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Project Overview

U.S. 36 Added Travel Lanes - Sections

Project Overview

Project Overview

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) proposes the addition of travel lanes to US 36 (Rockville Road) from SR 267 east to I-465 west leg. This project is located in Hendricks and Marion Counties in central Indiana. The project is in the very early stages of development and specific design information is not available at this time.

The project length is approximately 7.1 miles. The proposed improvements to US 36 would increase the number of travel lanes from four (4) to six (6), replace the pavement, improve the intersections and gain more control of access.

PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED STATEMENT - Summary

Existing Conditions

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) proposes the addition of travel lanes to US 36 (Rockville Road) in Hendricks and Marion Counties, Indiana. The proposed project is located from approximately one mile west of SR 267 to the east ramp terminus of the existing I-465 and US 36 interchange (Appendix A-1). The total project length is approximately 8.2 miles.

The existing US 36 is functionally classified as an Urban Other Principal Arterial. From CR 800 E (Dan Jones Road) to I-465, US 36 is part of the National Highway System (NHS). The NHS consists of specifically designated roads that are important to the nation’s economy, defense and mobility. Within the project area, US 36 is a four-lane divided roadway, consisting of 12 foot travel lanes, bordered by 11 foot outside shoulders. The median for most of the project area consists of a 16 foot two-way-left-turn-lane (TWLTL), which characterizes US 36 as a five-lane roadway. From Westridge Park Drive to the White Lick Creek Bridge, the median transitions to a 60 foot wide grass median. The existing right-of-way varies from approximately 140 – 300 feet. Land use in the project area is primarily commercial, with residential developments and scattered industrial sites.

Need for Improvement

US 36 (Rockville Road) was originally constructed as a two-lane roadway passing between Avon and Indianapolis. As land in east-central Hendricks County and west-central Marion County underwent development, US 36 evolved into a significant commuter route. In 1977, US 36 was expanded from two to five lanes in an effort to resolve congestion and traffic problems. Since this expansion, traffic congestion and delays on area roadways have increased as the population and employment levels of Hendricks and Marion County have risen.

The five basic elements of the purpose and need for the proposed project are as follows;

 Reduce traffic congestion and travel time within the US 36 corridor
 Improve the overall level of safety for motorists and others traveling along and across the US 36 corridor
 Reduce crash potential from un-signalized conflict points along the US 36 corridor
 Improve pavement serviceability
 Enhance inter-modal connectivity

Reduce traffic congestion and travel time within the US 36 corridor

As mentioned above, US 36 is functionally classified as an Urban Other Principal Arterial and is part of the NHS. Since its construction and expansion, traffic congestion has steadily increased and the overall speed of vehicles using the roadway has steadily decreased. In 2003, the average speed of the roadway ranged from 17 to 26 mph. Commuters can expect to spend approximately 57% of the time traveled along US 36 in delay. Traffic projections have indicated that if conditions remain constant, by 2028, average speeds will range from 12 to 17 mph, with 86% of travel time spent in delay.

Improve the overall level of safety for motorists and others traveling along and across the US 36 corridor

Between 1997 and 2000, there were a total of 1,148 crashes in the project area. This roughly equates to 287 crashes per year, and 140 crashes per mile within the termini of the proposed project. Three of these crashes resulted in fatalities, 875 resulted in property damage and 270 caused personal injury. The overall crash rate for the project is approximately 1.7 crashes per million (entering) vehicle miles. This figure means for every million miles traveled along US 36, approximately 1.7 crashes will occur.

An expected crash rate can be developed for any given intersection based on the functional classification of the roadway and the average traffic volumes of the roadway. Eight of the 11 signalized intersections within the project area have greater than expected crash rates. Of these eight, six were more than twice the expected crash rate.

Reduce crash potential from un-signalized conflict points along the US 36 corridor

Approximately 13.5% of the above crashes were related to un-signalized approaches. The existing roadway has a total of 3,152 un-signalized conflict points (approximately 384 per mile) within the project termini. A conflict point is defined as that point where a lane or turning path diverges, crosses or merges with another lane or turning path. By combining the overall crash rate and conflict point counts, a specialized crash rate index can be determined. This crash rate index measures the crash potential when performing un-signalized maneuvers such as merging or crossing the roadway at a cross intersection. The comparatively high crash rate index for US 36 makes certain types of accidents, such as rear end and right-angle collisions, more likely to occur.

Improve pavement serviceability

The existing concrete pavement is 28 years old, and after two asphalt overlays could last approximately eight years before some form of preservation or replacement would be necessary. The base of the existing concrete has deteriorated to a point that additional surface treatments would have incrementally shorter design lives. In addition, the increased frequency of pavement preservation work would cause additional user costs due to expenditures for the capital improvements and restrictions during construction activity.

Enhance inter-modal connectivity

US 36 is part of the NHS for inter-modal connectivity between the CSX Railroad Big Four Yard (located south of US 36 between Dan Jones Road and CR 1050) and the Interstate System at I-465. Annual average daily truck traffic along the NHS corridor is projected to increase approximately 43% between 2003 and 2028. Likewise, vehicular traffic is projected to increase approximately 53% in the same time-frame. With increasing traffic leading to increasing congestion along this NHS corridor, the roadway’s function as an inter-modal connector would be increasingly compromised.

Conclusions

If no work is completed along the US 36 corridor, these aforementioned conditions would continue to deteriorate. The project is proposed to alleviate these issues while providing an improved transportation facility. The proposed project would be designed to reduce traffic congestion and travel time, improve the overall level of safety of the roadway, and reduce the crash potential and exposure along the corridor. Pavement serviceability would be improved and intermodal connectivity would be enhanced by the project.