www.dotd.la.gov

Penny Lala

Clara Foshee

Covington’s US 190 SuperstreetStatewide Traffic Engineer’s Meeting 2019

UPERSTREET

Johnathan Perry

Cristine Gowland

www.dotd.la.gov

Introduction

Penny Lala

US 190 Background Information

Covington, St. Tammany Parish

62,726 ADT in 2017

45mph, six-lane, divided urban arterial from I-12 to US 190

Business– Median width ~ 65’

Congested corridor

Large cycle lengths

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US 190 Background Information

Corridor can be divided into two

sections:– I-12 to the Abita River Bridge

• ~ 2 miles

• 7 traditional signals

• 6 U-turns with yield control

• Dense driveway spacing

• Heavy development

4

US 190 Background Information

Corridor can be divided into two

sections:– Abita River Bridge to US 190 Business

• ~ 1 mile

• 3 full-access, two-way stop controlled

intersections (80’ – 90’ wide)

• 3 U-turns with yield control

• Bordered by signalized corridor to

the north

• Driveways more spaced out

• Less development

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Previous Capacity Improvements

013-11-0026– Let in January 2004

– Project Limits: I-12 to the Abita River

Bridge

– Widen US 190 from 4-lanes to 6-lanes

– All existing full-access signals

remained

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Previous Capacity Improvements

H.000490– Let in July 2005

– Project Limits: the Abita River Bridge

to US 190 Business

– Widen US 190 from 4-lanes to 6-lanes

– All existing intersection control

remained the same

– Project constructed a 6-lane road to a

2-lane bridge

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US 190 Existing Issues

Queuing of northbound and southbound thru traffic

Some left turns over-capacity

6-lane highway to 2-lane bridge

Poor lane utilization

Cannot widen US 190 without impacting many businesses

Traffic predominantly enters or exits US 190 at the

intersections (not a lot of cross traffic)

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US 190 Superstreet Traffic Study

Headquarters asked for routes to be studied as a Superstreet

We were aware of development coming that was going to further

break the broken roadway

We proposed US 190 Covington

Study was initiated in 2010

Study made recommendations involving both sections of US 190

Wal-Mart Marketplace development was initiated during the

study, so the study incorporated the permit requirements

Study completed in 2012 by Neel-Schaffer

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US 190 Superstreet Scope Issues

Had to define limits on where the project would stop– Should have considered the signalized corridor immediately

outside the limits

Study assumed the entire corridor would be done at once– Not feasible during construction

– How do you phase in the improvements?

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US 190 Superstreet Public Meeting

Meeting held June 18th, 2014– DOTD Employees, State Officials and Public in attendance

Received feedback and redesigned for an upcoming

development– Worked with consultant to get trip numbers and include them

in analysis

– Additional intersection at Greengate added

• Dual lefts onto the proposed connection

• Developer had to widen connection to accept the dual lefts

– U-turn locations modified to accommodate

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www.dotd.la.gov

Plan Development

Clara W. Foshee

Developing The PlanWhat should be done first?

– Should the new signals be installed and activated first, or should all of the

construction work be done first?

– When should the new U-Turns be built and signalized? When should the old

ones be closed?

How will all of these signals be turned on?– 15 intersections where configuration and phasing/timings will change

– 2 signalized intersections where only the equipment will change

– How will all 17 signals, spanning across 3 miles of congested highway, be

activated?

How do we maintain access and flow during construction?– Lane closure restrictions? How tight do we make the restrictions?

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US 190 at Frontage Rd

EXISTING

What Should Be Done First?

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SUPERSTREET15

2

12

18

5

26

4

7

How Do We Turn All These Signals On?

Corridor broken into four groups for feasibility– Based on relationship of intersections to each other

• Wanted to keep U-Turns grouped with their respective origin movement

– Group size varied depending on density of signals and locations

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(7 signals – 1.07 miles)

(4 signals – 0.66 miles)(3 signals – 0.66 miles)

(3 signals – 0.24 miles)

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7 signals – 1.07 miles long

Holiday Blvd

2 Restricted-Access Intersections

3 U-Turn Only Intersections

2 Restricted-Access & U-Turn Intersections

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4 signals – 0.66 miles long

2 Restricted-Access Intersections

2 U-Turn Only Intersections

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3 signals – 0.66 miles long

2 U-Turn Only Intersections

1 Restricted-Access Intersection

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3 signals – 0.24 miles long

3 U-Turn Only Intersections

1 Unsignalized U-Turn Only Intersection

1 Signalized Restricted-Access Intersection

1 Signalized U-Turn Only Intersection

Wanted to start at North end of project and work our way South – Northern intersections provided more leeway with unexpected issues

– Starting at the North end would make it easier to adjust offsets further

down the corridor

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Desired Activation Order

(7 signals – 1.07 miles)

(4 signals – 0.66 miles)

(3 signals – 0.66 miles)(3 signals – 0.24 miles)

How Do We Maintain Access & Flow?

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Lane Closure Restrictions– Need to be very strict

– Need to be in effect at all times

One Exception – US 190 at Park Place Dr– Turn-lane closed for multiple weeks on EB approach

– Cross-connectivity available

– Best solution to undesirable situation

Adjustments During Plan Development

Holiday Blvd Geometrics– Proposed dual right-turns off side-street

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Corridor Timings – Study Recommended Timings:

• AM: 100 second cycles

• PM: 100 second cycles

– Timings in Field:• AM: 190 second cycles

• PM: 180 second cycles

– New Timings: • AM: 95 second cycles

• PM: 90 second cycles

AB

The Final Plan

23

www.dotd.la.gov

Implementation Issues

Johnathan Perry, P.E.

