I-85 corridor analysis / prepared for Georgia Department of Transportation ; prepared by PBS&J

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

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II1II

List of Figures

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List of Tables

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1 Background

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2 Model Building 2.1 TAZ,:s : 2.2 Highway Network

3 Base Year (1998) Travel Patterns

3.1 Origin-Destination Survey

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3.1.1 Survey Design and Implementation

3.1.2 Survey Expansion

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3.1.3 Trip Table

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3.1.4 Vehicle Occupancy

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3.2 Travel Patterns

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4 Corridor Growth

4.1 Current Population and Employment

4.2 Population Forecast.

4.3 External Traffic Trends

4.4 US129 Corridor (Athens to Gainesville)

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4.4.1 Commercial

4.4.2 Residential.

5 Future Year (2025).Travel Patterns

5.1 Estimated Traffic Growth

5.2 Travel Patterns

5.2.1 Trip-Type

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5.2.2 Independent Utility

5.2.3 Logical Termini

2-1 2-1 2-3
3-1 3-1 3-1 3-4 3,.8
3~9
3-12
4-1 4-2 4-2 4-2 4-6 4-7 . , 4-9
5-1 5-1 5-1 5-1 5-4 5-6

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6 Accident Analysis 6.1 Corridor Level Analysis

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6.2 Segment Level Analysis Appendix

6-1 6-1 6-3 A-I
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List of Figures

Figure 1-1 Study Area

1-2

Figure 2-1 TAZ Boundaries

2-2

Figure 2-2 Highway Network

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2-4

Figure 3-1 Survey Locations

3-2

Figure 3-2 1998 General Travel Patterns By Trip Type

3-13

Figure 3-3 1.998 Distribution of Traffic By Trip Type

3-15

Figure 4-1 Base Socioeconomic Data By County

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4-3

Figure 4-2 1998 - 2025 Population Forecasts

4-4

Figure 4-3 . US 129 Corridor Development

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Figure 4-4 Residential Building Permits (1998-2000) Jackson County

4-10

Figure 4-5 Residential Building Permits (1996-1998) Hall County

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Figure 5-1 1998-2025 Daily Traffic Volumes

5-2

Figure 5-2 Future Year (2025) General Travel Patterns

5-3

Figure 5-3 2025 Distribution of Traffic By Trip Type

5-5

Figure 6-1 Comparative Accident Rates - Fatals

6-2

Figure 6-2 Comparative Accident Rates - Totals

6-2

Figure 6-3 Accident Type Distribution (I-85 Corridor)

6-4 .

Figure 6-4 Accident Type Distribution 1-75 (4-Lane Tifton to Valdosta)

6-5

Figure 6-5 Accident Rates By Segment - Fatals

6-6

Figure 6-6 Accident Rates By Segment - Totals

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6-6

Figure 6-7 Accident Type Distributions For Selected 1-85 Segments

6-8

Figure Al Ramp Traffic Control-Plan

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A-2

Figure A2 Mainline Traffic Control Plan

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A-3

Figure A3 1998 Daily Traffic Profile and Truck Percents

A-4

Figure A4 2025 Daily Traffic Projections and Truck Percents

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A-5

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List of Tables

Table 2-1 Census Places Inside Study Area

2-1

Table 3-1 Survey Design

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3-3

Table 3-2 Origin-Destination survey Profile

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3-5

Table 3-3 Expansion Factors

3-6

Table 3-4 Trip Table Estimator Results

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Table 3-5

Highest Volume Origin-Destination Pairs (Base Year 1998)

By Major Travel Movement Type

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3-8

Table 3-6 Vehicle OccupancyBy Trip Type

3-10

Table 3-7 Vehicle Occupancy By Trip Purpose

3-11

Table 4-1 External Roadway Traffic Trends

4-5

Table 4-2 US129 Corridor Development By Site

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4-9

Table A-I Estimated Accident Rates On 1-85 By Freeway Segment (1995-1998)

A-6

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I 1 Background

I The Georgia Department of Transportation is considering a lane widening improvement project

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on 1-85 between State Route 211 in Barrow County and the South Carolina border. Presently, the Department anticipates the need to widen 1-85 from two lanes in each direction to a

minimum of three lanes in both directions over the entire length of the corridor. In total, this

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portion ofI-85 is approximately 50 miles long. The study area is depicted in Figure 1-1. Due to the length of the corridor and the overall magnitude of the full-scale project, the Department

of Transportation would like to explore the possibility of making staged improvements within

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the corridor until the full-scale project is completed.

This project, called the "1-85 Corridor Analysis", was performed so that the Department of

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Transportation could ascertain a list of potential freeway sections located between the South Carolina border and State Route 211 having logical termini and independent utility. In this case,

independent utility means that the designated section of 1-85 would need to serve a particular

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traffic movement or set of travel movements that either begin and/or terminate inside the corridor. As such, the termini of possible improvement sections were evaluated in terms of the

travel markets they would serve as well as for their ability to accommodate future growth and

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travel patterns.

A traditional type of travel modeling procedure was used to identify future year travel patterns.

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The study consisted of the following analysis procedures: (1) building the framework for a travel model; (2) identifying the travel patterns of motorists currently using 1-85; (3) examining

future projections of population in the study area; and (4) developing a matrix of future year

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(2025) travel patterns. This report describes how the current and future travel patterns were developed as well as information pertaining to accident experience on 1-85 in accordance with

the outline shown below.

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Section 2 - Model Building;

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Section 3 - Base Year (1998) Travel Patterns;



Section 4 - Population and Employement Forecasts;



Section 5 - Future Year (2025) Travel Patterns; and

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Section 6 Accident Analysis.

Also included in Section 5 of the report is an explanation of how future travel patterns would be

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related to the concept of "independent utility" in developing the purpose and need for a major transportation improvement in the 1-85 corridor.

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Notte ScaJe

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Legend:
Study Area

Study Area
Figure 1-1

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II 2 Model Building

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This particular corridor of 1-85 is situated between the Atlanta, Georgia and Anderson-

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Greenville, South Carolina metropolitan areas. A predominantly rural area, such as this, presents a deterrent to performing this type of study. While there are travel demand models available to

plan for transportation improvements in metropolitan areas, they are not readily available in rural

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areas. Recognizing this problem, a simple travel demand model based on observed origins and destinations was built specifically for this study.

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The basic framework for the 1-85 Corridor Analysis travel model IS described below. Essentially, there are two key elements in a travel demand model: (1) A highway network

containing available paths; and (2) A matrix of trips that could be assigned or loaded onto the

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highway network. A picture illustrating the level-of-geography that was used to locate origins and destinations in the trip matrix is shown on the next page. In this context, the geographic

boundaries used to place trip origins and trip destinations are referred to as Traffic 'Analysis

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Zones (TAZ's). Later in this section, the highway network is described.

2.1 TAZ's

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This is the fundamental level-of-geography used to classify trip origins and destinations in a
model matrix of trips. The same TAZ structure was used to analyze future year (2025) travel as was used for base year (1998) travel patterns.. The TAZ's used in this study were drawn to

approximate the minor civil division (MCD) level-of-geography that was used in the United

States Census Bureau's 1990 Journey-To-Work survey database. The TAZ system is illustrated

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in Figure 2-1.

There are three types ofTAZ's. The typical TAZ, whose boundaries are displayed in Figure 2-1,

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lies inside the study area and is assigned an integer label between 26 and 67. Some of the census places inside the study area and their corresponding TAZ number are listed in the table

below.

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Table 2-1 Census Places Inside Study Area

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Census Place TAZ

Auburn

26

Winder

27

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Jefferson

31

Commerce 32

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Homer

40

Gainesville 45

Royston

58

~.

Hartwell

55

Carnesville 60

Lavonia

61

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Toccoa

67

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2-1

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LUMPKIN

Notto 8caIe

1-85 Corridor Analysis

/ Legend:

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L J Study Area

WILKE - - - - - Traffic Analysis Zone
@ Traffic Analysis Zone Number

Traffic Analysis Zones
Figure 2-1-

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TAZ's numbered 2-13 and i5-25 are not shown in Figure 2-1. These are special zones corresponding to gas stations, restaurants, motels and shops located in the immediate vicinity around an interchange. They allow for modeling "through trips" that use interchanges inside the corridor for refueling, refreshments or lodging. There are two special zone numbers assigned to each interchange; one for each side of 1-85. For example, at the State Route 53 interchange in Braselton the special zone on the east side of the freeway is numbered 3 and on the west of 1-85 it is numbered 24.
External stations are yet a third type of zone. These are shown in Figure 2-1 as numbers 1, 14 . and 68-92. The two most prominent external stations in this study were numbers 1 and 14. External station number 1 corresponds to trips coming out or going into the Atlanta metropolitan area while station 14 represents trips into and out of South Carolina. These zones provide a means for external trips (origin and/or destination outside the study area) to exit and/or enter the area and find their best path to 1-85.
2.2 Highway Network
The network used to determine minimum time paths and travel patterns inside the 1-85 corridor is depicted in Figure 2-2. Along with 1-85, roadways depicted with green lines correspond to highway facilities that were given lengths, average travel speeds and travel time attributes to simulate the roadway system in the region. Essentially, the network coverage included the state highway system of roads. A few non-state routes providing connectivity near the interstate, like Old Pendergrass Road outside of Jefferson in Jackson County, were added to the network and some of the state highways farther away from the interstate were excluded. A list of highway facilities interchanging with 1-85 inside the study area is presented below:
1. State Route 211; 2. State Route 53; 3. US 129/State Route 11; 4. State Route 82; 5. State Route 98; 6.. US 441/State Route 15; 7. State Route 63; 8. State Route 51; 9. State Route 320; 10. State Route 106; 11. State Route 17; and 12. State Route 77.
All interchanges within the corridor provide full access. Each of these highway facilities providing connectivity between 1-85 and places inside the study area would be potential termini for major construction projects.
2-3

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Not to. Scale

1-85 Corridor Analysis

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Legend:

WILKE

Study Area

Roads Included In Network

Highway Network
Figure 2~

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3 Year (1998) Travel Patterns

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Travel pattern information obtained from an origin-destination survey of motorists was the

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foremost source of data utilized in developing the trip matrix or "trip table" of existing trips

using 1-85 in the study area. The survey was not designed to catch all trips in the corridor, but it

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was crafted to identify as many significant travel movements as possible. Two other valuable sources of information were used in developing the base year trip table: (1) A 1998 profile of daily traffic volumes on 1-85 and its exit and entrance ramps; and (2) An origin-destination survey conducted in 1994 by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC).

While origin-destination survey information and the daily traffic profile were important elements

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in developing a trip table of existing trips, a computer program called a Trip Table Estimator (TTE) was employed to pull all of the information together. The TIE contains a maximum

liklihood algorithm that adjusts (or fits) a partial trip table to match observed traffic counts. The

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process that was used to develop a full, base year trip table of 1-85 trips is explained in the remainder of this section.

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3.1 Origin-Destination Survey

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During the first week of March, motorists were interviewed at five sites to ascertain where they .began and where they would end their current trip. In addition to the five sites surveyed during

this study, another origin-destination survey that was conducted on 1-85 south of State Route

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211 in Barrow County was used as well. This particular survey was done in the fall of 1994 by the ARC as part of its own model development process. Locations of the sites that were

surveyed as part of this study and the ARC's survey site are displayed in Figure 3-1. The six

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specific locations are listed below along with the direction of travel that was surveyed.

1. Northbound 1-85 motorists in Barrow County south of State Route 211 (by

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the Atlanta Regional Commission in 1994). 2. Southbound 1-85 motorists in Franklin County' at the Georgia Welcome

Center between State Route 77 and State Route 17.

3. Northbound motorists exiting 1-85 to US441 in Banks County.

4. Southbound motorists exiting 1-85 to US441 in Banks County.

5. Northbound motorists exiting 1-85 to US129 in Jackson County.

6. Southbound motorists exiting 1-85 to US129 in Jackson County.

3.1.1

Survey Design and Implementation - This section focuses on the five locations that were surveyed during this study. A summary of the origin-destination survey done by the ARC in 1994 and 1995 for their external trip model is available in a technical report that was prepared for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

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Study Area 1994 ARC Survey Station 1999 GADOT Survey Station

Survey Locations
Figure 3-1

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At the onset of the study, the survey sample was to be drawn from the five sites was designed to interview a total of 3,234 motorists as shown in Table 3-1 below. In planning

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the survey it is important to distinguish how many useable trip samples are desired to develop travel patterns, from, the number of motorists surveyed. Typically, it is

necessary to over-sample during the survey interviews to account for bad data and

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individuals who indicate their reluctance to participate in the survey.

Table 3-1

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Sample Design

Direc-

Survey

11

tional

~ample

1998 Direction Size(1)

Number of Motorists

~

Site
1-85 mainline
1-.

AADT of Travel

-

-

17,000
f--

southbound
1---

(10%) Surveyed(2)

1,700
-

.1,870

iJS441/Ga.15

~

Exit ramp fro~ so~~ --4-,0-0-0-:-n-o-r-th--b-o-u-n,d-- --

400

440

1

-E-xi-t

-ra-m-p-f-ro-m-

-n-or-th-1

-

3,400
------

--s---o-u--th_-b._o-u--n-_d-.

1-

----

340

374

.~

-U-S1-2-9/-G-a.-11_ . _ - - ._._-1---_._--- ----..

_ Exi!!amp from south

4,000 northbound
..- - - - - - , -f----'

400

440

Exit ramp from north 1,000 southbound

100

110

Totals

29,400

-NA-

2,940

3,234

(1) Number of trip samples desired from survey. (2) Number of motorists needed to interview in order to achieve the desired
sample.

The survey was designed to intercept approximately 10% of the daily motorists that were expected to pass through each station. The sampling procedure included interviewing both passenger cars and trucks. Passenger car drivers and truck drivers were surveyed in the same proportion in which they usually occur on weekdays, during daylight hours.

Survey preparation involved the following activities: making survey forms to record interview data; drawing traffic control plans; coordinating with the Department of Transportation's District 1 office; and securing participation of the Sherriff's Department in the counties where the surveys were scheduled. Although there were five survey locations, only two traffic control plans were drawn. One traffic control plan, not involving any lane closures, was done for the four exit ramp sites. A second traffic control layout, which included a lane closure on the mainline of 1-85, was drawn for the southbound 1-85 mainline survey location. Both of these drawings are included in the Appendix to this report. Figures A 1 and A2 depict traffic control plans that were designed for the ramp sites and the mainline site, respectively.

Conduct of the origin-destination survey was a qualified success. The reason for conducting the survey was to identify all of the major travel movements using 1-85 in the

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study area, as well as their relative sizes (volumes). It appears the survey accomplished that, at least for the major travel movements. Moreover, surveying activities at any of the five stations did not produce any motor vehicle accidents or safety-related problems.

Profiles of survey results are presented by interview station in Table 3-2. A total of 2,500 useable interviews were obtained from motorists at the five stations surveyed during this study. Another 585 good samples came from the Station 1 survey that was done by the Atlanta Regional Commission in 1994. The 2,500 useable surveys actually collected in the field amounted to 85% of the design target of 2,940' sample trips. The sampling of trucks was good. Nearly 20% of the sample, 487 vehicles, were medium or heavy duty trucks. Most of the survey proceeded according to plan. There were, however, two minor setbacks. First, surveying was delayed until the afternoon at the southbound exit. ramp to US 129 (Station 6) because a contractor needed to do some shoulder paving near the interview station. Second, rainy weather delayed commencement of the survey on southbound 1-85 south of State Route 77 (Station 2). Based on a review of the origindestination records that were collected during the survey, all of the major travel movements and their relative volumes were identified from the 2,500 samples that were collected.

Several important travel pattern characteristics became evident from summarizing the

sample data. These findings are listed below.

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Traffic traveling all the way through (through-traffic) the study area on 1-85 amounted to slightly less than 50% of the traffic on 1-85 in Barrow County.

At the northern end, through-traffic on 1-85 accounted for over 70% of the travel in .Franklin County.

At the US 441 survey stations, located near the center of the study area, between 30

and 40 percent of the ramp traffic was through-traffic exiting the freeway for

refueling, dining or stretching purposes.

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At the US 129 survey stations, located in the south central portion of the study area, only 17 to 23 percent of the ramp traffic was through-traffic exiting the freeway for refueling, dining or stretching purposes.

Of the remaining ramp traffic, motorists having origins and destinations 'inside of the study area comprised the majority of travel at the northbound US 441 exit and southbound US 129 exit ramps.

While the towns of Braselton, Commerce, Jefferson, Lavonia, Homer and Carnesville are obvious destinations for motorists traveling in the 1-85 corridor, so are the Winder, Gainesville, Athens and Toccoa areas which lie outside the immediate 1-85 corridor.

3.1.2 - Survey Expansion - Sample trips from the survey were weighted or expanded so that the travel patterns would reflect average weekday conditions observed at the survey stations. Included in the weighting process was the addition of the transposed survey trip matrix to the original survey trip matrix. This technique takes advantage of the property

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Table 3-2 Origin-Destination Survey Profile

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Date:

Barrow County November 12, 1994

One-way Daily Traffic: 15,579 Vehicles Per Day

Sample Slze:

585 Vehicles

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Day-of-Week: Wednesday

Passenger Cars:

576

Survey Hours: 8:00 AM. - 5:00 P.M.

Trucks:

9

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Sample %

of Daily Traffic:

4%

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Franklin County

One-way Daily Traffic: 18,300 Vehicles Per Day

Date:

March 3, 1999

Sample Size:

867 Vehicles

Day-of-Week: Wednesday

Passenger Cars:

613

Survey Hours: 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Trucks:

254

Sample %

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of Daily Traffic:

5%

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Date:

Banks County March 2, 1999

One-way Daily Traffic: 3,869 Vehicles Per Day

Sample Size:

501 Vehicles

Day-of-Week: Tuesday

Passenger Cars:

433

Survey Hours: 7:00 AM. - 6:00 P.M.

Trucks:

68

Sample %

of Daily Traffic:

13%

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Banks County

One-way Daily Traffic: 2,682 Vehicles Per Day

Date:

March 2, 1999

Sample Size:

449 Vehicles

. Day-of-Week: Tuesday

Passenger Cars:

407

Survey Hours: 7:00 AM. - 6:00 P.M.

Trucks:

42

Jackson County

Sample %

of Daily Traffic:

- 17%

One-way Daily Traffic: 2,379 Vehicles Per Day

Date:

March 1,1999

Sample Size:

504 Vehicles

Day-of-Week: Monday

Passenger Cars:

412

II

Survey Hours: 8:00 AM. - 6:00 P.M.

Trucks: Sample %

92

of Daily Traffic:

21%

Jackson County

One-way Daily Traffic: 2,026 Vehicles Per Day

Date:

March 1, 1999

Sample Size:

179

Day-of-Week: Monday

Passenger Cars:

148

Survey Hours: 1:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

Trucks:

31

Sample %

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of Daily Traffic:

9%



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that most trips observed traveling from zone i to zone j will make a return trip that same day from zone j to zone i. This step simply created two-way travel patterns from the survey trip data which represented one direction of travel only. Since the survey station coverage was not sufficient to intercept all travel movements in the 1-85 corridor, the survey trip table needed to be augmented in addition to the expansion.
Survey trips were expanded to be consistent with the total population of passenger cars and trucks at each survey station. A list of expansion factors by vehicle type for each of the six survey stations is presented in Table 3-3 below. Traffic patterns on 1-85 segments and ramps that were not surveyed, however, were still not fully represented in the trip table.
Table 3-3 Expansion Factors

Survey Station

Passenger Cars Sample Total Expansion
Size Population Factors

Trucks
Sample Total Expansion Size1 Population Factors

._-----1 -_. 577 12,314

2
-

613 12,-94-0 '---------.-.-.

3

433

3,168

21.34 21.11
7.32

330 3,265

254 5,360

68

701

9.89 21.10 10.31

-----_.--4-

407 c-._ _2_ ,13_ 9 - - - - 5-.2-6

42

543

12.93

-_ 5 412 2,078 5.04 -------.._------- ---"----_.-

._--"_.-.- ..._~

_._---_._._-_._~

----

92

301

3.27

6

148

1,626

10.99

31

400

12.90

(1) The sample of truck trips at Station NO.1 was augmented prior to expansion.

For passenger cars, expansion factors range from a low of 5.04 at Station 5 to a high of 21.34 at Station 1. The strategy going into the survey was to expand survey trips with factors around 10.0. The Station 5 expansion factor for passenger cars is twice as low as our target and the factor for Station 1 is twice as high as originally anticipated in the study design. A similar range of expansion factors were applied to truck trip records. Truck trips were weighted anywhere between 3.27 (Station 5) and 21.10 (Station 2). A number of pseudo survey trips were added to the Station 1 observations to increase the
sample size from 9. The origins and destinations of the truck trips added to Station 1
were consistent with the patterns observed in the opposite direction coming from South Carolina toward the Atlanta metropolitan area. This augmentation was also based on interviews with shipping managers at several of the large manufacturers in thp ('i"\rr;,-l,w

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To account for the 1-85 travel patterns that were left unaccounted by the ongmdestination survey, a relatively small number of trips were added to the expanded trip table. Based on the observed counts of traffic that were taken on freeway ramps in 1998, it is known that these trips exist. It is not possible, however, to determine exactly which TAZ-Ievel origin-destination pairs use that particular link. For example, it is known that approximately 400 daily trips use the State Route 63 ramps to and from the north. There were absolutely no survey trips, however, that used those ramps. Therefore, trips were added to the trip table whose origin TAZ and destination TAZ~ would lead them onto a highway path using the State Route 63 ramps. This procedure of adding trips to the expanded, survey trip table is referred to as the trip augmentation process.
There was one more step in the expansion process. This step made use of a travel model tool, called the Trip Table Estimator (ITE) computer program. The TTE calculated a final, base year 1998 trip table of daily trips using the 1-85 daily traffic count profile and . the expanded survey trip table as its basis. Validation results of the survey expansion and ITE process are reported in Table 3-4 by travel direction. A profile of daily, 1998 traffic volumes are shown on a schematic map in the Appendix as Table A-3.
Table 3-4 Trip Table Estimator Results

NORTHBOUND 1-85 (South to North)

Location

Loading Count

% Ditt.

185 Mainline GA211 EXIT
GA211 ENT.

25,042 24,300

-3%

---2,955

3,000------. 2%

'--(105--1,0~'----:10%

-G-A-53-E-X-IT- - f - ----3-,-6-0-S-..---3,-20-0.--------.-----::.--F-i"-i-i7-o. ,'-"

GA53 ENT.

2,246

2,100

-7%

-------- US129 EXIT
US129 ENT.

---2:592-----2;4"00---..,----:7%-
2,442 2,000 -18% -------------------~._._,----_.

GA82 EXIT

1,2'74'"--'1"'}OO-----'-::-6'%

GA82 ENT.

681

700-----3o/~

GA98 EXIT

1,801

-1,700

- -6% - -

GA98 ENT. US441 EXIT

720

700

-3%

-"4]'82'---'--3,900--- -4%

-US441 ENT. GA63 EXIT

3,467--3~300----~37o'"
'--'-8~--800'------ -4%-

GA63 ENT.
GA51 EXIT
GA51ENT.

- - - 2 9 2 - - - - - " 2 - 6 0 - -..----32%-
- --1,662----1:700--'.-60i~ --1";6s4'-----1";5c)o----------:g07o-

GA320 EXIT --{196----..-- 800

-33%

GA320 ENT. - 1,018---8"60----'-=210/0-

GA106 EXIT

- - 1,4~--T,4-6o-----:5o/~-

-0--:-.-.....__- - - 1 - - - - - - - -..- - -..- - - - . - - - - -
-G-A_106._EN-T.--1---1.,_550----_1,6. _00_._--_._-3-%_.

GA17 EXIT

2,258

2,100

-7%

GA17 ENT.

