I. Need and Purpose A. Introduction Hall County is located northeast of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. The population has been growing rapidly over the past 15 years and this growth is expected to continue in the future. According to the US Census, the 1990 population was 95,428. By the year 2000, the population had grown by approximately 46 percent to 139,277. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) estimates the population will grow to 166,481 in 2010 and 242,077 in 2030. Respectively, this is a 19 percent and 74 percent growth in population since the year 2000. This increase in population will result in an increase in travel demand throughout Hall County. Without improvements to the transportation infrastructure, traffic congestion will increase and safety along the roadways will decrease.
The Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization (GHMPO) developed the GainesvilleHall County 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). This plan was adopted on August 14, 2007 and addresses the travel needs throughout Hall County through the year 2030. The LRTP identifies projects and strategies that would meet Hall County’s current and future transportation and infrastructure needs. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Project STP-0003-00(626), P.I. Number 0003626, is listed in the Gainesville-Hall County LRTP Tier 1 (2008-2013 Projects) as project GH-016. The proposed project would construct a fourlane connector roadway divided by a 20-foot median between State Route (SR) 53/Dawsonville Highway and SR 60/Thompson Bridge Road. The project would begin at the Sardis
Road/Chestatee Road intersection and would extend north to SR 60 in the vicinity of its intersection with Mount Vernon Road. The alignment follows several existing local roads with some of the proposed alignment on new location. The location of the project is shown in Figure 1.
B. Planning Basis for the Action The purpose of this project is to provide a safe, viable, cost effective, environmentally sensitive, and user friendly transportation facility for the citizens of Hall County and the traveling public. The proposed project would construct a roadway between SR 53/Dawsonville Highway and SR 60/Thompson Bridge Road that would adequately handle future traffic needs, provide for pedestrian mobility, and provide/enhance the connection between SR 53 and SR 60. connection would help to alleviate congestion in downtown Gainesville, Georgia. This
Project STP-0003-00(626) would begin at the eastern terminus of GDOT Project STP-006503(037), PI Number 12178 (the Sardis Road at Chestatee Road intersection), which is currently under construction. The project would end at SR 60 at its intersection with Mount Vernon Road for a total length of approximately 3.59 miles.
In addition, the preferred alternative would construct a ten-foot wide multi-use path along both sides of the roadway which will include a bike path to improve the safety and mobility of pedestrians in the area. The Gainesville-Hall MPO has also identified this corridor in their Bike and Pedestrian Plan.
The installation of a 20-foot raised median would limit access along the proposed corridor and allow safer operating conditions for through traffic. The project would provide local and through traffic with a facility that would serve current and future traffic demand and provide the public with a safer environment for automobile drivers and pedestrians.
C. Deficiencies in the System The current deficiencies in the system are substandard intersections, pedestrian facilities, and connectivity between SR 53 and SR 60. The preferred alternative would provide 10-foot multiuse path to improve pedestrian mobility throughout the area. In addition, the preferred alternative would provide motorists a roadway that connects SR 53 and SR 60 as opposed to traveling through the city of Gainesville, Georgia.
Roadways are rated for operational effectiveness using a level-of-service (LOS). LOS is a standard means of classifying traffic conditions associated with various traffic volume levels and traffic flow conditions. There are six levels of service at which a roadway can operate, represented by the letters “A” through “F”. Each level is defined by a maximum value for the ratio of traffic volume (V) to facility capacity (C). An LOS of A is when volume is well below capacity and traffic is flowing freely. LOS of “B” is when traffic flow is steady but the presence of other vehicles begins to be noticeable. An LOS of “C” allows for steady traffic flow, but speeds and maneuverability are more closely controlled by the higher volumes. LOS of “D” is approaching an unsteady flow in which speed and maneuverability are severely restricted. LOS of “E” is when traffic flow is reduced to a slow but relatively uniform speed, and traffic volume is equal to or nearly equal to capacity and maneuverability is extremely difficult. The lowest LOS of “F” is when the volume greatly exceeds the capacity and lengthy delays occur.
The average daily traffic (ADT) for the proposed project are shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1 Location Preferred Alternative Average Daily Traffic Current Build Design Year Year Year 2007 2011 2031 10,510 13,800 19,900
The build year (2011) average daily traffic (ADT) is 13,800 vehicles. The projected ADT for design year (2031) is 19,900. This is an increase of 6,100 vehicles per day, a 44 percent increase in traffic volume.
Table 2 shows the LOS for the signalized and unsignalized intersections along the preferred alternative for the existing, build, and design years.
