Exclusive Facilities for Trucks in Florida: An Investigation of the

Potential for Reserved Truck Lanes and Truckways on the

State Highway System

International Forum on Traffic Records and Highway Information Systems

Janet L. Davis

July 16, 2003

Background

• Research sponsored by the FDOT Systems Planning Office

• Work began in September 2000

• Final Report published in June 2002

Study Purpose

• Evaluate the potential for reserved truck lanes and truckways

• Determine how commercial vehicles have been managed in other states

• Examine the current and future potential for reserved truck lanes and truckways on the State Highway System (SHS)

• Recommend a methodology to assist FDOT, MPOs and local governments to evaluate this potential solution

Study Design

• Research previous studies and applications

• Conduct site visits, gather data on decision drivers

• Develop criteria for Florida – test on SHS

• Examine operational considerations

• Recommend methodology

Some Quick Statistics

• 30% of the value and 56% of tonnage is shipped within 50 miles (FHWA)

• 72% of the value shipped within US is by truck (TRIP)

• Trucking expected to grow by 89% in southern states by 2020 (TRIP)

• From 1990 to 1999 urban truck traffic increased by 48.7% - increase in other traffic was 26.9%

• Rail freight is projected to lose market share to truck – a 15% decline is projected over the next 20 years (Texas Public Policy Foundation)

The concept of separate lanes for trucks is not new.

The Oakland Bay Bridge originally opened in this

configuration in the 1930’s

National Case Studies• Completed site visits to:

– New Orleans, Louisiana

– Laredo, Texas

– Newark, New Jersey

– Boston, Massachusetts

• No truly exclusive, long-range facilities for trucks currently exist – all sites are short-range, special use facilities

• Purpose is to remove trucks from

neighborhoods, rebuild city streets

• Coincided with port improvements

• 3 years in service

• Construction cost more than $70 million

• Located at the Port of New Orleans

• Access limited to approved port traffic

Tchoupitoulas Roadway(Clarence Henry Truckway)

Tchoupitoulas Roadway

World Trade Bridge

• Built to provide safety and congestion relief- Laredo

• Cost: $100 million

• Commercial use only (20k/day max)

• Includes truck-specific toll booths

• Operates 8am - midnight

• Direct connection to I-35 under construction

World Trade Bridge

NJ Portway Project

• Incorporates a systems approach – a series of interconnected but stand-alone projects

• Purpose is to provide congestion relief, safety, operations

• Some segments are truck-only

• Doremus Ave. – 1st phase

• Includes widening, bridge replacement, improvements to drainage

NJ Portway Project

New Jersey Turnpike

• Only “dual-dual” roadway in US

• 33-mile barrier-separated

segment

• Trucks restricted from inside lanes,

no restrictions on cars

• Trucks may use inner lanes in

emergency situations

Boston Haul Road

• Central artery / tunnel project

• 1.5 miles

• Converted railroad ROW:

4 tracks = 1 track, 2 lanes

• Less than AASHTO standards

• Some discussion to convert to

mixed use traffic

Boston Haul Road

Methodology for Florida Site Selection

• Based on need to screen SHS

• GIS approach taken

• Data on variables obtained

• ESRI Spatial Analyst 2 employed

• Suitability model developed

• Correlation of variables to truckways not possible

(none exist) - based on research-selected

variables

Methodology for Florida Site Selection

• Over 20 scenarios run

• Three different models emerged

Criteria used included:

• Truck volume

• Truck crashes (number)