---2~291-----2,300-----0-o;;,..,

GA77 EXIT

----"633---..-..-506--..--. --::21oi~-

GA77EN"T.----- ----[306--..--1;4'00 ---..-----7%-

185'"Mainline

'--n:j':4~--f9:2()'"O--'--'-:1%-

Total

87,506 83,800

-4%

SOUTHBOUND 1-85 (North to South)

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Overall, the model produces 87,506 vehicles at northbound 1-85 validation locations and 83,834 in the southbound direction. Northbound, the amount of modeled traffic is 4% above the 1998 profile of daily traffic of 83,800 vehicles. In the southbound direction, modeled traffic is nearly the same as the 83,800 vehicles in the traffic count profile.
3.1.3 Base Year (1998) Trip Table - There are a total of 88,8801-85 trips in the base year trip table. To get the trip table to match traffic counts observed on the ramps and mainline sections ofI-85 it was necessary to break some of the through trips up into two trips. The split trips were those traveling all the way through the study area on 1-85, but that were observed getting off the freeway for an incidental stop to refuel, eat or find overnight lodging. One of the most common split trips identified in the survey was a northbound through trip exiting the interstate at US 441. During refinement of the survey data, it was recorded in the trip table file as follows. First, the initial leg of the trip from the Atlanta area to US 441 was recorded as one trip. Then the second leg of the trip from US 441 to South Carolina was also entered into the trip table file with the same vehicle type, trip purpose and occupancy as the first leg.
The highest volume origin-destination movements in the base year trip table are presented in Table 3-5 according to travel pattern type. Each of the travel pattern types is explicitly defined later in subsection 3.2.
Table 3-5 Highest Volume Origin-Destination Pairs (Base Year 1998)
By Major Travel Movement Type

Atlanta and Areas West to South Carolina:

19,513

--~---------_._-~=-.:..:...

.A_..t-la-nt-a-a-nd- -Ar-e_ as.W_e-s-t t_ o C.ommerce in Jackson and Banks .C_o-u-n-ti-e-s-::.:..-=4.,7.:5.0-

.. _~!~~~~~"!~ ~re~~ W~~!.!9__Bras_e:!~~.::~!1d~~ Jackson County:

. _ - -4,130

~~~~.~ and A~eas West toAu.?-~_~=Y.Y~':.lder~_Barrow County:

. _ -3,888

South Carolina to Commerce in Jackson and Banks Counties:

3,451

.~.!!.anta and j\reas Wes~l? Wi~de!_!!! Barrow County:

1,720

.Atlanta and Areas West to Jefferson in Jack._so_n_C_ou_n_ty~:

~:....:...:...

Braselton-Winder, Jackson County to Jefferson in Jackson County:

850

G~inesville-Buford area of Hall County to Jefferson in Jackson County:

629

.Gainesville in Hall County to Commerce in Jackson and Banks Countie

530

Homer-Carnesville in Franklin County to Carnesville in Franklin County:

376

~thens area in Clarke County to Gainesville in Hall County:

337

Layoni~ in Fra.nklin County to Carnesville in Franklin County:

321

_~a'!W~~in _~art County to Carnesville in Franklin C_o--u-n'tcy:--______---=...:...:2:.6.6..

3-8

. '
.;
I I
I I I
B1
I,

The highest volume origin-destination pair observed in the study area is through-travel moving between Atlanta and South Carolina. Through-travel accounts for nearly 20,000 two way trips per day in the 1-85 corridor. Approximately 10,000 of these trips travel from the Atlanta area and other areas to the west into South Carolina and around 10,000 travel in the opposite direction toward Atlanta and west.
Internal-external travel comprises a relatively large share of total travel at each end of the corridor. Inside the corridor, internal-internal trips comprise a significant share of the total travel market, especially on freeway segments in the Jefferson area of Jackson County. The overall impact of the internal-internal origin-destination pairs is greater than what is indicated by the individual volumes displayed in Table 3-5. Unlike the internalexternal and external-external zone pairs - there is no huge zone like metropolitan Atlanta or South Carolina that disproportionately influences the ranking of specific trip interchanges. Instead, the internal-internal travel market is comprised of many trip interchanges that have lower volumes.
3.1.4 Vehicle Occupancy - Information pertaining to the vehicle occupancy charactistics of motorists traveling in the 1-85 corridor was obtained through the motorist interviews. Currently, the Georgia Department of Transportation provides a carpool/rideshare parking lot at the southern edge of the study area, in the Braselton area approximately one quarter mile east ofthe State Route 211/1-85 interchange.
Observed vehicle occupancies for passenger cars at each survey station and for all survey stations combined is. presented in Table 3-6 according to the following trip-types: external-external (through trips); internal-external; and internal-internal. The same information is displayed in Table 3-7, as well, but in this table it is stratified by trip purpose.
Perhaps the most striking statistic in Table 3-6, looking at the vehicle occupancy data data by trip-type, is that 49% of all vehicles traveling through the study area (externalexternal trips) have two or more occupants. In comparison, 39% and 35% of all passenger cars were observed to be multi-occupant vehicles making internal-external and internal-internal trip-types, respectively.' Based on these vehicle occupancy figures it appears that a large portion of future passenger car traffic would be candidates to use HOV lanes on 1-85 if they were provided.
Looking at the percentage of passsenger cars with 2 or more persons, from' all survey stations combined, by trip purpose at the bottom of Table 3-7 indicates that trips for shopping, social-recreational, and personal business purposes are frequently made by persons travelling in carpools. The percentage of 2 or more occupant vehicles are 65%, 52% and 67% for the shopping, personal business, and social-recreational trip purposes, respectively. In contrast, commute, business-related and school trips were observed to have lower shares of carpool ,trips. The share of multi-occupant passenger cars for commute, business-related and school trip purposes were as follows: '20%; 29%; and 28.6%, respectively.
3-9



Table 3-6 VEHICLE OCCUPANCY BY TRIP TYPE
1998 Origin-Destination Survey

Vehicle

TRIP TYPE

Station Occupancy

E-E

I-E

Description

Number Count

Trips

%

Trips

%

SB 1-85 Mainline @ South Carolina Border

__ _. 2

1 .,-

2

3+

190 67% ~-
130 73% 37 79%

73 26% 39 22%
8 17%

- - - - - - - Subtotals: _._--3-5-7- - ' 7-0%- ---,----_._~_.,'_.-

120 23%

Avg. Veh. Occupancy:

1.60 -NA-

1.48 -NA-

2+ % Veh.'s Occupancy: - 47% -NA-

39% -NA-

I-I Trips

Total % All Types

22 -NA10 -NA2 -NA'34 -NA1.50 -NA35% -NA-

285 179 47
511 -NA-
44%

SB Exit Ramp to US 441

4 - - -1- - - - - - - - 73 34%

2
--_ _ _ _ _ _ 0 ___-
3+

-

-

-

-5-6
14

--

42% 30%

-S-u-b-to-t-a-l:----_._-_._- ----_._1-4-3- 36%

Avg. Veh. Occupancy:

1.65 -NA-

% Veh.'S2+ Occupancy: - ---- 49% --NA-

58 27% 39 29% 23 49%
120 31% 1.81 -NA52% -NA-

82 38% 38 29% 10 21%
130 33% 1.46 -NA37% -NA-

213 133 47
393 -NA-
46%

SB Exit Ramp to US 129
NB Exit Ramp to US 129

6

_._- -_._--_.. 1,-~---.---~_.-

8 .."---"- ----1-1-%-- - - - _ .2-1

30%

_..__... _...2.__..._-_'0 __ "3+

--_ .._.._-.-_._-9-9

20%
---30~{

------_.1,2- ---2-6-%5 17%

42 59%

71

25 16

54% 53%

----3466

"S'-u-'b_.t._o.t.a_ l: .._---.... '_.+- .'--'.'--_.-".'. ._----_.-2--6- --_....'.1.'8--%-'- ---------3-8- --_2._6%-- -

83 56%

147

Avg.Veh.Occupancy:
0};Veh:'s2:+-Occupa n-cy:-

.----.-629.217;

-,_.-._N..A._.-_---
-NA-

-------415.%63-

----NN-AA--- -

- - - - 1-.,8249%

-NA-
-',---:-:--
-NA-

- - --N-A--. -
-NA-

5

__ __ _ ---_..1. .._.._._..__.- --'. .. -_..-.4_8-- .._1--7-%,.- ------:1:4-5- 51%

2
-_ ---'---.--'-.'--_.-.---'--17' 3+

_- . 408 44% ...

--24o/~ -._--~.-

36 40% -5-0%

-

90 32% 15 16%
9 26%

283 91 34

-S_u b. _t o-t a_l :. - - - _ . _ - - - - - -

96 24%

-A-vg-.-V-e-h-.-O-c-c-u,p-a_n.c.-y-: --
% Veh.'s 2+ Occupancy:

1.61 ------50%

-NA-NA-

198 49% 1.41 -NA27% -NA-

114 28% 1.31 -NA21% -NA-

408 -NA-NA-

NB Exit Ramp to US 441

3

- - - +-----1-----_._-"

--.- -_._---_5._9-

23%
_._-~

91
---~

36%

2
--~---_.~----
3+

--------_.5_14

-

34% 13%

50 34% 14 44%

-S-u-b'.t_o-ta--l:_..---------- ----- -'---'-1-1-4- --,-2-6-%-

Avg. Veh. Occupancy: %Ve-il:s"2+ Occiipancy:-

- - - - , -1..-.-5-548%

.._--N--A--_..
-NA-

--

155 36% 1.55 -NA41% -NA-

103 41% 47 32% 14 44%
164 38% 1.51 -NA37% -NA-

253 148
32
433 -NA-
42%

All Survey Stations

_._ _-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - All

1 378 34% _._._-...

_-_._--- ..__.. --,...._...

... ... ' . ' - - " ' - - ' - " - -_.,_.~

388 - -3-5%-

339 31%

1105

1------

---'3+2------

----.....

-.-- ._._._-_2.._8672

48%
---'38%

176
-'---'--::-=
67

29% '---35%

- - - - -1-35-
51

-

-23- % 27%

- - - - -5-9-7 190

_ S-.---u-b-'t-o-"t-a--l-:' - .__.---- .._. '-'-"'---""'-
Avg. Veh. Occupancy:
- - - - 4 i A,-veh:"s'2+'OccupancY:-

-.--.-.---7.,3..--6..1.63
--'----4'9o/~

- -_._.-3-.9...%_--
.----N.....A_-,_. -NA-

-_._--6-3-1--'---319.5%5

..- -3-3-%-
-NA-
---:N/i,=----

.._----52-5-
1.50 ----35%

28% - -NA~ -
-NA:-

- - - - -18-9,21.57
o70

-NA- denotes that the information is not available. Truck and bus survey samples not included in vehicle occupancy summary.

- - .... . II II

II

Table 3-7
Vehicle Occupancy By Trip Purpose
1998 Origin-Destination Survey

Description SB 1-85 Mainline @ South Carolinal Georgia State Line
SB Exit Ramp toUS441

Station Number
2

Vehicle

Trip Purposes

Occupancy

Commute

Business

Shopping

Personal

SociallRec.

Count

Trips

%

Trips

%

Trips

%

Trips

%

Trips

%

_.... J..._. . .._.!! __...5.~~__ 1635!.Q.~ '_" __ ._.._i __J..:4% _~ _A~y., ~._._...3..! __~

2

3 1.7%-72~0:~~

_5. .__ ~:8%_.._..~ __29.2.~ _.__ _..__ ~~ _.~5.~~

--3+-----------0--cf60;. - - i-o 21.3%

1 2.1%

1736.2%

19 40.4%

School

Other

Total

Trips

%

Trips

%

Trips

._ 3 1.0%

0 0.0%

286

._

0 -.. O.O"1..~- -'--1- .. 0.6% '--'''''''178

oO.6o/~

0"'0:0%---'-'''47

i'oo Subtotals:

20 3.9%

245 47.9%

10 2.0%

137 26.8%

95 18.6%

3 0.6%

1 0.2%

511

.--.. , Avg~-Veh.-Occu-pancy- ---1''-1'5- N';A- ... 1.38 -NiA .' -..1.80 N/A---'''fs9 N/A----1.94 N/A .... . 1.00 N/A ... .-.

N/A .. "NiA'

i;;-Veh:'s 2+ -ej"ccupancy' .., -"1-5"7.; . f'ilA " ' - 3'3% NiA

60% .N"iA-- -si50X -NiA-- .... , '-67%-NiA"

60/0 N/A "100% .-FiIA-"N/A-

4

--. --- '12---'" - -.-

50 17

-"1223:.85%%

-.

71 33.3%

23 10.8%

47 22.1%

13 6.1%

21 15.8o/~ . -. 34 25.6%'---'-'42 --'31."6-0/0--'--'--"'9 14.3%" ....

5 2.3% 00.0%

.. .... 40-- 01..96%%"'- ""12"31'33

---'-'3+'" --. ""--'-'-'1'-'-2-.-17.; ...-- ....-5 - iEs% .- ." '12 '-25:5%"-'--'-15 .-3'f9% -------..1'0 -'2T3%'-- '-'3'-'6:4% -_..- .--.,-i --2:1%-------4'7

SB Exit Ramp to US 129
NB Exit Ramp to US 129
NB Exit Ramp to US 441
Total All Survey Stations

6_. .2._.

. J.! 15.5%

~~ 53.5% .__ _...? 2.8%

-

-

-

2
3+

-

-

-

-

'

-

15

10.9%

17 37.0%

3.3% -"-"--'-3 ""1-0:00/;

3 6.5% 4 13.3%

4 __ .~ 4 8.7% 3 10.0%

Subtotal: ,Avg. Veh. Occupancy % Veh.'s 2+ Occupancy

17 11.6% ..__~~ 39.5%_.__ __~ 6.1%

1.41 N/A_ f--_".J..41 N/~.._ .

2.33 N/A

35% N/A

34% N/A

78% N/A

11 7.5% 2.09 N/A 64% N/A

5

.._J._.._.

___ 2

3+

Su~total: _ _._ _ .. Avg.Veh.Occupancy % Veh.'s 2+ Occupancy

3

1 ..

2

3+

~_38~f--._ _~.22:.Q.~

1 0.4%

13 14.3%

?~ _~5.3% _._...~ __~ _

13 38.2%

5 14.7%

1 2.9%

5218.4% 31 34.1% 6 17.6%

135 33.1% 1.35 N/A 19% N/A

_~ 27.7% 1.31 N/A... 25% N/A

.~ .2.~~
83%

1.5% N/A N/A

89 21.8% 1.51 N/A 42% N/A

l. 30.0o/~ __

89 35~~ . ...?._~ _ . 24 9.5%

10 6.8%

22 14.9%

2~-6.3% -----1"---3:-fO/;

34 23.0% 13 40.6%

27 18.2% 10 31.3%

Subtotal:

88 20.3%

Avg. Veh. Occupancy

1--. 1.17 N/A

% Veh.'s 2+ Occupancy

14% N/A

All

1

263 23.8%

2

__ 48 8.1%

3+

178.9%

Subtotal:

328 17.3%

Avg.Veh.Occupancy __ f-._1.28_N/A

% Veh.'s 2+ Occupancy

19.8% N/A

....!!.?i-_25.9% 1.21 N/A 21% N/A
446 40.3% 155 26.0% 2412.6%
_~1-_33.0%
~f-.N/~ 28.6% N/A

76 17.6% .1.92 N/A 62% N/A
59 5.3% 80 13.4% 3116.3%
170 9.0% . 1.94 N/A 65.3% N/A

61 14.1% 1.87 N/A 61% N/A 195 17.6% 156 26.2%
5126.8%
402 21.2% 1.72 N/A 51.5% N/A

~ _~~_ .._. 2 2.8%

6 8.5%

71

14 30.4%

0 0.0% ----.----3'-6:5% "---"46

14 46.7% -'--2'-6')% ----...-. 3 10.0%

30 '

2.~~ ~i1% -----,-2.400 --N2/A7~I---'-2.~~ 8.2% N/A147

N/A
-~ - N/A - --- 50% ".N/A- ---..-- 50% - N/A

- N/A -'

_ 8 2.8% _ 2 2.2%

6 __3.:~
..Q _~ _

3 8.8%

01-' 0.0%

13 3.2%

_~ 1.5%

1.69 N/A

1.00 N/A

38% -~ ----00T.-'N'7I\" -

~ 7.8%1----_283:

18 19.8%

..~

6 17.6%

34

46 11.3% 1.70 N/A 52% NlA

408 NlA _ N/A

31 12.3%
50 33.8% 6 18.8%

4 1.6%
3 2.0% 0 0.0%

0 0.0%

253

2 1.4%

148

0 0.0%

32

87 20.1% 1.75 N/A 64% N/A
91 8.2% 130 21.8% 5227.4%

7 1.6% 1.43 NlA 43% N/A
20 1.8% 3 0.5% 5 2.6%

2 2.00 100%
32 24 10

0.5% N/A N/A
2.9% 4.0% 5.3%

433 N/A N/A
1106 596 190

273 14.4% 1.96 N/A 66.7% N/A

28 _ 1.5% 1.5 N/A 28.6% N/A

66 1.74 51.5%

3.5% N/A N/A

1892 1.57 NlA

-NA- denotes that the information is not available. Truck and bus survey samples not included in vehicle occupancy summary.


II
II
III II II

3.2 Travel Patterns Using the travel model described in Section 2 to simulate travel patterns from origin zones to destination zones provided the capability to partition traffic volumes on 1-85 into several different classes of trips. This was a valuable means of classifying the corridor's travel patterns in terms of being able to show the extent to which corridor improvements would provide independent utility to motorists traveling inside the study area. The four classes of trips are listed and defined below.
1. External - External Traffic: Through trips from the Atlanta area and other places further west to South Carolina and vice versa. It is important to understand that a significant share of these trips still exit and enter the freeway inside the study area to refuel, dine or to use nearby lodging facilities.
2. lnternal-Exteral Traffic (From Southwest): Atlanta trips and others from places further west entering or exiting the study area on 1-85 and having a definite destination inside the study area. It also included trips traveling from metropolitan Atlanta to Habersham and Rabun counties in the Georgia mountains as well as trips from metropolitan Atlanta to Athens and Clarke County. These are destinations outside of the study area but that are accessible by highways interchanging with 1-85 . .within the study area.
3. Internal-External Traffic (From Northeast): South Carolina travel entering or exiting the study area on 1-85 and having a distinct destination inside the study area. It also includes travel going from the South Carolina area to Habersham, Lumpkin, White and Dawson counties in the Georgia mountains as well as to Athens and Cumming. Although these destinations were outside of the study area they are accessed by means of highway facilities interchanging with 1-85 by motorists traveling to and from the direction of South Carolina.
4. Internal-Internal Traffic: Trips having their origin and destination inside the study area. This class of travel also includes trips from Gainesville to Athens or from Athens to counties in the Georgia mountains. Once again, some of these destinations are outside of the study area but the 1~85 leg of these motorists' trips were completely inside the study area.
On the following two pages, travel patterns on each segment of 1-85 are illustrated by the triptypes defined above. Daily traffic volumes, along with the relative amount of daily travel by trip-type is shown in Figure 3-2. The maximum load points inside the study area occur on segments in the western portion, between State Route 211 and State Route 53. Daily traffic is in the 45,000 to 50,000 vehicles per day range. Minimum volumes occur on freeway segments between Commerce (US 441) and Carnesville (State Route 106) where the daily traffic ranges around 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles per day. As motorists approach or leave South Carolina, daily traffic volumes rise slightly to just less than 40,000 vehicles per day. This indicates that the corridor is influenced by attractions in the Greenville-Anderson, South Carolina area in addition to the more obvious attractions inside the Atlanta metropolitan area.
3-12

..... ... --_.. .~ .'-

'-

.. .... .JI JI --. ~II., .

Figure 3-2 1998 General Travel Patterns By Trip Type

I I I I I I I I I I I I IOa.211 IGa.53 IUS 129 lOa.82 lOa.98

Ius 441 IGa.63 IGa.51

IOa.32O IOa.106

IOa.17 IGa.77

7O,OOD~ ----~;>~----------- -----"----- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------~ 7O,OOO~

65,OOD~ ------~;>~----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------

:::= iii:ii: : ::i : _ 6O,OOD~ --------3>~----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -------~--- ---------- ----------- -----------~ 6O,oooVPD

S5,OOD~ 5O,OODVPD

----~;>~-----------
3> -_---.--_--.-

----------u

-----------
h

-----------
-----------

-----------
-----------

-----------

h

u

----------------L

--c----------

-.-----------------

----------------------

----------------------

---------- -----------

h

-u-u-----=-E--

5O,OOOVPD

--------~~i$'lii;jgift;;;; ~ unu_ __u__ uu

f.1lIMI;ui::i:ii::- - uu __ n um uu uuumn

30,000VPD --~3>~----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

3O,OOOVPD

25,oooVPD -------';>~----------- ----------- ----------- ----------

I 20,000VPD

1----8--5--';>~I.-.--.--.--.-

.--~-~--.-.~-.--.--.-~-~--.--.-'.--.--.-~-~--.--.-.-.-.--.-.-

~--.

.

.-

-

-.

.-

-.

.

.

._

_.._.

._

~

i

I

i.

.~lIiIiilllilil.iii.-

.

.

.

.j

i.

.

20,oooVPD
,..---.---,

TO: ATLANTA
~

3.20

8.90

3.80

5.80

2.90

4.50

5.80

3.90

1.90

8.80

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

Mi.

. . .TO:
Andersonl

49.7 Mi.

= LEGEND
r . - "":':>:':;.: I_ntEern>ald-Eextm ernaallTraffic From West
, :f,r' , Internal-External Traffic From East ~t"4J Internal-Internal Traffic

..

The magnitude of external-external 1-85 traffic is constant throughout the length of the corrdior just below 20,000 vehicles per day. Internal-external travel from metropolitan Atlanta and points west is a substantial component of total daily traffic on freeway segments west of US 441 before dissipating further to the east. From the east, internal-external traffic from South Carolina is a large component of total travel to State Route 106 which feeds the Carnesville area. This component continues to be a significant share of the total travel to US 129 at which point it dissipates quickly moving further westward. Internal-to-internal travel comprises a significant share of travel on most of segments toward the center of the study area. This market share is significant between State Route 17 and State Route 53 where 5,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day are internal-internal.
To further illustrate the composition of total traffic by trip-types on freeway segments in the 1-85 corridor, the percentage distribution of trips by trip-type is featured in Figure 3-3. Presently, the composition of daily traffic west of State Route 53 in the Braselton area is dominated by internal-external trips. From State Route 53 to US 441 in the Commerce area there is no one dominant trip-type. These segments have a fairly uniform mix of all trip types. External-external (through trips) are clearly the largest share on those segments located northeast of US 441. By the South Carolina border, however, the trip-type distribution is split pretty much 50-50 between the internal-external and external-external trip-types.
(

3-14

Percent of Total Trips

= = = = = = = = = = == l-olo

N

l-olo

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

=~ =~' =~' =~' =~' =~' =~' =~' =~' =~' =~'

WofSR211

WofSR53
1mt~,W~~-;ff:~-:f.'~,.~.tiM~;fj:;;";!!';W-P.1'*~~.fi;':';''Ii.J~t.l.'ru'';~I''il'';~':L~i;';<4~j'~i..'~;.~I~'r!e.ft.:lt:t""'l'~'-A'<'t.w-:gMfu.{;:S~IJ:ilo;;'~~~j.tA;;&'z-mJ

W of US 129

40.6%

~)r.

1"'~1!;~ :.Ib:v,"".>:~l."'li (1

45.4%

:lM.~~_

WofSR82 W of SR 98

z,,,,,t...l . Ceal I.,_.."'''''''-...."~..'"'.,''''..,.j ....'.''''--...... ~M'>__.''''.,,,t.........>-.. i..... h

~~M~~ ... ,."~t-~:~~~::~~3~::::tt:~:::ts..<._,,,, J._., .....L.,,,..~,-~,,,,"'_,,,~c,,,,_ .. ~. ~ .__''.IT_ ..... ,,-" <__ ~' ~ __.- .

I

32.0%

1I "~~~'~~'1,r~"~" g"J~:~~1

46.8%

..: I

0~0 W of US 441
~~
=Q W of SR 63
Q~ ~
<!c W ofSR 51
Ul

W 0 fSR 320 I.'

1

24.3%

1~!i1l~ti1f",f~;"-t"''?;>P'(rq"~'"WyA1

._,-_..","~~~~' .. .. = ..__.....o,,~._ ~ ..._.

52.5%

'1

W of SR 106 r>' I

26.9%

l~lj'{~11~1

53.1%

I

~ W of SR 17::;'i

12.5%

I I I"~~..:.

- I 52.8%' .

'. ,.-i\i!ilt..A."i/i\i&_1ik"~ '."1l~'lijM'l,ija.i.il_~*~~

w .rsa77 E.rsa 77

L- 44.2% .1'2.7%. .. 1

.. , '. '. ~IiiiiidiMi&&ii\hWl\k~ir :S#;~~}'"'-"""""il&~ . _

_ . _ llI\

~>... J'." .. ~

,... '

_ "'"

c , ._....~t~\'b~!j;lil.:(j .

r

..~%

I

..~%

I

I
1

col

-

;e.

II

6~=



~ c

_.

aC0:-::s C"_T.I
~i

I.

D:R1 Ww

~~

I

-I

.

~:3.

11II

~

.

i II

II

~I

oomo
~~~~
:I. :I. :I. .,
a a s: = i~ ~ i~ ~ i~_. :~I.
~ ~~~~
i g .~Ii Ii VJ
~~ =

.


