T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationUnsignalized IntersectionsUnder the Baseline Condition, the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Airport Connector off-ramp is theonly unsignalized intersection in the Surface Transportation Study Area operating under LOS E or LOS Fconditions. 185 Vehicles exiting Airport Connector attempting to turn left onto Jefferson Boulevard experienceexcessive delays that result in LOS E or F conditions during the morning and evening peak hours. Heavyvolumes on Jefferson Boulevard result in insufficient gaps in the traffic stream that hinder the off-ramp vehiclesturning onto Jefferson Boulevard.Ramp Junctions and Freeway SegmentsAll of the ramp merges in the Study Area operate at LOS C or better during weekday peak hour trafficconditions. These results indicate that State Route 37 and Airport Connector have sufficient capacity toaccommodate merging maneuvers from on-ramps during weekday peak hour conditions.All ramp diverges in the Study Area operate at LOS C or better during weekday peak hour traffic conditions.These results indicate that State Route 37 and Airport Connector have sufficient capacity to accommodatediverging maneuvers from off-ramps during weekday peak hour conditions.All of the freeway segments in the Study Area operate at LOS B or better or better during weekday peak hourtraffic conditions. These results indicate that State Route 37 and the Airport Connector have sufficient capacityto handle the roadway traffic demands during weekday peak hour conditions.Intersection SafetyFor all of the Surface Transportation Study Area intersections, the average crash occurrence was 34 crashes overthe three-year period from 2002 to 2004. The majority of intersections (13) had three-year averages at or belowthis number. Five intersections exhibited higher crashes for the three-year period; three of those notably higher,in excess of 75 crashes per year. The five intersections with the highest occurrence of crashes were PostRoad/Airport Road (98 crashes), Airport Road/Warwick Avenue (89 crashes), Post Road/Airport ConnectorRamps (75 crashes), Jefferson Boulevard/Airport Connector Ramps (55 crashes), and JeffersonBoulevard/Coronado Road/Kilvert Street (49 crashes).It is notable that at two of the intersections that experienced a high occurrence of crashes, a large percentage of thecrashes were rear-end collisions. At the intersections of Post Road/Airport Road and Airport Road/WarwickAvenue, rear-end crashes accounted for 74 percent and 68 percent of the total crashes, respectively. At theintersection of Main Avenue at Industrial Drive, 80 percent of the crashes were rear-end collisions. Since all threelocations are signalized intersections, the high occurrence of rear-end collisions may be caused by inadequate sightdistance or excessive queuing.Three intersections had a high percentage (greater than 50 percent) of crashes involving personal injury. At theintersections of Airport Road/Hade Court, Airport Road/Commerce Drive, and Post Road/Donald Avenue,185 A traffic signal has since been installed at this intersection as part of the InterLink project.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-29 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc