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Carolina Triangle

fall 2009 | newsletter 28

American Society of Highway Engineers | Carolina Triangle Section

Gary Lovering, P.E. - 2009-2010 President

I must begin by expressing my gratitude to all the members of this organization who have given me this great opportunity to be your Section President in the upcoming year. It is a great honor when individuals that I have worked with, and learned so much from over the years, would entrust me to carry on this position. These same individuals give so much of their time to see that this professional organization continues to flourish and I will do my best to carry on that tradition.

I want to give a big thanks to our past president Mr. Len Hill for his tireless efforts in supporting this organization over the past year. I have had the opportunity to work under the leadership of Len Hill not just here at ASHE but also within NCDOT. He is a creative and insightful individual who served our organization well. I encourage the members to take the time to give him the recognition he well deserves.

I look forward to working with our new Officers, Directors, and Committee Chairs this upcoming year. They are all fine examples of the dedication to our organization and most important to the Transportation Industry. I want to give special thanks to our Sec-retary and Member of the Year, Mr. Keith Skinner. I know the members all know Keith but I would like for all of you to realize the amount of volunteer time that he contributes to your organization. Along with myself, I hope that you as members also give him the thanks he deserves for keeping this organization running as he does.

I am sure you as members will also want to volunteer your time and, most impor-tant, recruit new members to maintain the continued growth we desire. I realize during today’s times we tend to get pulled in many different directions, but I believe this orga-nization and the voice that we are capable of having will have a positive impact on the future of all of our lives.

I am looking forward to the upcoming year. Our first dinner meeting on September 24, 2009 will be a joint meeting with ASCE and will be an excellent opportunity to hear about the Minnesota I-35W Bridge Collapse that happened just over two years ago and brought discussions about our industry on to the front pages. Amber Blanchard

To Our Members: A New Year AheadASHE/ASCE JOINT DINNER MEETING

WHEN: Thursday, September 24thWHERE: NC State University Club (4200 Hillsborough Street)TIME: Registration: 5:30pm Dinner: 6:30pmCOST: $15 for ASHE or ASCE members $20 for non-members** ASHE and ASCE members RSVP to mlcole@rkk.com or jbeville@rkk.com no later than 4:30pm on Monday, September 21st. Seats may be limited, so sign up early!TOPIC:

“I-35W Bridge Replacement: From Procurement to Reality”

The presentation will discuss the description and selection of the Design Build process, construc-tion demands for the project, and some of the lessons learned due to the accelerated schedule.Presenter BioAmber Blanchard, P.E. has worked for the Minnesota DOT for 10 years. She received her BSCE from North Dakota State University (Fargo, ND). She has spent half of her career in Mn/DOT’s Design Build program (served as the Structures Engineer on the I-35W Bridge) and currently is the Design Build Engineer for Mn/DOT’s Bridge Office.Background:About 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the eight-lane, 1,907-foot-long I-35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, experienced a catastrophic failure in the main span of the deck truss. As a result, 1,000 feet of the deck truss collapsed, with about 456 feet of the main span falling 108 feet into the 15-foot-deep river. The bridge provided direct access to downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, area businesses and suburban destinations for more than 140,000 vehicles each day. The loss of the bridge cost $400,000 per day in lost revenue, increased commuter expenses and burden on sur-rounding roads. The tragic collapse of the bridge caused substantial loss of life and injury.MnDOT by utilizing a Design Build process opened the new I-35W Bridge to traffic on Thursday, September 18, 2008, more than three months early and only 414 days after the original bridge collapsed.For more information on the project visit:http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/index.html continued on page 2

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OFFICERS

REGION 8 DIRECTOR Candice H. Crago, EI

PRESIDENT Gary Lovering, PEPAST PRESIDENT Len Hill, PE1st VICE PRESIDENT Jay Stem, PE2nd VICE PRESIDENT Jimmy NorrisSECRETARY Keith Skinner, PETREASURER Chris Werner, PE

DIRECTORS

Steve Browde, PE Tim Van Gelder, PE Barbara BenifieldRhonda Early, PE Derrick Lewis, PE Drew Joyner, PE

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

PUBLIC RELATIONS Jonathan Hefner, PEPROGRAM Keith Lewis, PE

Josh Hurst, PEMEMBERSHIP Katrina Washington, PE

Mike Young, PENOMINATING Len Hill, PECONSTITUTION & BYLAWS Steve Browde, PEPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Jimmy Norris

Tommy Register, PEEVENTS Barbara Benifield

Tim Van Gelder, PEFINANCE Chris Werner, PEFACILITIES David Bass, PELEGISLATIVE Pam Townsend, PESCHOLARSHIP Drew Joyner, PEHISTORIAN Roland RobinsonGOLF TOURNAMENT Chris Powell, PE

Tim Reid, PE

-Mission Statement-The mission of the American Society of Highway Engineers is to promote the planning, design, construction, mainte-nance and operation of safe and efficient highways; to foster a general understanding of the value of highways and seek support for their fiscal viability; to stimulate and publicize technology advances in the highway field; to encourage communications among all segments of the highway in-dustry; to stress the value of individuals; and to facilitate ethics, leadership, and career growth of the members.

For Change of Address Contact:ASHE SecretaryKeith Skinnertel 878-9560email kskinner@rkk.com

ASHE National Websitewww.highwayengineers.org

900 Ridgefield Drive, Suite 350Raleigh, NC 27609

Carolina Triangle

Ivo Dernev, Arcadis - I was born in Bulgaria and graduated from University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bul-garia in 1996 with a Masters in Transportation Engineering. Worked for NCDOT from 2000 to 2007 in different sections of the Traffic En-gineering (Traffic Control, Congestion Man-agement and Signing Section) and Planning Departments (RPO and MPO Coordinator). Since 2007, I have worked for Arcadis as a proj-ect engineer performing traffic impact analyses, and preparing traffic control and signal design plans.Monica DuVal, NCDOT Roadway Design- I have worked in the engineering and surveying field for 20 years. My actual degree is in Archi-tecture, but I decided to pursue a career in the engineering profession. I have two children - a boy 14 years old and a girl 7 years old. I have been married now for 19 years. My hobbies in-clude gardening, crafting and quilting.William Bollman, H.W. LochnerDouglas Wheatley, H.W. Lochner

NEW MEMBERS

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE2009 Session Summary

P.E. of MnDOT will be the presenter giving us first hand knowledge of the Design Build Pro-cess utilized to complete the reconstruction in 414 days.

I want to also encourage our membership to view our ASHE National website for our newly adopted Strategic Plans and other initiatives planned for the organization. This is an excel-lent source on what ASHE is about and the future goals we would like to achieve. http://www.highwayengineers.org/

Along with the upcoming dinner meetings, technical presentations, social events, golf tour-naments, and of course closing the year with presenting scholarships to our future Transpor-tation Engineers, I am excited to be a part of this great organization and the people that make it what it is.

Thanks for your support.

The General Assembly introduced 2,768 bills this session, but only 1,467 passed either the House or Senate. Of the bills that passed both chambers, only 473 were sent to the Governor for her signature. The remaining 994 bills are still eligible to be debated once the General Assembly recon-venes in May next year. A few highlights of this year’s long Session are included below.

Highlights of State Budget for 2009 -2010

$19,003,204,980 – Two billion dollars less than last year’s budget. Approximately $1 billion •of new taxes. Only $4 million were unappropriated - So, additional cuts will be needed as we move further into the new fiscal year.Every odd year DENR shall review all fees charged under any program to determine if these •fees should be changed – either increased or decreased. Study the advisability of eliminating or consolidating environmental boards, commissions, or •councils. NCAA will be following this very closely to ensure that our industry’s voice will not be lost if the study recommends a consolidation. A one cent increase in the sales tax with a two year sunset. •A two percent surcharge on personal income tax for taxpayers (married filing jointly) earning •$100,000 to $250,000 per year – for 2009 and 2010.A three percent surcharge on personal income tax for taxpayers (married filing jointly) earning •more than $250,000 per year – for 2009 and 2010. A three percent surcharge on corporate income tax owed through 2010.•A ten cent tax increase on cigarettes and increased taxes on beer, wine, and liquor.•Sales tax for digital downloads.•All sidewalk and bike paths within DOT ROW will be constructed with permeable pave-•ment.Study changes to NC’s sales and income tax structure in order to broaden the tax base and •lower the state’s tax rates.For 2009 / 2010 cuts 112 positions at DENR and 37 additional positions in 2010 / 2011.•For 2009 / 2010 cuts 152 positions at NCDOT.•

Several Bills that PASSED this Session

HB 148 – Congestion Relief / Intermodal Transport Fund The bill allows the Triangle and Triad counties to levy a half cent sales tax for local transit and the remaining counties (except for Mecklenburg County which already has a half cent transit tax) to levy a quarter cent. Every county will be eligible to apply for matching funds from a state transit fund, but the just passed budget did not create the state fund. The bill does not include the op-tion to build roads with this money. The voters of each county must approve the sales tax in their county. This bill was supported by a coalition of construction and environmental groups and was a recommendation of the 21st Century Transportation Committee.

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SB 831 – Extend Certain Government Ap-provals Affecting the Development of Real Property within the StateBecause of the economic downturn, this bill will extend any approvals (permits) issued after January 1, 2008 by the state or local govern-ments for the development of land or water / wastewater projects until December 31, 2010. This bill does not apply to any federal permits. Hopefully, this will help when developers and municipalities begin or resume projects that have stopped because of the economic down-turn.

SB 200 – An Act to Establish a Minimum Motor Fuels Tax Rate for Two Years

The NC motor fuel tax is based on the whole-sale price of gasoline and adjusts every six month. On July 1, 2009, the rate would have dropped to $0.279/gallon – a two cent decrease per gallon. The bill created a minimum rate of $0.299/gallon for the next two years - which means an additional $67.5 million in Highway Fund revenues over the next two years.

Several studies of interest to ASHE members that may be conducted between sessions

Transportation Funding Distribution For-mula - The Committee may study issues related to the State’s method for distributing transpor-tation funds. This is the ongoing battle between rural and urban areas of the state.

Ways to Reduce Construction Expense - The

Committee may study ways to reduce construc-tion expense by considering life cycle cost, du-rability, environmental impact, sustainability, longevity, and maintenance costs when selecting project pavement types.

Consolidate Environmental Commissions into One Commission- The Commission may study the desirability and the feasibility of consolidating the State’s environmental policy-making, rule-making, and quasi-judicial func-tions into one comprehensive full-time envi-ronmental commission, perhaps to be modeled after the North Carolina Utilities Commission. As previously noted, this study is also in the budget and, therefore, is likely to receive more attention before next May.

Water Allocation Issues - The Commission will continue to study those topics identified for further research and study in the 2008 Report

to keep it solvent through the end of the fiscal year that ends on September 30. Congress recessed for the summer district •work session without finalizing a new six year transportation funding bill. The Obama Administration and some mem-bers of the U.S. Senate are pushing to ex-tend the current authorization of the fed-eral highway program until March 2011. If new long term funding is not found be-fore the September 30, 2009 deadline; then the states could see reductions in funding beginning on October 1, 2009. There is concern this bill will be delayed, since health care reform will be dominating the agenda once congress returns in September. AASHTO and NCDOT have requested that if Congress believes the new bill will not meet the deadline, then sufficient no-tice be given to the states, so projects and funding can be adjusted accordingly.

of the Water Allocation Study to the Environ-mental Review Commission. The commission will be studying water withdrawals, water bud-gets, pricing, allocations, and permitting.

Special Tax Reduction Provisions - The Com-mittee may study issues relating to the effects on State revenues of government-enacted tax incentives, exemptions, credits, refunds, and ex-clusions. This study is also in the budget.

DOT Study Tolling At State Lines - The NC-DOT may study the feasibility of tolling all in-terstate highways entering into this State. This was a recommendation of the 21st Century Transportation Committee. Federal Transportation Funding Update

On August 7, the Federal HTF received a •$7 billion transfer from the General Fund

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Highway Fund Highway Trust Fund

2008 / 2009 $1,822,600,000 $1,073,200,000

2009 / 2010 $1,736,590,000* $ 881,290,000*

2010 / 2011 $1,739,650,000* $ 920,990,000*

NCDOT Actual SpendingHighway Fund Highway Trust Fund

2008 / 2009 $1,736,300,000 $ 905,600,000

2007 / 2008 $1,827,700,000 $1,060,100,000

**Includes ARRA money

To become a Century club member send a $100 check along with the name to be used and website address to:Keith Skinner, P.E.Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP900 Ridgefield Drive, Suite 350Raleigh, NC 27609kskinner@rkk.com

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The “quadrant roadway” intersection is a rela-tively new intersection concept that has recently been added to the menu of unconventional in-tersection designs. Research studies have been conducted to determine its operational benefits over traditional widening improvements, as well as over other unconventional designs; however, no agencies are known to have fully implement-ed this design to date. In a recent study con-ducted for the Town of Cary, a single quadrant design has emerged as the preferred design for improving a congested intersection and has the potential to be the first quadrant roadway built in the country.

Quadrant Roadway Background. The quadrant design is a concept that was first published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal (June 2000). This design is similar to a single loop interchange, like US 70 and Hillandale Road in Durham; however, both streets intersect at grade and operate as a simple two-phase signal. The removal of the left-turn phases provides additional green time to the through and right-turn movements, greatly improving traffic flow and efficiency. All left-turning movements are rerouted to a roadway located in one of the quadrants. Both ends of the quadrant roadway require a signal that al-lows left-turns and operates under three-phase operations. The three signalized intersections are coordinated to serve as one interconnected system.

Project Background. The Town of Cary sought to find a consultant team to develop in-novative ideas to improve the Cary Parkway and High House Road intersection. The intersec-tion is one of the Town’s signature centerpiece intersections as a result of its aesthetically pleas-ing landscaping treatments, which include brick walls, meandering sidewalks, seasonal plantings, and a large brick clock tower. But operation-ally, the intersection performs very poorly and is expected to worsen in the future as a result of continued growth and development in the area. The Martin/Alexiou/Bryson, PLLC (M/A/B) and URS consultant team was selected and tasked to develop alternatives, with a heavy em-phasis on the “toolbox” of alternative designs that could improve the operations without re-quiring substantial widening or causing nega-tive visual impacts.

Analysis of the existing conditions indicated considerable delays during the peak periods with substantial queues on all approaches. By 2020, intersection operations are projected to degrade further with multiple minutes of delay during both A.M. and P.M. peak periods. The number of collisions reported at this location was also higher than surrounding areas, likely as a result of the heavy congestion.

Alternatives Development. A variety of intersection types were considered. These alter-natives consisted of a traditional widening op-tion, which included an additional left-turn and right-turn lane on all four approaches, as well as various unconventional options. The uncon-ventional alternatives included two quadrant

roadway designs, a bowtie intersection, median u-turn, center left-turn overpass, and a grade separated roundabout. The unconventional de-signs provide the benefit of very efficient phas-ing by reducing the signal to two-phase opera-tions and rerouting left-turn movements. Using findings derived from an evaluation matrix, the Town Council decided to carry three alterna-tives forward for more detailed operational analysis and design. These included the single quadrant design, double quadrant design (use of roadways in two quadrants), and the tradi-tional widening alternative.

