Freight impacts on Ohio's roadway system : final report

"Author(s), Daniel Beagan, Lance Grenzeback"--Tech. rept. doc. p.; "June 2002."; Includes bibliographical references.; State job no. 14766 (0).; Harvested from the web on 3/1/06The Ohio Department of Transportation is developing a comprehensive, statewide, travel demand forecasting model, which will include sophisticated freight-planning capabilities; however, the model will not be fully functional until 2005. The purposes of this research study are to determine how readily available freight databases could: provide information on freight flows; forecast freight truck flows on Ohio's roadways; and be used to assess its impact on those roadways. The research study obtained Reebie Associates' 1998 TRANSEARCH' database of freight shipments traveling to, from or through Ohio. Forecasts of Ohio’s economy were obtained from the firm of DRI-WEFA and used to estimate freight flows for the year 2025. Methods were developed to assign the flow of freight shipments to Ohio's major roadway using database queries within TRANSEARCH. The resulting network flows were then mapped as a roadway network using the ArcView GIS software. The research study found that the Origin-Destination tonnage information could be converted to daily trucks and mapped to Ohio’s roadways. The resulting assigned freight truck volumes agreed with the pattem of observed truck counts and screenlines. The methods used, county-to-county assignments and all-or-nothing assignments, produced flows that are accurate for corridors, not for individual facilities. The study conducted four case studies using the freight data to determine the value of the freight data and forecasts. The Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS) model, the analysis tool developed by the Federal Highway Administration to assist in the preparation of the biennial Conditions and Performance Report, was used to assess the impact of future freight-truck travel on Ohio's roadway system. The study examined the freight data and forecast for the I-75 Corridor. The freight-truck forecasts provide detailed information about the industries served/commodities carried now and in the future on I-75. The study examined the potential to divert truck traffic from the Ohio Turnpike to parallel railroad lines. The study examined the use of freight data to support travel demand forecasting models used by Metropolitan Planning Organizations