Issues Discovered During Preconstruction

What order would the contractor activate signals?

When would detection be installed?

There was confusion when ordering the total quantities for

the project– TSIs were provided for two existing intersections that were not fully

accounted for in the Final Plans

– Only the new signal equipment quantities were added to plans for

these intersections (controllers, pods, fiber, etc.)

Travel time studies needed before construction started

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Direction Range (min.) Avg. (min.)

Period Pre-Construction (4/2018)

AMNB 7-15 10.9

SB 5-15 10.8

PMNB 12-32 17.8

SB 7-19 14.4

During Construction (3/2019)

AMNB - -

SB - -

PMNB 10.5-13.5 12.1

SB 10-13 11.5

Travel Time Studies

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v

v

v

Issues Discovered During Construction

Adjacent Signalized Corridors

Signal Issues– Timings

– Controllers

– Cabinet Access

– Equipment Placement

– Signal Head Visibility

Sequence of Construction Issues

Signage Issues

Striping Issues

Other Issues

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Adjacent Corridor Issues

Existing signalized corridors

adjacent to project– Signal system north of the bridge

(3 full-access)

– Signal system coordinated with

superstreet (4 full-access and 2

restricted-access)

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Signal Issues - Timings

District was responsible for adjustment of signals – Green time adjustments

– Offset coordination (build as we go instead of backtracking later)

District had to time the existing corridor to the north to

match Superstreet timings before activation

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Signal Issues - Controllers

Controller clocks drifting, AKA “Dirty Power”

Signals did not force off at the correct time – what can we do?– Re-time the entire corridor?

– Adjust the NTCIP Yield Value in all controllers?• Trial-and-Error method to get the internal Easy-Calcs to match the Force-Offs

on the TSIs

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Signal Issues – Cabinet Access

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Signal Issue – Equipment Placement

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Signal Issues – Head Visibility

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Sequence of Construction Issues

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Signal work performed before earth work– Lead to damaged equipment

Signage Issues - Lack of Adequate Signage

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Signage Issues – Conflicting Information

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Striping Issues – Stop Bar Placement

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Striping Issues - Lane Utilization

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Non-Uniform Pavement– 3 different pavements on

one approach

Misleading Traffic Control

Devices– Cones give impression

that inside lane is closed

Lack of Striping– No temporary striping to

guide motorists

Striping Issues - Lane Utilization

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Other Issues - Environmental Impacts

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Permitted Movements– Rights-In/Thrus

– Lefts-In/Rights-Out

Illegal Movements– NB & SB U-Turns from

Left-Turn Lanes

Observations at one

intersection:– 2 Hour PM Period

– 52 NB Illegal U-Turns

– 14 SB Illegal U-Turns

Other Issues – Illegal Movements

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Other Issues – Illegal Movements

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Local News Review

www.dotd.la.gov

Lessons Learned

Cristine Gowland, P.E.

Next Steps and Conclusions

Signal Coordination

Ongoing Public Outreach

Public Opinion

Measures of Success

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Signal Coordination

Coordination of both

northbound and southbound

traffic simultaneously

Not as efficient as two, one-way

facilities

Controlling full access signal on

north side

Independent coordination of

northbound and southbound

traffic

Too many cabinets to split (17

now versus 29 individual)

Need to try independent rings in

same controller

Pattern Offsets menu allows for

different offsets to be assigned

to each ring

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Current: Future (Eventually):

Ongoing Public Outreach

MyDOTD notifications issued

Public Meeting was removed from Webpage and had to be re-added

Public Information Group created a graphic of the corridor and

posted it

Numerous phone call and email questions and complaints

Troop L wanted to meet with local businesses on corridor for a

“Safety Meeting”

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Local Business Outreach - Troop L

DOTD contacted State Police Troop L concerning enforcement of

illegal U-turns

Troop wanted to perform outreach to local businesses before heavy

enforcement

Troop proposed a joint effort with DOTD

– The Troop would talk about safety

– DOTD would speak about Superstreet

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Local Business Outreach - Troop L

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The presentation has been given to two separate groups at Cantium

and one large group at Chevron

Most people in the room where there because they wanted to be. . .

Reached 300 corridor drivers so far

Old Five-Phased Signal Timing

180-Second (3-Minute)

Signal Cycles

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New Two-Phased Signal Timing

90-Second (1.5-Minute)

Signal Cycles

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Why Are U-Turns Not Allowed Here?

CRASH

CRASH

Potential crashes with right

turners

Delays for right turners because

side street has to brake to avoid

crashes

Delays for left turns because

they have to slow down to make

the U-turn movement

U-turns have separate,

designated areas

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Public Opinion - Facebook

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Public Opinion - Resolution

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Measures of Success

Follow-up travel time studies planned

Before/after crash analysis planned (longterm)

Implementation of adjacent projects

–I-12 widening to south

–US 190 widening of Bogue Falaya Bridge to north

Public Opinion (decline of negative feedback)

One more presentation to discuss results ~ 2024?

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www.dotd.la.gov

Questions?