.'
.' '0 _ ,.
- . '.' .
.
,.

__.:~ .....:..i..:..-A_:.

; ,j ..; ,:::::=Z:

~

4 Corridor Growth

The purpose for studying growth in the corridor is to develop growth factors that can be applied to the base year (1998) trip table to the study's future year of 2025. Popuiation and employment figures within the study area, as well as historical traffic counts from roadway segments on the perimeter of the study area were used to develop the growth factors. Primary sources for the socioeconomic data were the Georgia Mountain Regional Development' Council (RDC) in Gainesville and the Northeast Georgia RDC in Athens. Daily traffic trend data was provided by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Information pertaining to each of these three growth indicators is reported below.

In addition to the corridor-wide socioeconomic and traffic trend information that was obtained,

data pertaining to existing development and ongoing business expansions in the US129 corridor

was furnished by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Hall Chamber of

Commerce. Development and growth information in this particular corridor was documented in

extra detail because future year traffic projected to use the US129 interchange. with 1-85

exhibited extremely high growth between the base year (1998) and 2020.

.

There is a strong tie between traffic growth and demographics in the 1-85 corridor. This conclusion is' based on the 1998 profile of daily traffic volumes, recent traffic growth in the corridor, and the existing travel patterns described in Section 3. The dominant travel movement in the corridor is the through movement going from South Carolina into metropolitan Atlanta and vice versa. Metropolitan Atlanta and South Carolina refer, respectively, to places at the southern and northern edges of the study area. It should be understood that many of the through trips traveling between these two places. are actually produced in or attracted to places like Birmingham, AL; Charlotte, NC; Houston, TX, and Baltimore, MD. This particular travel market is currently undergoing rapid growth which is evidenced by two phenomenon. First, daily traffic volume trends at both ends of the corridor have exhibited remarkable increases. Second, through the 1990's there has been a steady rise in population and employment in the Atlanta area as well as in South Carolina and other southeastern states served by the 1-85 corridor. Population alone grew by 20% and 8% between 1990 and 1996 in the Atlanta and Greenville-Anderson, South Carolina urban areas. At the southwest end of the corridor population swelled from 3.0 to over 3.5 million. To the northeast, the number of persons in the' Greenville-Anderson area rose from 830,000 to 896,000 between 1990 and 1996.

Outlet shopping stores alonside 1-85 at the US 441 interchange in Commerce currently attract many motorists every weekday. Based on interviews with representatives of the RDC's, there were not any other major commercial or institutional traffic generators in the immediate corridor surrounding 1-85. Typicalemployment opportunities are found in the fields of: poultry farming, agricultural-related businesses, textiles, manufacturing of machine parts and government-related jobs in the corridor.

The travel survey did identify major traffic generators located outside of the immediate 1-85 corridor. Although these sites are located outside of the study area, they are all served indirectly by 1-85. Examples of these generators are: various recreational destinations in the north Georgia

4-1

mountains; education and research related, business and employment opporturuties in the Athens area; business, recreational and employment opportunities in the Gainesville area; and business and recreational attractions in the Toccoa area.

4.1 Current Population and Employment
Current levels of population and employment by county are shown in Figure 4-1. Employment figures correspond to the year 1990. The units for employment are actually "Workers at their Place of Employment" since the figures were obtained from the 1990 Journey-To-Work survey collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The RDC's were unable to furnish a full set of current, estimated employment figures for all counties in the study area. Nevertheless, if the same .distribution of total employment by county remained constant between 1990 and 1998 then the employment bars in Figure 4-1 indicate that most employment is presently concentrated at the southern or western end of the study area in Hall, Barrow' and Jackson counties. The countylevel distribution of population, similarly, is concentrated in those same counties in the western and southern end of the corridor. Franklin County and Banks County, located in the center ofthe corridor, currently have the lowest levels of population within the study area.

~
--
II
III

II II
I"
I

4.2 Population Forecast
County-level population changes forecasted to occur between 1998 and 2025 are presented in Figure 4-2. Base year 1998 estimates of population were based on recent county-level estimates and growth trends. Future year 2025 projections were made by the consultant. Future year population forecasts provided by the RDC's and U.S. Census Bureau were inconsistent with recent population changes observed inside the study area. PBS&J's county-level forecasts were based on computed average annual growth experienced from 1990 to 1998 and applied to the 1998 estimates. In the case of Barrow County, the recent trend in annual population growth exceeded the threshold of reasonability. It was simply too high to assume for 27 years of population growth. As such, the forecast of 2025 population in Barrow County was dampened.
Based on these estimates, the distribution of future year 2025 population is expected to remain essentially the same as in 1998 throughout the 'study area. The number of persons in Barrow, Hall and Jackson counties will roughly double according to the estimates in Figure 4-2. Elsewhere within the study area, the number of persons residing in each county is expected to rise during the 1998 to 2025 timeframe.
4.3 External Traffic Trends
Recent trends of daily traffic entering and exiting the study area are exhibited in Table 4-1. In combination, traffic volume changes between 1990 and 1998 at the southwestern end of the study area indicate that there is steady growth at that end of the corridor. 1-85 in Gwinnett County west of State Route 211 is producing an average annual growth rate of 11% per year. At State Route 316 in Gwinnett County; State Route 81 in Walton County; State Route 11 in Walton County; Interstate 985 in Gwinnett County and State Route 124 in Gwinnett County the
4-2

- -- - _._- ..... _...
Figure 4-1 Base Socioeconomic Data By County

120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

o
II Population Employment

Banks
12798 2431

Barrow
40344 9531

Franklin
19080 6936

Hall
119210 48292

Hart
21833 7754

Jackson
37641 10247

Madison
24312 3465

stephens
25421 11346

- . _ .. - II II .----

Figure 4-2
1998-2025 Population Forecasts

300,000...-------------------

250,OOO-i---------

200,000-1---------, 150,000+---------

----1.1998 Population fm 2025 Population

100,000 - j - - - - . - - ,

50,000 -+------:
o

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u.

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~
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C 0

cen

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.(J}

Source: PBS&J estimates of 1998 and 2025 population.

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i

Table 4-1 External Roadway Traffic Trends

External Station Number
1 14 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92

Countyl

Roadname

State

1-85

Gwinnett

1-85

South Carolina

State Route 184 South Carolina

US 123

South Carolina

State Route 17 Habersham

US29

South Carolina

State Route 77 Elbert

State Route 17 Elbert

State Route 72 Elbert

State Route 22 Oglethorpe

State Route 72 Clarke

US 29

Clarke

US 441

Clarke

US 129

Clarke

State Route 316 Oconee

State Route 11 Walton

State Route 81 Walton

State Route 316 Gwinnett

State Route 124 Gwinnett

US441

Habersham

1-985

Gwinnett

State Route 369 Forsyth

State Route 53 Forsyth

State Route 60 lumpkin

State Route 52

US 129

US 23

Habersham

Computed

Average

Annual

Daily Traffic Counts Change

1990

1998 (1990-1998)

27,193 61~200

1.11

26,200 37,323

1.05

356

300

-1.02

2,964

3,000

1.00

5,497

7,400

1.04

3,710

3,800

1.00

2,953

3,400

1.02

3,360

3,700

1.01

1,980

2,200

1.01

1,168

1,500

1.03

12,586 15,200

1.02

15,348 18,100

1.02

12,012 13,200

1.01

9,724 10,200

1.01

7,700 14,800

1.09

3,930

6,000

1.05

1,954

4,400

1.11

9,207 21,700

1.11

2,212

3,800

1.07

1,717

1,900

1.01

31,363 48,200

1.06

5,600 11,500

1.09

7,640 11,100

1.05

5,263

6,800

1.03

909

1,800

1.09

5,616

8,000

1.05

10,741 16,900

1.06

All External Stations:

218,903 337,423

1.06

.
.'
II II

average annual growth rates are: 11%, 11%, 5%, 6%, and 7%, respectively. Considering all these locations together, traffic throughout the southwestern end of the study area appeared to grow rapidly during the first eight years of the 1990's.
Another high growth area in terms of recent counting trends is the boundary around Gainesville. Again, there has been steady growth. State Route 369 in Forsyth, State Route 53 in Forsyth, State Route 60 in Lumpkin, State Route 52 in Lumpkin, US129 in White, and US 23 in Habersham have experienced the following average annual growths: 9%, 5%, 3%, 9%, 5%, and 6%, respectively.
At the northeastern end of the study area, by South Carolina, daily traffic grew rapidly during the eight years bridging 1990 and 1998. I-85 reported strong growth with an average annual increase of 5% per year. Other border crossings between Georgia and South Carolina, however, did not experience that type of growth. In fact, the other 3 external stations displayed no growth (0%).
4.4 US129 Corridor (Athens to Gainesville)
Traffic growth and development along this particular facility merits special attention because the US129 interchange with 1-85 is a prime candidate to be the southern terminus of a major improvement to 1-85 that would begin near the South Carolina border. One of the principal criteria used to evaluate interchanges for their suitability as a project termini is the amount of utility that would be provided motorists if the improvement project were to end there. In this case, US129 is being evaluated for its suitability as the southwestern termini of the proposed project. As such, the amount of independent utility provided by the US129 interchange would be determined from the amount of traffic using the ramps serving motorists traveling to and from the northeast (i.e. in the direction of Commerce, Lavonia, Anderson, SC, and Greenville, SC).
Traffic counts recorded since 1994 have indicated there is substantial growth around US 129 in the vicinity ofI-85. Between 1-85 and Gainesville, daily traffic has steadily risen. Over the past five years, daily traffic has increased from 9,500 to 11,600 vehicles per day (vpd) on US129 approximately one mile northwest of the interchange. This works out to a 5% per year increase, on average. Southeast of 1-85 toward Jefferson, the historical changes in daily traffic along US129 are notable. In 1994 there were 7,900 vpd traveling between 1-85 and Jefferson. By 1998, the daily volume of traffic had risen to 10,000 which translates into a 6% average annual rate of growth. These counts, by themselves, do not necessarily mean that the number of vehicles traveling between US129 and points north along 1-85 is growing. It is a strong indicator, however, that there has been a lot of building development going on in the US129 corridor stretching from the Jefferson area of Jackson County to the Gainesville area of Hall County over the last five years.
Although this investigation of the US129 corridor focuses on existing and proposed development between Jefferson and Gainesville, future traffic volumes using the US 129 freeway ramps are dependent on other factors as well. For one, development outside the immediate 1-85 study area influences travel in the corridor. Currently some motorists, having an origin or destination in the Alpharetta, Cumming, or Canton areas of metropolitan Atlanta, were observed using the 1-85
4-6

d =::"-_".;e2_',"'-0_.t~&_.,_......