• Percent truck traffic

• Proximity to trailer-on-flat-car, seaport, airportand truck terminal

• Level of Service

Truck Volume Suitability

Truck Volume Suitability Scales

020

7590 95 100

020406080

100120

Truck VolumeAverage Annual Daily Traffic

Su

itab

ility

Sca

le

Suitability

Percentile Score

99 9

95 8

90 5

75 3

<50 1

Percent of Trucks Suitability

Truck Percent Suitability Scales

020

7590 95 100

020406080

100120

Less

than

6%

6% -

10%

11%

- 16%

17%

- 21

%

21%

- 32

%

33%

- 75

%

Percent of Truck Traffic

Su

itab

ility

Sca

le

Suitability

Percentile Score

99 9

95 8

90 7

75 5

<50 1

Truck Crash Suitability

Truck Crash Suitability Scales

020

4060

80100

020406080

100120

Total Truck Crashes

Su

itab

ility

Sca

le

Suitability

1998 and 1999 totals

Percentile

Score

90 9

75 7

50 2

<50 1

TOFC Suitability

Trailer on flat car facilities

From BTS/CUTR previous studies

Proximity in Miles

Score

3 9

5 7

7 5

Level of Service Suitability

Based on review of Highway Capacity Manual and discussions with FDOT

LOS Score

F 9

E 5

D 3

C 2

A &B 1

Truck Terminal Suitability

Truck terminals from BTS/CUTR previous work

on freight network

Proximity in Miles

Score

1 9

3 7

5 5

Airport Suitability

• Florida’s major airports based on enplaned tons of freight (2000)

• Cluster analysis to establish relativity

• Score established

Airport SuitabilityAirports Freight Buffer

Score for Model

  Miami International 501,222.68 1.00 highest 0.636174634 9

  Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Intl 99,912.78 1.00 0.126813847 5  Orlando International 96,053.83 1.00 0.121915892 5

  Tampa International 36,421.94 1.00 0.046228384 3  Jacksonville International 24,502.69 1.00 0.031099929 3

  Palm Beach International 15,198.09 1.00 0.019290107 2  St. Petersburg/Clearwater Intl 9,406.17 1.00 0.011938739 2

  Southwest 4,172.90 1.00 5 highest 0.005296435 1

  Pensacola Regional 548.66 1.00 0.000696384 Restricted  Craig Municipal 135.36 1.00 0.000171805 Restricted  Jacksonville NAS 128.33 1.00 0.000162882 Restricted  Page Field 61.05 1.00 7.74874E-05 Restricted  Eglin AFB 60.99 1.00 7.74113E-05 Restricted  Opa Locka 43.68 1.00 5.54406E-05 Restricted  Miami Public SPB 0.49 1.00 6.2193E-07 Restricted

Ranking-Weight

third highest

fourth highest

second highest

6 highest

Seaport Suitability

• Florida’s major seaports based on national ranking and value of cargo

• Cluster analysis to establish relativity

• Score established

Seaport SuitabilityPorts by Cargo Value of Foreign Trade, U.S. dollars (000s)

National Rank Port Total Buffer Ranking-WeightScore for

Model

12 Miami 15,435,987 1 highest 9

14 Everglades 10,431,949 1 815 Jacksonville 9,845,875 1 8

35 Tampa 2,680,023 1 445 West Palm Beach 1,480,027 1 4

61 Port Canaveral 595,496 1 fourth highest 3

70 Fernandina Beach 363,815 1 277 Port Manatee 265,848 1 2

78 Panama City 264,934 1 187 Pensacola 166,870 1 1

Total 10

second highest

third highest

5 highest

6 highest

Suitability Models – Within Cities, Between Cities & Regional

• Within Cities - short haul

Attempts to screen for “truck hotspots” that may be restricting access to freight facilities or impeding traffic flows

• Within Cities - short haul

Attempts to screen for “truck hotspots” that may be restricting access to freight facilities or impeding traffic flows