Table 2: LOS for the Intersections Along the Preferred Alternative
Existing 2007 AM 2007 PM Delay LOS Delay LOS 24.5 N/A 25.8 Delay 4 N/A N/A N/A 4.0 10.6 21.2 C N/A C LOS A N/A N/A N/A A B C 15.6 N/A 17.3 Delay 1.8 N/A N/A N/A 1.8 10.1 14.3 B N/A B LOS A N/A N/A N/A A B A Build Year (Build/No-Build) 20011 AM 2011 PM Delay LOS Delay LOS 12.7/35.4 10.7 13.3/29.0 Delay1 7.0/4.5 1.2 1.3 1.6 4.5 11.3 29.8 B/E B B/C LOS A/A A A A A B D 11.2/18.6 9.0 11.4/19.2 Delay1 3.1/1.9 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.9 10.6 16.5 B/C A B/B LOS A/A A A A A B B Design Year (Build/No-Build) 2031 AM 2031 PM Delay LOS Delay LOS 17.7/154.2 11.2 30.7/105.6 Delay1 88.6/21.5 16.3 2.1 2.9 21.5 19.6 172.3 B/F B C/F LOS F/C C A A C C F 13.3/76.9 10.1 19/50.9 Delay1 13.6/2.8 1.7 2.1 2.9 2.8 15.5 67.7 B/F A B/E LOS B/A A A A A C F
Signalized Intersection: Sardis Road @ Chestatee Road Sardis Rd. Conn. @ Sardis Rd.* Sardis Rd. Conn. @ Thompson Bridge Rd Unsignalized Intersection: Sardis Road @ Fan Mar Drive Sardis Rd. Conn. @ Ledan Rd. Extension* Sardis Rd. Conn. @ Southers Rd.* Sardis Rd. Conn. @ Greencrest Rd.* Sardis Road @ Fan Mar Drive^ Ledan Road @ Southers Road^ Ledan Road @ Sardis Road^
Note: Delay is in seconds * = intersections that occur in the Build Condition only ^ = intersections that occur in the No-Build Condition only 1 = At unsignalized intersections, delay for overall intersection delay and LOS.
As can be seen in Table 2, there are three intersections along the preferred alternative that exist in the Build and No-Build Conditions: Sardis Road at Chestatee Road, Sardis Road at Thompson Bridge Road (SR 60), and Sardis Road at Fan Mar Drive. The preferred alternative would improve the LOS at two of the three intersections to a LOS of C or better. These two
intersections are Sardis Road at Chestatee Road and Sardis Road at Thompson Bridge Road (SR 60). However, at the intersection of Sardis Road and Fan Mar Drive, the preferred alternative would result in longer delays in the year 2031 and result in a LOS of F during the AM peak hours. The LOS would be B during the PM peak hours at this intersection.
The intersection of Sardis Road at Ledan Road exists in the No Build alternative. The LOS at this intersection currently operates at a LOS of C during the AM peak hours and an A during the PM peak hours. However, the LOS will decrease to F during the AM and PM peak hours by the year 2031. The four intersections that would be constructed as a result of the preferred alternative would operate at a LOS of B or better in the year 2031 except for the intersection of Sardis Road Connector at the Ledan Road Extension. This intersection would have a LOS of C during the AM peak hours and a LOS of A in the PM peak hours. Overall, the preferred alternative would improve the LOS at the intersections along the roadway with the exception of the intersection of Sardis Road and Fan Mar Drive.
Historical accident and injury data is shown in Table 3 for the years 2003 to 2005. The historical data includes no fatalities during this time period.
Table 3: Accident Rates Year 2003 2004 2005 Accident Rate Sardis Statewide Road Average 167 201 101 461 176 513 Injury Rate Sardis Statewide Road Average 8 135 16 173 23 190 Fatalities Sardis Statewide Road Average 0 1.4 0 1.17 0 1.34
Source: Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Operations
The accident and injury rate along this section of roadway does not exceed the statewide averages for similar roadway facilities in the year 2003, 2004, or 2005. Many of the accidents were rearend and angle intersection accidents. These types of accidents may have occurred due to the limited passing opportunities and left turn lane storage lengths along the roadway.
GDOT Project STP-0003-00(626) would address the capacity, safety, and operational needs along the corridor.
D. Logical Termini Logical termini is defined as rational end points for a transportation improvement and rational end points for a review of the environmental impacts. The most common termini are points of major traffic generation, especially intersecting roadways. In order to ensure meaningful evaluation of alternatives and to avoid commitments to transportation improvements before they are fully evaluated, the action evaluated shall (1) connect logical termini and be of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope; (2) have independent utility or independent significance, i.e. be usable and be a reasonable expenditure even if no additional transportation improvements in the area are made; and (3) not restrict consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements.
The western terminus of GDOT Project STP-0003-00(626) would tie into the eastern terminus of GDOT Project STP-0065-03(037) along SR 53, which is currently under construction. The western terminus is located at the intersection of Sardis Road and Chestatee Road. At this intersection, the 2007 ADT traffic volumes on Sardis Road split, with approximately 81 percent of the traffic traveling north on Chestatee Road and the remaining traffic continuing through the intersection along Sardis Road. In addition, the proposed project would tie into Sardis Road where it is currently being widened and realigned to a four-lane roadway divided by a 20-foot raised median with curb and gutter (Project STP-0065-03(037)).
The eastern terminus of this project is SR 60, at its intersection with Mount Vernon Road. The eastern termini for the proposed project is logical because it terminates at SR 60, a four-lane divided roadway and major north-south roadway in Hall County, Georgia. The preferred
alternative would extend approximately 200 feet east of the intersection along Mount Vernon Road in order to tie the proposed four-lane roadway into two-lanes, which is the typical section for Mount Vernon Road.
The termini for the proposed project also has independent utility. In other words, the proposed project would make improvements to the roadway network that does not rely on other transportation projects in order to function. Although the proposed project is not dependent on
other transportation projects, there are several transportation projects proposed by the GDOT and Hall County in the vicinity of the Sardis Road Connector project