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I..I
d

III

II
-
II
I

freeway ramps with US129. These travellers use USI29 to Gainesville, then switch to State Route 369 which brings them to Georgia 400 in the Cumming area. All three of those areas are undergoing rapid development. Therefore, it is anticipated that this travel market, although small right now, will be growing in the future.

There are a number of significant traffic generators existing in the USI29 corridor. These include a variety of land use types including institutional, recreational, business and residential development. In addition, more businesses are moving into the area and a number of the existing establishments are undergoing plant or office expansions. On the residential side, applications for dwelling unit building permits in Jackson County and Hall County have been growing rapidly over the past several years. Currently, there are several different proposals to build subdivisions in the 500-1000 home range in south Hall County. A snapshot of the commercial and residential development is described below.

4.4.1

Commercial. The major traffic generators in Jackson and Hall counties, as well as the University of Georgia in Clarke County are located in Figure 4-3 to show their proximity to the USI29 corridor. Traffic generators, numbered 1 through 3, in the figure are all located southeast of the US 129 interchange with 1-85. These are: (I) the University of Georgia; (2) Central Jackson Industrial Park; and (3) Jackson County Government.

I

All of the existing major traffic generators numbered 4 through 18 are positioned in a north or northwesterly direction from the US129 interchange with 1-85. Motorists using

1-85 to and from the northeast, with an origin or destination at one of these sites, will be

I

inclined to use the USI29 interchange to make their trip because of the preferred logistics associated with that trip.

I

Due to the logistics of the traffic generators with respect to motorists who do or would

use the 1-85 ramps to and from the northeast at US129, the description of development in

I

the USI29 corridor focuses on sites located in north Jackson County and Hall County, as well as places on the west side of Lake Sidney Lanier accessed by Georgia 400. An

indication of the type of companies and their size that currently reside in Hall County as

I

well as business facility expansions anticipated in Jackson County are listed below in Table 4-2. Employment opportunities are diversifying and growing in both counties.

Farming and farm-related businesses dominated the list of major employers in previous

I

decades. Now, manufacturers of tools, auto parts and other equipment are moving into the area.

I

I

I

.1

I

4-7

.-

/ /
{ ,
\

_ _ _ _ _I US 129 Corridor - Maior Traffic Generators

Figure 4-3

c

II
,
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Table 4-2

US129 Corridor Development By Site

Map Id. Traffic Generator Name
4 Walnut Fork Industrial Park
5 Gainesville Industrial Park South
6 Airport Industrial Park 7 Northeast Georgia Medical
Center 8 Hall County Government 9 Centennial Industrial Park 10 Old Oakwood Road Area 11 Thurmond Tanner Road Area 12 McEver Road Area 13 Gainesville Industrial Park
North 14 Flowery Branch Area 15 Fieldale Farms 16 ConAgra 17 Renaissance Pine Isle Resort 18 Lake Lanier Islands

Company Names
Caterpillar Fuel Injection Plant adding 30 workers, and expanding/upgrading their 200,000 square feet of existing space.
American Synthetic Fibers adding 100 workers. TC Mirafi adding 30 workers. Sumitomo adding 30 workers . Jefferson Blanking adding 30 workers. Hitachi Power Tools adding 30 workers. Swiss Metal Fabrication adding 50 workers. Seydell adding 25 workers. Total of 1,487 workers. Businesses include: Ace Hardware; Hayes Wheels; Siemens Automotive; ZF Industries; and etc.
Total of665 workers. Businesses include: Select Laboratories Inc.; Stork Gamco; C.W.T. Farms, Inc.; and etc.
Serving northeast Georgia.
Also includes City of Gainesville and.other government facilities. Total of 1,330 workers. Businesses include: Kings Delight; Macklanburg Duncan; Pepsi Cola Beverage; United Parcel; and etc. Total of763 workers. Businesses include: Dutch Quality House; Milton's Institutional Foods; and Primex Plastics. Total of 1,152 workers. Businesses include: Avery Dennison; Reliance Electric; ICI/ Glidden; Barbe America; and etc. Total of762 workers. Businesses include: SKF USA, Inc.; and ZUA Autoparts, Inc. Total of 1,247 workers. Businesses include: Peachtree Doors and Windows; and Kubota Manufacturing of America.
Total of 1,073 workers. Businesses include: Wm. Wrigley; Norton Company; Federal Mogul; Peerless Winsmith; and etc. Single site business in Murrayville with over 1,200 workers. Single site business in Gainesville with 1,100 workers. Employs 300 during season. More than I million visitors annually. Employs 600 during peak season and 350 out of season. Over I million visitors annually.

'\
4.4.2 - Residential. An indication of the level of residential construction activity in Jackson and Hall counties is featured in the following two figures. Figure 4-4 shows the number of Jackson County permits issued during calender year 1998 as well as the projected numbers for 1999 and 2000. Housing permit activity in Hall County during the 1996-1998 time period is disclosed in Figure 4-5.

4-9

Figure 4-4 shows that from calender year 1998 to the year 2000, residential building permits in Jackson County are expected to triple from 400 to 1,200. This projection is based on actual building permit data from 1998 and the first half of 1999. Most of the residential construction action is occuring in southeast Jackson County in the vicintiy of State Route 53. It is anticipated that this type of development will move out to the State Route 60 and US129 corridors in the future as more job opportunities are located in Hall County and Jackson County.
The level of recent home construction activity in Hall County is shown in Figure 4-5. Between 1996 and 1998, the number of building permits rose from 1,700 to' 1,900. Most of the home building activity has been occuring around Gainesville and in South Hall County. Presently, there are several large residential developments proposed for South Hall County, in the 500-1,000 unit range. The number of building permits that will be issued in Hall County during 1999 is anticipated to reach an even higher level.
The data in these tables indicate that residential development in Hall County has been more intense

Figure 4-4
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS (1998-2000) JACKSON COUNlY ,
1400

1200
.... ~ 1000
W
Q. 800
oIL
ffi 600
III
~ 400 z
200

o

1998

1999

2000

L-

YEAR

-'

Figure 4-5
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS (1996-1998) HALL COUNTY

1900

.... ~

1850

w

Q. 1800

IL

0

aw: 1750

:II;I;

:z:> 1700

1650

1600

1996

1997

1996

YEAR

than in neighboring Jackson County in the past. The 1,900 permits issued by Hall County for

new housing units in 1998 was nearly five times larger than the 400 issued in Jackson County

during that year. Based on the trends, however, the activity-level of housing construction in

Jackson County is closing the gap on Hall County.

.

4-10

5 Future Year (2025) Travel Patterns

After applying 1998 to 2025 growth factors to the base year trip table, a total of 199,000 vehicle trips were projected to use 1-85 for some portion of their trip in 2025. This represents an increase in travel of 124% in comparison with the 89,000 trips that were estimated for 1998. Traffic growth between 1998 and 2025 on each segment ofI-85 in the study area will be reported in this section, along with a description of the trip-type composition by segment.

5.1 Estimated Traffic Growth

II II
II:
II

II
-
I I
III
I
I' .

Year 2025 projections of daily traffic are presented in Figure 5-1 by 1-85, freeway segment alongside the base year 1998 estimates of daily traffic. The level of traffic growth shown in the figure is consistent with the growth analysis presented in Section 4. TAZ-Ievel growth factors were derived from forecasts of population inside the study area and from recent trends in traffic volumes at those zones (external stations) on the perimeter of the study area. Where 1-85 enters and exits the study area, in Gwinnett County, average weekday traffic volumes are forecast to rise from 49,700 to 102,600 vehicles per day which translates into a 106% increase over the time period. While that amount of traffic growth between 1998 and 2025 may seem grand, the average annual compounded growth rate of 2.7% per year is far less than growth experienced during the previous eight years. Inside the study area, from State Route 211 in Barrow County to the Jefferson-Commerce areas ofJackson County around US 129 and State Route 82, daily traffic volumes are projected to be in the 95,000-100,000 vehicles per day range on all segments of 1-85. This reflects the relatively high population growth forecasted in Barrow and Jackson counties and an increase in internal-internal travel.
North of State Route 82, year 2025 traffic begins to drop. Nevertheless, there is still twice as .much traffic forecasted on these segments in comparison to 1998 levels: Around US 441 in Franklin County and Banks County, daily traffic on 1-85 is estimated to be around 90,000 vehicles per day. The low volume segment in the year 2025 was identified betweenState Route 17 and State Route 77, in the Lavonia-Hartwell area of western Franklin County and Hart County. Projected daily traffic on this section was estimated at just under 80,000 vehicles per day. This future volume represents more than a 110% increase over the 1998 level of traffic.
5.2 Travel Patterns
Travel patterns are described in terms of their generalized trip types (i.e. external-external, internal-external, and internal-internal) below. In the next subsection, the discussion of travel by generalized trip type is extended to encompass the issue of independent utility as it would relate to a major corridor improvement project(s) in NEPA documentation.
5.2.1 By Trip-Type - The trip-type composition of Year 2025 daily traffic is presented in figure 5-2 by freeway segment. Each trip type is larger than it was in the base year (1998). Through travel (External-External) increases by over 100% to exceed 40,000 vehicles per day. Substantial growth is also expected in the internal-external trips to and from the west, as well as for those trips between South Carolina and the study area.

I,

5-1

- - '- - til
Figure 5-1 1998 - 2025 Daily Traffic Volumes
120000 .-------------------------------------------~

100000

80000
u
.Ie.E.. 60000
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40000

20000

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- - .. - Figure 5-2 2025 General Travel Patterns By Trip Type

"--.

105,OOOVPO

-

95,OOOVPO

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- - - '-__--II I IGa. 63

-

9O,OOOVPO

85,OOOVPO

80,000VPO

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70,OOOVPO

65,OOOVPD

60,OOOVPO

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----I-------t-----l----I---~---_+---+---_+_---+_--_If_--__f---_+---~-- 40,OOOVPO

35,OOOVPO

30,OOOVPO

25,OOOVPO

---~----I------J----+----_l_~-_If_--__f---_+:__-:__+~:_:_:",._+_____,__=:_77"t:__:___::_:_7i~:__:__-'-.~ 20,000 VPO

1_ _ I 1-85

.l-_~-....- .........-I---....-~. . ;'" ..i.i.~~~~~~~~~~ .....~1 1-85

TO: ATLANTA

3.20 MI.

6.90 MI.

3.80 MI.

5.80 Mi.

2.90 Mi.

4.50 Mi.

5.80 Mi.

1.90 Mi.

6.80 MI.

. . .TO:
Anderson/'

49.7 Mi.

LEGEND
I..;;: ':;. ~>I External-External Traffic I .. ' ,,'"I Intemal-Extemal Traffic From West
_.~I Intemal-Extemal Traffic From East lifj;.~1 Intemal-Intemal Traffic

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Internal-Internal traffic grew the most between 1998 and 2025. The composition of traffic on all segments ofI-85 between State Route 53 in Jackson County and State Route 63 in Banks County are forecasted to carry over 15,000 motorists per day traveling totally within the study area. On the freeway section between US 129 and Stille Route 82, over 20,000 vehicles per day were projected to travel entirely inside the study area.
The relative distribution of daily travel by trip-type is exhibited in Figure 5-3. Overall, the composition of trip-types on segments ofI-85 are similar to those that were observed in the base year (1998). One notable difference, however, was the proportion of internal to internal trips on the three segments between US 129 in Jackson County and US 441 on the Jackson CountylBanks County border. In 2025, the internal-internal component was forecasted to comprise 19%-22% of the total traffic on these sections in contrast with the 12%-14% range estimated in 1998.
At the southern end of the corridor, by Gwinnett County, 58.2% of all motorists are travelling from points west, including the Atlanta area, to places inside the study area and vice versa. At the opposite end ofthe corridor, external-external travel is the dominant trip type accounting for 52.3% of all trips.
5.2.2 Independent Utility - This subsection describes the property of independent utility over sections of freeway inside the 1-85 study area where one or more major transportation improvement projects are being considered by the Georgia Department of Transportation. It also makes reference to the future year (2025) traffic volumes and travel patterns presented in Figures 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 to demonstrate that major improvements in the 1-85 corridor would provide independent utility.
A major roadway improvement project inside the 1-85 corridor would provide independent utility ifit is shown that a significant number of trips having origins and/or destinations inside the study area would be served by the improvement. In Figure 5-2, horizontal lines representing constant service volumes that correspond to various levels-of-service are overlain with the daily traffic projections by trip type. By comparing the year 2025 daily traffic projections to the service volumes for level-of-service C, it is clear that the existing 4-lane cross-section on 1-85 will not serve traffic well in the future. If 1-85 were to be widened to provide additional capacity, the improvement(s) would not benefit just through trips. The additional capacity on 1-85 would also raise the level-of-service provided for internal-internal' and internal-external trip-types. It is important to note that if the future external-external traffic were the sole component of 1-85 traffic, it would operate at LOS C with the existing 4-lane cross-section. With the addition of internal-internal traffic, the level of service C volume for a four-lane facility is exceeded from US 129 to State Route 17. Between US 129 and US 441, the internal-internal trips alone account for a minimum of almost 20 percent of the total trips on 1-85, i.e., one trip in every five is internal-internal. With the addition of the internal-external trips from the east (north) to the external-external and internal-internal trips, the level of service C capacity of a six-lane facility is approached or exceeded from US 129 to South Carolina .