• Between Cities – long haul

Screens for highest total demand for truck capacity and highway level of service

• Between Cities – long haul

Screens for highest total demand for truck capacity and highway level of service

• Regional – medium haul

Weighs truck volume, intermodal proximity,

level of service and % trucks

• Regional – medium haul

Weighs truck volume, intermodal proximity,

level of service and % trucks

“Between Cities” Model

5%

15%

5%

75%

“Within Cities” Model

10%

30%

9%

9%

8%

9%

5%

20%

Regional Model

10%

50%

7%

6%

6%

6%

5%

10%

Suitability Model Results

• Six “Between Cities” highways emerged

• Three ‘Within Cities” corridors were identified

• Most of Florida’s Interstates have high scores

I 95

I 4

I 75

I 10

“Between Cities” Corridors

Route Limits

I – 95 Miami to Titusville

I – 95 Daytona to Jacksonville

I – 75 Naples to Ft. Myers

I – 4 Tampa to Orlando

I – 75 Venice to Georgia

I – 10 Lake City to Jacksonville

“Between Cities” Outcomes

Factor

Miami –

Titusville

Daytona –

Jacksonville

Naples –

Ft. Myers

Tampa –

Daytona

Venice –

Georgia

Lake City –

Jacksonville

Highest Score 9 7-8 8 9 8 9

AADT High 303,000 125,000 77,000 179,000 111,000 157,500

AADT Low 22,500 22,500 27,000 26,500 25,000 17,300

Truck % High 21%

(5,674)

25%

(7-9,000)

19%

(5,700)

21%

(11,000)

41%

(10,500)

40%

(10,000)

Truck % Low 6%

(12,650)

4%

(4,779)

12%

(8,000)

2%

(1,600)

10%

(7,700)

2%

(3,000)

Truck Volume High 21,650 11,000 8,800 22,000 14,700 10,800

Truck Volume Low 2,133 4,218 3,600 1,700 6,200 1,400

Miami to Titusville

Opportunities

• Joint use of Florida’s Turnpike

• Off-peak HOV for trucks only

• Limited median available – some opportunity northern sections of corridor

Daytona to Jacksonville

Opportunities

• Only potential is to “take a lane”

• Opening of east-side bypass may allow consideration of marking existing I-295 lanes as truck-only

• Median availability in non-urban sections

Naples to Ft. Myers

Opportunities

• Currently programmed FDOT widening will lower “suitability score” due to increased level of service

• Median will be taken by highway widening

• Limited opportunities found

Tampa to DaytonaOpportunities

• Combine exclusive truck use in evaluation of High Occupancy Toll Lanes in Orlando area

• Consider exclusive port access in I-4/Crosstown Expressway project

• Examine high speed rail corridor acquisition as a “total transportation corridor”

Venice to Florida – Georgia State LineOpportunities

• High truck percentage and volume seem to warrant exclusivity

• Available median width for long stretches of I-75

• One additional lane in each direction on the northern sections will exhaust ROW

Lake City to Jacksonville

Opportunities

• Median width of >60 feet available for entire corridor

• Few highway overpasses – makes an exclusive median facility possible

• Rough cost for 60 miles = $549 million

• Part of national I-10 Freight Initiative

“Within Cities”Sites

City Limits

Miami Port to Airport area

Jacksonville I-95 bypass (I-295)

Tampa Port to I-275 / I-4

Miami

Opportunities

• East-west access very constrained

• No available median apparent

• Elevated east-west facility along one of the 2 toll facilities could allow exclusive truck lanes on the “lower roadway”

Tampa

Opportunities

• No available ROW identified

• No direct access to Port from interstate sends trucks along several different routes

• Creating direct and exclusive access to port as part of I-4 / Crosstown Expwy project may help

Jacksonville

Opportunities

• Some issues addressed in “Between Cities Model”

• Need seems to be on local street system – model was run on only SHS

• Recent upgrading of northern port access appears very effective

Conclusions

• Opportunities exist in Florida for exclusive facilities constructed in existing rights of way

• Additional data is required to determine their cost effectiveness

• Adding new “express lanes” for cars-only, freeing up capacity for trucks may be more publicly acceptable

• An investigation of abandoned rail rights of way did not yield any opportunities to service long-haul truck movement

Conclusions

• Potential for dealing with the increasing demand for truck mobility may be better dealt with on a systems level

• Forecast data would be more appropriate as input to the GIS screening tool

• Routine updates of major truck-generating facilities are needed

• Operational changes should be attempted before capital intensive solutions are implemented