Alternatives Testing. Traffic capacity analy-ses implementing Synchro as well as VISSIM simulation software were used to assess the fore-casted future conditions at this location. The two quadrant roadway alternatives resulted in significantly reduced delay over the traditional widening option, despite fewer lanes being added at the intersection. The Cary Parkway at High House Road intersection, as well as sur-rounding signals at each end of the quadrant roadway, all operated at LOS B or LOS C con-ditions during both peak periods as a result of the simplified signal operations. The quadrant roadway also excelled in system-wide measures such as average speed, travel time, and fuel con-sumption. Despite the longer distances traveled, the re-routed left-turns generally had a competi-tive travel time through the quadrant roadway system as compared to the widening alternative and were considerably superior to the existing

Quadrant Roadway Design: Opportunity in Cary, NC

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Andrew Topp, PE, PTOE Martin/Alexiou/Bryson, PLLC

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intersection layout. As a result, the consultant team and Town staff selected the single quad-rant design as the recommended alternative.

Recommended Design. As currently envi-sioned, an existing roadway located in the south-ern quadrant would be utilized for the left-turn movements. Right-of-way for this roadway would need to be purchased by the Town and the road would be widened to a cross-section ranging from three to four lanes. Installation of a new signal and some widening is necessary at either end of the quadrant roadway to accom-modate the heavy left-turn volume. The central intersection would be converted to a two-phase signal with the left-turn lanes removed or con-verted to through lanes as needed for down-stream storage. Left-turning movements would be accommodated using the quadrant roadway system as illustrated in the associated figure on the previous page.

Overall, this design is projected to reduce average delay and vehicle queuing as well as re-duce and separate vehicle conflict points. With considerable improvement in operations, this design will provide additional capacity for the expected growth in traffic in the area and will help reduce traffic that is currently using sur-rounding residential streets to bypass this con-gested intersection. The existing pavement width and landscaping treatments can generally remain intact maintaining aesthetics and cur-rent pedestrian crossing distances. The existing businesses on either side of the quadrant will re-main and would generally have improved expo-sure and access to both Cary Parkway and High House Road as a result of the new left-turn ac-cess and signals.

The primary disadvantages of this type of design are the driver expectations and possible confusion associated with the re-routed left-turns. Additional advanced signage will be nec-essary to reduce this confusion and help elimi-nate any disregard for the left-turn prohibition at the central intersection. In addition, down-stream median openings are available in all four directions if a vehicle mistakenly travels to the center lane to turn left or misses the opportu-nity to turn onto the quadrant roadway.

Next Steps. This project is still in the early stages of implementation. The Town is in the process of reviewing and refining the design based on its internal analysis and from com-ments received from the initial public meeting. Further, the Town Council must vote to in-clude the project in the Town’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, before seeking Capital or public/private funding for the full design and construction.

Other Opportunities in North Carolina. In recent years, North Carolina has increasingly turned to innovative intersection and inter-change designs. It was one of the first states to begin implementing superstreet designs and has been rapidly implementing single point urban interchanges as well as roundabouts. A partial quadrant design is expected to be implemented at the US 21 and NC 73 intersection in Hunt-ersville with other quadrant design variations planned in Wilmington. As North Carolina’s existing arterial network ages and exceeds its ca-pacity and right-of-way and funding resources become more limited, there will continue to be opportunities for implementing quadrant road-ways and other unconventional intersection de-signs.

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To place an advertisement or job posting in the ASHE Interchange, e-mail the posting or advertisement to Jonathan Hefner:

jhefner@stewart-eng.com

Then fill out this form and mail with check payable to "ASHE Car-olina Triangle Section" to the fol-lowing address:

Attn: Jonathan HefnerStewart Engineering421 Fayetteville St. Suite 400Raleigh, NC 27601

Submissions will not be included until payment received.

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2009-2010 DINNER MEETING DATESSeptember 24, 2009November 19, 2009January 21, 2010March 18, 2010May 13, 2010

JOIN ASHEVisit our website to download an appli-cation form and send it in with your $60 membership fee. For more information contact Katrina Washington(kwashington@ncdot.gov).