II

5-4

. Percent 0 f Total Trips

~~~~~~~~~~

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WofSR211

r~,,",,:o.'O'/;~"'':'''it:;!;''l:x:~'tf'i',~'''~;>f.\;wr.:;;>I;:''"l1;:'~'''I!~~e1-'~J><~.i,~W~~:':if~''''''a'''~':'F:C-''i-R::y.;!O:''"'.$''''''JS1l{w,,''w~,~r.;!fm;!''~WWB!{5'j~~i",?:j1l1"l'~etf~B5tiI

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WofSR53 I

. . --.-_.....

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V["_',_ ...... _.-...

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- - _ .. -.

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WofUS 129

'- _."uo_ _ ,.l, ... ,__ ._._~_.,~..

..

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_'.'~~:~~:i:i:,,,~~~~~\:t~~H,_,___

._'",1

W of SR 82

25.4%
...,-..! ';z;~;tt",~~t' ';i.l'~ ~~",-'.1I'il'~

43.4%
.i'~;~~\a ~Ti "~~,1;"I~_J:~. &~..~"'u.' I

W of SR 98 I

25.5%

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1t~~}!J~?J!!?,&g!~~~i;1 '(~ ,': -

~'f:U;.~ "'r'ti'~ ~"f11'l.'

~ WofUS441

=~f')
c c~ ~

WofSR63

~ WofSR51

W of SR 320 I I

26.4% l~J!1.Jg]j'JI

45.20/0 52.3%

W of SR 106 I I

28.8%

.iK~~fI

53.6%

_~fgJl$_f?@fpr.Mm&%!!tlI!$lI!l!!\1l!!!J~l1i!ii~!HW4'~~*~
WofSR17

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. E ofSR 77 -==- ~~;~ H_;_ :;I ::=I =~,~I j'~II '

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l

Between US 129 and South Carolina, the combination of internal-internal, external-external and internal-external trips from the east (north) accounts from a minimum of 67 percent to a .maximum of 100 percent of the traffic on 1-85. Even at the low-load point in the corridor, in the Carnesville area, internal-internal and internal-external trips from the east alone account for well over 30,000 vehicles per day. Widening 1-85 provides needed capacity to accommodate the largest majority of the future trips in this portion of the corridor. According to -the travel patterns presented in Figures 5-2 and 5-3, there would be a number of sections on 1-85 from US 129 to South Carolina that appear to meet the independent utility criteria.
In reviewing the information in Figure 5-2, it is evident that the total future traffic volumes on 185 will exceed the level of service C capacity of a six-lane facility. A review of the data presented in Table 3-6 indicates that almost one-half (42%) of all automobile trips are multiple occupancy vehicles. The percentage of vehicles eligible for SOY and HOV lane utilization (automobiles, vans, pickup trucks, single unit trucks and buses) ranges from 71 percent on the western end of the corridor to 79 percent on the eastern end of the corridor. Based upon these percentages (eligible and multiple occupancy vehicles) there would be between 24,000 vehicles on the eastern end of the corridor and 33,000 vehicles on the western end of the corridor which would be multiple occupancy vehicles potentially using an HOV facility. Thus, as can be seen in Figure 5-2, the addition of an HOV lane and the widening of the 1-85 to six lanes would allow the majority of the corridor to operate at a level of service C.
5.2.3 Logical Termini - Based on future 2025 travel patterns, three locations were identified that would provide "logical termini" for a major highway improvement on 1-85. They are enumerated from south to north, as follows:
I-85/State Route 211 interchange in Barrow County; 1-85/US 129 interchange in Jackson County; I-85/US 441 interchange on the border between Jackson County and Banks
County;
I-85/State Route 17 in Franklin County; and
South Carolina.
In Figure 5-2, the projected year 2025 daily traffic volume north of State. Route 211 is approximately 98,000 vehicles per day which is well beyond the level-of-service C capacity of a 4-lane freeway cross-section. In Figure 3-2, the existing daily volume of 46,000 vehicles per day already approaches the level-of-service C capacity threshold of the existing 4-lane cross-section, By the year 2025, the daily traffic that was forecasted on the ramps serving travel movements to and from the east (north) totaled over 8,000 vehicles per day. Thus, an improvement using this interchange as its western (southern) terminus would provide a. significant amount of independent utility to motorists. In addition, the Georgia Department of Transportation and Atlanta Regional Commission are presently considering their options regarding improvements to 1-85 between State Route 211 and 1-985 in Gwinnett County. As a minimum the current concept includes the widening ofI-85 from 4-lanes to 6-lanes from I-985to SR 211.

5-6

. . - . .-

40%

..CI)

35%

c

G)

30%

"'u0

Co)

..<C

25%

1i

- t0-
o

20%

..G)
C)
tV

15%

C

eG)

10% -

G)

Q.

5%

0%
t<..0~
~v
f(-"d
Iv~f...<f;
of0""

Figure 6-4 Accident Type Distribution 1-75 (4-Lane Tifton to Valdosta)

-s o~
~~

~o~ ~G0""

~o

