widths, or vertical clearance to serve current traffic demands or are sometimes flooded. National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) require each state to prepare and maintain an inventory of all bridges subject to these standards. Funding - The federal government will fund 80 percent of rehabilitation or replacement projects for eligible bridges, both on- and off-system, although organizations responsible for off-system structures frequently encounter difficulty funding their 20 percent of the cost. In the latter case, TxDOT has decided to share the cost and, in some cases, cover the entire amount so the off-system funding can comprise either 80 percent federal, 10 percent local and 10 percent state, or 80 percent federal and 20 percent state. In Arkansas, State Aid funds can be used to cover 90% of the local match on county bridges. The average bridge service life expectancy is approximately 50 years. The on-system (on the state system) bridge construction increased in the late 1950s and was approximately constant from 1964 to 1974. These bridges will be reaching their expected 50-year life spans and will be due for replacement by 2030. Bridges are inspected every two years with the results entered into the Bridge Inventory and Inspection Database. The results are then analyzed according to inspection criteria, and the bridges are issued a Sufficiency Rating based on those calculations. Status of area bridges: Since the last update to the MTP (2009), twenty-three on-system bridges have been replaced and four off-system bridges have been replaced. There are 148 bridge-class structures within the Texas-side of the TUTS study area monitored or maintained by TxDOT. This includes one hundred and eight On-system bridges (bridges on the state highway system) and forty Off-system bridges (off the state highway system). The average age of Texas bridges is 44 years for On-system bridges and 32 years for Off-system bridges. In Bowie County there are 337 bridges, 7 of which are Structurally Deficient, and 10 that are Functionally Obsolete The average age of Arkansas’ bridges is 35 years.1 In Miller County there are 211 bridges, 27 of which are Structurally Deficient, and 14 that are Functionally Obsolete. 1 http://www.arkansashighways.com/news/2008/085.aspx 33 Functionally Obsolete or Structurally Deficient Bridges Table 17: Bowie County Functionally Obsolete or Structurally Deficient Bridges TEXAS BOWIE (037) Deficient Bridges Includes Federal Bridges Count # Structurally Deficient # Functionally Obsolete Total # Deficient 12/31/2012 349 9 43 52 12/31/2011 345 11 46 57 12/31/2010 334 12 40 52 12/31/2009 336 12 42 54 12/31/2008 336 12 39 51 12/31/2007 335 13 42 55 12/31/2006 330 13 42 55 Note: The deficiency status of the data within these tables has been calculated by not taking into consideration the year built or the year reconstructed Source: National Bridge Database Table 18: Miller County Functionally Obsolete or Structurally Deficient Bridges ARKANSAS MILLER (091) Deficient Bridges Includes Federal Bridges FED=B Count # Structurally Deficient # Functionally Obsolete # Total Deficient 12/31/2012 211 5 18 23 12/31/2011 209 6 17 23 12/31/2010 203 8 18 26 12/31/2009 196 7 15 22 12/31/2008 195 7 15 22 12/31/2007 193 6 18 24 12/31/2006 193 7 18 25 Note: The deficiency status of the data within these tables has been calculated by not taking into consideration the year built or the year reconstructed. Source: National Bridge Database Table 19: Deficient Texas bridges in the MPO TEXARKANA MPO FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE BRIDGES ON-SYSTEM Bridges NBI # Feature Crossed Feature carried Location Def/Obs Sufficiency Rating 0010-19-108 AIKEN CREEK FM 991 0.10 MI NW OF US 67 O 65.9 1231-01-001 CHEATHAM BRANCH FM 989 0.27 MI S OF IH 30 O 67.0 34 TEXARKANA MPO FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE BRIDGES OFF-SYSTEM Bridges NBI # Feature Crossed Feature Carried Location Def/Obs Sufficiency Rating AA04-94-001 AIKEN CREEK GUN CLUB RD 0.6 MI E OF FM 2148 O 94.0 AA05-03-002 AIKEN CREEK SHERWOOD FOREST RD 0.7 MI W OF US 59 O 70.0 B008-75-003 HOWARD CREEK FINDLEY ST 0.3 MI E OF US 59 O 71.7 B013-75-001 COWHORN CREEK KENNEDY LANE 0.5 MI