Traffic Congestion Amelioration and Bridge Restoration: Final Report

An area in the city of Holland, Pennsylvania experiences severe traffic congestion during peak hours at two intersection: Buck Road and Holland Road, and Buck Road and Old Bristol Road. This traffic is a direct result of a two-lane concrete bridge located on Buck Road that connects the two intersections and is located only a short distance away from the traffic signal at Buck Road and Old Bristol Road. This two-lane bridge prevents the flow of traffic from heading southbound on Buck Road. Because the bridge is only two lanes and is so close to the intersections, the narrow width cannot accommodate the number of vehicles in its southbound lane wanting either to make a left onto Old Bristol Road or to continue southbound on Buck Road. The proposal created by HK&T Inc. compared four possible alternatives for correcting the traffic problem that was described above. These alternative include: expanding the width of the existing bridge, construction of a new two lane bridge, adjusting the traffic signal sequence, and redesign of the geometry of the intersections. The major criteria for this project were cost, feasibility of design, site location, and available land. Complications have been discovered after further research on the recommended alternative of widening the existing bridge. The only feasible alternative, not discussed in the proposal, would be to build a separate one-lane concrete bridge that will accommodate traffic heading southbound on Buck Road. The new bridge will be built on the west side of the existing bridge and it will allow the existing bridge to have one lane for the traffic heading northbound on Buck Road and one lane for the traffic heading southbound and making a left onto Old Bristol Road (see Figure 2 in Appendix C)