~~~Q;-

0

~~
~~~t:o Accident Type

Figure 6-5 Comparative Accident Rates - Fatals

2.50

2.00

Scu
It:

1.50

uScu.

1.00

I

0.50

0.00

I

l

1-85 Corridor Segments

Acx:ident rates comouted as the number of fatal accidents ocr 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

I

70

-!!
III ~ C

60 50

GI

40

'V

U
-.:l
'ii
0

30 20 10

I-

0

Figure 8-8 1-86 Accident Rates By Segment - Totals

1-86 Corridor Segments Accident rates computed as the number of tota1 accidents per 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

..
III
!

- -.. -_.-...~~------,_.-
in the traffic stream on these two segments. Moreover, these segments are subject to unusually high traffic volumes during recreational travel peaks. This section of 1-85 is used by a large number of motorists travelling to family cottages and resorts in and nearby to the Georgia mountains. A combination ofhilly terrain, shifts in traffic volume peaking by time-of-day and season, and a relatively high mix of large trucks may be contributing to the relatively high total accident rates on these segments.
Accident type distributions for these two segments were tabulated to determine if there were accident patterns that would point to any specific corrective measures. They are presented in Figure 6-7. Both of these accident type distributions generally resemble the accident type distribution corresponding to the entire corridor presented in Figure 6-3. The individual distributions shown in Figure 6-7 are similar to each other. On both segments, the Struck Object type accounts for around 45% of the total. In comparison, there is a 38% share of Struck Object collisions for the corridor as a whole. At around 23% of total accidents, the State Route 320 to State Route 106 section has a substantially higher share of Rear End collisions. Based on this information, better lighting could possibly help reduce the. Struck Object types of accidents. Also due to the relatively high percentage of the Struck Object type, there may be deer crossings in this area of the corridor that could be signed better.

II

II
-

I

6-7

_----_ ....

50%

45%

lcJ
CD

40%

."C-

CJ CJ

35%

-ct
S

30%

.~0..

25%

0

CD

20%

0)

Sc

15%

CD

CJ
~

10%

aCD.

5%

0%
~~0
~v
~<{QP
<v~
. f0v

Figure 6-7 Accident Type Distributions for Selected Segments

III SR51-SR320 .SR320-SR106

IJ

I

III

I
APPENDIX
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q

Figure AI: Traffic Control Plan - Ramp Survey Stations

I

Figure A2: Traffic Control Plan - Mainline Survey Station

Figure A3:

1998 Estimated Average Daily Traffic Volumes

I

and Truck Percents

Figure A4: 2025 Estimated Average Daily Traffic.Volumes

I

.and Truck Percents

Table A-I: Estimated Accident Rates On 1-85By Freeway Segment

I

I

I
I

I

A-I

I I-
I-
I I I I I I

.1

I

t1

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t
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MOTORISTS INTBlVlEWED
flAG PSISON
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1-
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Notto Scale

Ramp

[ - -T- raffic Control Plan

1

[ PBSJ
n:\,B5\'''lllp.dgn

I 1-85 Corridor Analysis
1 . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . -. F.i.gu.re-.A....l....

Southbound 1-85 at Welcome Center Survey Site
Hart County, Georgia

Nollo Scale

800' TAPER

2800' CHANNa. CHUTE

800'
-I- TAPER

[.

t
-------------------- --------------------

Motorist Entering GA

I.'
.I
:.J

Notes:

"I

I

I

I

.

8' Paved Shoulder on Outside Lane.
I 4'Paved Shoulder on I~side Lane.
Interview Southbound Motorist Only.

Proposed Lane Closure.

Southbound Entrance hamp from GA Route 77 ADT Approximately 500 VPD. I
1-85 ADT Approximately 30,000 VPD.

Survey Operation froJ around 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
I
I
j

I
Mainline Traffic Control Plan
I
I

I
Figure A2

. . J' II

!8

~

(21%) 24300

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24300 (21%)

(22%) 22300
22300 (22%)

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8
f.'<oiOOO%Il j

(26%)

18700

18700 (26%)

en
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(24%) 21200
21200 (24%)

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(16%)

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(27%) 18100
18100 (27%)

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(24%)

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(25%)

20800

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20800 (24%)

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20300 (25%)

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(28%) 17900
17900 (28%)

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(28%)

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(28%)

17900

18100

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(24%) 2300
2300 (24%)

(29%) 18300
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(28%) 19200
19200 {28%1

XXXX Average Daily Traffic (XX%) Dally % of Trucks

No1lo 8cale

Note:
Based on 24-hour vehicle classification counts taken on freeway ramps and Georgia DOT mainline freeway count south ofState Route 211.

1998 Estimated Average Daily Volumes
Figure A3

II



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(21%) 51300
51300 (21%)

(22%) 49200
49200
(22%)

s
!i
(26%) 43000 43000 (26%)

(24%) 48SOO . 48500 (24%)
s
5
(27%) 41400 41400 (27%)

(24%) 49500 49500 (24%)
~ !
(28%) 41100
41100
(28%)

- - ___ IiilI ..
.

(250,'0)
47500 47500
(25%)
~
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(28%) 40100 40100 (28%)

(30o/co) (42563%00)
(30%) 45300 (26%)
s
~
(28%) 40200 40200 (28%)

(24%) 4400
4400 (24%)

(29%) 40000
40000 (29%)

(28%) 41000
41000 (28%)

1-85 .Corridor Analysis

.... ; ; ' y

.'. :'.

XXXX Average Dally Traffic . (XX%) Daily % ofTrocks

Nollo Scale

Note:
Projections based on 1998 ADT estimates plus forecasted population and employment data. Traffle volume trends on roadways leading into and out ofthe study area were also critical factors' in the projection process.

__ ----IiiiiI--

&,

':! U



,.

Table A-1

Estimated Accident Rates On 1-85 By Freeway Segment

(1995 - 1998 Accident Experience)

Freeway

From

To

Segment

-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

. Gwinnett Co. SR 211

SR 211

SR 53

SR 53

US 129

US 129

SR 82

SR82

SR 98

SR98

US 441

US 441

SR63

SR63

SR 51

SR 51

SR 320

SR 320

SR 106

SR106

SR 17

SR17

SR 77

SR 77

So. Carolina

Total Length

Distance (Miles)
1.30 3.20 7.23 3.87 6.17 2.73 4.40 6.10 4.03 2.02 7.20 4.12 1.90
54.27

Annual Avg. ADT

Number Number Number

Annual

Fatal

Injury

Total

Avg. VMT

Accidents" Accidents" Accidents"

41,355 19,622,948

0

1

2

37,358 43,634,144

0

6

16

38,418 101,383,181

2

8

27

37,693 53,243,247

0

6

15

36,787 82,846,163

0

7

20

36,920 36,788,934 .

0

2

8

34,889 . 56,031.734

0

6

9

32,837 73,111,581

0

6

17

32,396 . 47,652,896

0

6

25

32,438 23,916,537

0

4

14

34,622 !;lO,986,616

1

14

41

33,353 50,156,241

1

6

19

34,912 24,211,472

0

4

10

-NA- 703~585,695

4

76

223

Accident Rates

Fatal 2

Total 3

0.00

0.10

0.00.

0.37

1.9.7

0.27

0.00

0.28

0.00

0;24

0.00

0.22

0.00

0.16

0.00

0.23

0.00

0.52

0;00

0.59

1.10

0.45

1.99

0.38

0.00 . 0;41

0.57

0.32

(1) Number of accidents estimated for time period between August 1, 1998 and December 31, 1998.
Actual average number of fatal accidents per year on segment number 3. is 1:5.
(2) Fatal rate is computed per hundred million vehicle miles of travel.
(3) Total accident rate is computed per million vehicle miles of travel

-
The I-85/US129 interchange was selected as a potential western (southern) terminus because it is tile location where substantial internal-internal travel to and from the east (north) originate and/or are destined. West of this interchange the number of internal-internal trips 'begins to diminish significantly. The internal-internal traffic at this interchange is related to providing access to both Gainesville - Hall County on the north and Athens-Clark County on the south. In addition, US 129 is a 4-lane facility serving these two major traffic generators in the corridor.
The 1-85/US441 interchange was selected as a logical terminus for two reasons. First, the estimated year 2025 ramp volumes to and from the west (south) as well as those serving the east (north) suggest that freeway improvements made to 1-85 on either side of the interchange would provide independent utility. Forecasted volumes on the ramps serving the south was a combined 18,000 vehicles per day. To the north, total daily traffic exiting and entering 1-85 was estimated at 14,000 vehicles per day. The year 2025 analysis of travel patterns indicated that the 1-85/US , 441 interchange would be the highest volume interchange in the entire study area. The outlet mall and other shopping-related attractions immediately surrounding the interchange are not the' only developments attracting motorists to this interchange. Motorists will be attracted to and from this interchange for other reasons, such as: the interchange provides access to Commerce and Athens for motorists oriented to and from the north; and it provides access to Homer, the Toccoa area, and places in the north Georgia mountains for motorists oriented from the south. Moreover, US 441 is a 4-lane facility.
The second reason for identifying the 1-85/US 441 interchange as a "logical termini" is that the year 2025 traffic projections pointed to an overall decline in the level of traffic on segments east (north) of US 441. South of US 441 the projected year 2025 daily traffic was forecasted to be 90,000 vehicles per day. The year 2025 daily volume drops to 86,000 vehicles per day east (north) of US 441. While these volumes do not indicate a big shift in the level of daily traffic, it is the beginning of where traffic on 1-85 begins to fallon segments to the east (north). East (north) of State Route 63 the year 2025 traffic volume falls to 82,000 vehicles per day. East (north) of US 441, 1-85 traffic volumes are forecasted to be, generally, in the 80,000-90,000 vehicles per day range. West (south) of US 441, traffic levels are projected in the 90,000100,000 vehicles per day range. Moreover, the extent to which the State Route 63 interchange and others to the east (north) would provide independent utility is limited, notwithstanding State Route 17. For example, results of the travel pattern analysis show that the amount of daily traffic oriented to and from the east (north) on 1-85 at the State Route 63 interchange would be around 1,500 vehicles per day.
The fourth "logical termini" was identified to be the 1-85/State Route 17 interchange. State Route 17 is planned to be a 4-lane facility. State Route 17 begins/ends the point of significant internalinternal traffic on the eastern end of the corridor. East of this interchange the internal-internal traffic represents approximately 2 percent (about 1,700 trips) of the total traffic. West of this interchange the internal-internal traffic approaches 10 percent (about 7,100 trips) of the total traffic. Thus, the 1-85/State Route 17 serve as the eastern end of the internal-internal traffic shed of the 1-85 corridor.
The final "logical termini" was identified to be within South Carolina. As can be seen from the information in Figure 5-2, the projected year 2025 traffic volume exceeds the level-of-service C
5-7

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I

capacity threshold for a 4-lane freeway cross-section by a wide margin. The estimated traffic

,

- volume at the Georgia-South Carolina border is projected to be 82,000 vehicles per day in 2025. This volume is well above the 47,000 level-of-service C daily capacity. The Georgia

Department of Transportation plans to work with the South Carolina Department of

Transportation to encourage their cooperation in planning improvements to 1-85 that would

\

extend eastward (northward) toward the Anderson metropolitan area.



5-8

,
t.'.." ' ~ :.-1-"c-';".
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I

I .. 6 Accident Analysis

I The corridor analysis included an investigation of accident experience recorded from 1995

~

through 1998. It involved looking at experience for the 1-85 corridor as a whole, as well as a freeway segment-level examination of the data. For the corridor-level analysis the following

information was tabulated: overall total accident rates; fatal accident rates; and the distribution

of accidents by type. At the segment-level of analysis, accident rates were computed and for

those segments where accident rates warranted further investigation accident type distributions

were inspected.

6.1 Corridor Level Analysis

Fatal and total accident rates for the entire 1-85 corridor are presented in Figure 6-1 and Figure

6-2 along with two other statistics for comparative purposes. The 1-85 corridor included all

accidents that occurred between 1995 and 1998 in the northbound and southbound travel hines

on the mainline between the Gwinnett County border and the South Carolina border. For

.e-

comparison, the 1997 statewide average accident rates for all rural interstates are shown along

with rates computed for a 4-lane section ofl-75 north of Valdosta reflecting accident experience

from 1995 to 1998.

Currently, the frequency of fatal accidents in the 1-85 corridor compares favorably with other

similar freeway sections. On average over the four year. period studied, 1995-1998, there were

nearly 4 fatal accidents per year in the 1-85 corridor. When combining this average number of

accidents with the average annual vehicle miles of travel for the same period the computed

number of fatal accidents per hundred million vehicle miles of travel was 0.57. Fatal accidents

were more likely to occur, in terms of travel miles, on the 4-lane section ofI-75 where there were

...

0.87 fatal accidents per 100 million vehicle miles of travel. The 1997 statewide fatal accident

,1

rate for rural interstates was 0.77 per hundred million vehicle miles of travel.

The accident rate computed for total accidents in the 1-85 corridor compares well with the other freeway sections shown in Figure 6-2. The average rate for total accidents was 32 per million vehicle miles of travel during the 1995-1998 time period. This rate is lower in comparison with the 4-lane section of 1-75, where the accident rate was 53 per hundred million vehicle miles of travel. Statewide, the 1997 rate for total accidents was 49 per hundred million vehicle miles of travel.

While recent accident experience in the corridor suggests that motor vehicles operate relatively safely on this section of 1-85, there are two segments in the Carnesville-Lavonia area having accident rates exceeding the statewide average for rural interstates. These are identified in the next section.

\



~.

6-1



, ..

1.0

Figure 6-1 Comparative Accident Rates - Fatals

0.9

0.8

I

.. 0.7
S 0.8

I

.0::
j

0.5

0.4

II.

0.3

0.2

I

0.1 0.0

Statewide

~75

1-85

I

(Rural Interstates)

(4-lane Section)
Freeway Sections

I

Accident mea computed as lbc IIUDIbcr offatal<lC(;idenls per 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

Figure 6-2

o-

Comparative Accident Rates - Totals

f'"

80

50
S
..0:: 40
-C
GI
"U 30
--ue
iii 20
.0.. 10

0 Statewide
(Rurallnterslates)

1-75
(4.lane Section)
Freeway Sections

1-85

Accident rates computed as the number of total accidents per 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

III

.-II~ ""II I,,I

The distribution of accidents by type during the 1995-1998 time period on 1-85 is depicted in Figure 6-3. Over 70% of these accidents fell into one of three categories;' Struck Object (38%); Rear End (23%); and Sideswipe Same Direction (13%). Many of the accidents taking place in the 1-85 corridor do not involve multiple vehicles. More than half fell into one of three types that do not necessarily involve multiple vehicles. These three types are Struck Object, Overturned, and Other Non-Collision.
The distribution for the 4-lane section of 1-75 between Valdosta and Tifton is shown in Figure 6-4. This section of freeway carries slightly higher traffic volumes, on average, than the section of 1-85 under study. Overall, there are slightly more accidents involving multiple vehicles in this section. The most frequently occurring type of accident, with 36% of the total, was a Rear End. In second at three percentage points back with 33% was the Struck Object type. Other than the "Sideswipe Same Direction" classification which accounted for 12% of the total, there were no other categories with a share exceeding 10%.
6.2 Segment Level Analysis
Accident rates for fatal and total crashes were computed for each segment of 1-85. They are presented in Figure 6-5 for fatal accidents and in Figure 6-6 for total accidents. The rates are also presented in the Appendix in Table A-I which also includes other information such as segment lenghts and traffic volumes. All of the rates. were computed with accident and traffic data representing the 1995-1998 time period. Only accidents occurring on the mainline of the freeway were used in calculating the rates.

q

Three segments experienced fatal accidents during this time period. These segments and their rates are listed below and in Figure 6-5:

q,

State Route 17 to State Route 77 (1.99 per 100 million vehicle miles of travel); State Route 106 to State Route 17 (1.10 per 100 million vehicle miles of travel); and State Route 53 to US 129 (1.97 per 100 million vehicle miles of travel).

The other eight segments did not experience any fatal accidents during the 1995-1998 time

period according to the statewide accident data base. Recognizing the random nature of fatal

I,

accidents, the variability among. segments in fatal accident rates is understandable. Wherever a fatal accident occurs, that segment's rate will likely exceed the norm. None of the segments have rates that would indicate there is an especially high incidence of fatal accidents

Two segments have rates for total accidents that exceed the statewide average by a significant margin. These segments are listed below and in Figure 6-6:

I

State Route 51 to State Route 320 (52 per one million vehicle miles of travel); and

State Route 320 to State Route 106 (59 per one million vehicle miles of travel).

I

Neither of these sections had fatal accidents during the 1995-1998 time period. They are

characterized by having relatively low daily traffic volumes in contrast with other segments in

-' the corridor. Average annual daily traffic during the 1995-1998 time period ranged in the

., 32,000 to 33,000 vehicles per day range. As such, there is a relatively high percentage of trucks

,

6-3

Figure 6-3 Accident Type Distribution
1-85 Corridor
40%
35%
30%

-
,i,
:i
"

ANGLE INTERSECTING

HEAD ON

OTHER NONCOLLISION

OVERTURNED PEDESTRIAN

REAR END

ACCIDENT TYPE

SIDESWIPE OPP

DIR

'

SIDESWIPE SAME DIR

STRUCK OBJECT

ttl >, " 00

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