Eastern Colorado mobility study : final report

PDFResearch PaperFreight transportationRegional transportationTransportation planningRegional planningStrategic planningTravel demandInfrastructureCommodity flowColoradoColorado. Dept. of TransportationFelsburg, Holt & UllevigDMJM+HARRISJacobs Civil, Inc.Cambridge SystematicsInfrastructure Management Group, Inc.NTL-FREIGHT-Freight Planning and PolicyNTL-FREIGHT-IntermodalismNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-Travel DemandNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-RAIL TRANSPORTATIONNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATIONNTL-FREIGHT-FREIGHTAGR-INFRASTRUCTURE-INFRASTRUCTUREAGR-FREIGHT-Intermodal Freight TransportationAGR-FREIGHT-Commodity FlowUS Transportation CollectionColorado, with an economy based in large part on agriculture, has a need to transport large quantities of commodities. The rapidly growing urban areas in the state also need many products and goods to support the growth. Furthermore, Colorado is strategically located as a "bridge" state in the national and international infrastructure system for movement of freight, resulting in large quantities of goods flowing through the state. Although this is predominately in the east-west direction today, the potential of NAFTA, the North America Free Trade Agreement, suggests that there may be opportunities for Colorado to also become a more significant player in the movement of goods in north-south corridors. Historically however, freight mobility has not been a major focus within the statewide transportation planning process or in the identification of strategic projects in the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) funding process. But CDOT has recognized the importance of an efficient freight transportation system to the economy of the state. Thus, the Eastern Colorado Mobility Study has been undertaken to assist the Transportation Commission of Colorado in making investment decisions regarding infrastructure improvements to enhance freight mobility in the eastern part of the state. The study area includes all of eastern Colorado, extending to the I-25 corridor on the west and Colorado's borders on the north, east and south. The study was comprised of two phases: a "learning phase" and a "plan development phase". Although these two phases appear to be distinct phases, the study involved considerable interaction between the phases as the efforts evolved. The learning phase involved such tasks as an inventory of the existing transportation systems (all modes) and land use, environmental, and socio-economic conditions; compilation of commodity flow data; and development phase entailed creation of a travel demand model to project future demands on the transportation system