1 50 1 https://highway89.org/files/original/bbf0d71e5132596fd42578b67cb1e24d.pdf f57b44481f407785533347499fd586b8 PDF Text Text ~UHMARY FACT SnEET nIGHWAY U.S. 89 - LOGAN CANYON STUDY NOVEMBER 1986 Utah Department of Transportation (UOOT) CII2M IIILL Engineering Consultants INTRODUCTION UDOT has contracted with CH2M HILL for a study of US-89 in Logan Canyon. The objective of the study is to evaluate transportation needs, develop improvement alternatives and to conduct an environmental evaluation of the alternative concepts . Findings of each step of this study will be reported to the public through a public involvement program, of which this fact sheet is a part. Previously circulated information about this study is available at the Logan Public Library, Utah State University Library and Valley Engineering in Logan; U.S. Forest Service in Ogden; and CH2M HILL and UOOT offices in Salt Lake City. The purpose of this fact sheet is to report the preliminary findings of the first task of the study. A report on the preliminary identification of public concerns/issues regarding potential improvements to U.S. Highway 89 in Logan Canyon from Right Hand Fork east to Garden City is also included. Questions about the following information or the project in general may also be directed to Gale Larson, Valley Engineering, in Logan at 753-0153 or Cliff Forsgren, CH2M HILL, in Salt Lake City at 363-0200. Additionally, ~anual counts were taken at several points within the canyon during 1986 to provide .ore detailed characteristics of the traffic flow. Table 1 ahows the annual average vehicles per day (AnT) and su~er average vehicles per day on the road. Figure 1 shows the distribution of traffic during the year, and Figure 2 shows the distribution during the week. Table 1 TRAFFIC VOLUME U.S. 89 LOGAN CANYON (CARD CUARD STATION) RECORDED The first task of the study, the determination of transportation needs on Highway 89 through the canyon, was to identify existing roadway conditions; examine accident records for the road; identify maintenance problems; identify traffic volumes and characteristics; project future volumes; and determine road capacity. The conclusions drawn from analyzing this information include the location and nature of specific highway safety hazards; the capability of the existing road to carry present and future traffic volumes; and what problems exist that may keep the highway from functioning at a reasonable operational level. This information will be the basis for the second task of the study, the development of alternative improvements, if improvements are found to be needed. Su~r ~:")J 2798 )022 )140 34(11 3400 )180 1)67 1927. 1907. JROG 1013 1007 18<10 17<0 1773 1980 1981 1902 •• 1984~. 1985 . AOT (Vehicles Per O<1l') 1774 155S IG80 1973 197<1 197 5 1976 1977 1978 19:'~ REPORT ON TRANSPORTATION NEEDS . Annual AnT (Vehicles ~'cr Oa1':) Year )276 3424 )406 )503 )5)6 •• June. July and Augu sc Adjusted to reflect difference in t~affic between C.Jrd Guard Station where counter was originally installed and the present location west of Garden City. The station was moved in August of 1963. 1983 date!. ...·as not used . Station moved to new location in 1983 ana oata is from two locatior.s. EXISTING ROADWAY CONDITIONS Design conditions of the road that affect traffic flow include cross-section elements, roadway curvature, roadway gradient, and the width of and access to the highway rightof-way. These are generally referred to as roadway geometrics. Data for cross-section elements show the road section between Right Fork and Tony Grove as being well below standard in terms of width of traffic lanes, shoulders, surfacing slopes, and ditches. The other sections, while below standard, are not as seriously so. Roadway curvature results in limited visibility and reduced speeds. The curves of each road section were categorized by their recommended speed. The section from Right Fork to Tony Grove ranked highest in the number of curves and in their severity, followed by the section from the Cache-Rich County line to Garden City. Gradient describes how fast a highway climbs or descends in elevation. The section from Tony Grove to Garden City has gradients of 6 to 7 percent over 31 percent of its distance. The majority of the road from Logan to Tony Grove has gradients from 0 to 3 percent. 2' .9 r--- 20 15 '" 12 . 0 0 t0 ~ - 10 - .., .., C 8 .2 ,.--- 0 SAFETY ANALYSIS 10 . 5 a.. The highway has been examined to identify specific locations, or general conditions which may be contributing to traffic accidents in the Canyon. To do this, the consultant examined the number, type and location of accidents in the study section from 1980 thrugh 1985. The hgihway was divided into 374 sections of 0.10 mile each. The average number of accidents per year for each section were then computed. Those sections with significantly higher than average accident rates (accidents/ year) are being considered for safety related improvements. There are 16 sections in this category. ~.o 5 I--- l .6 0 1.6 F l.a ~ l .4 ~ M A M A S 0 N l .S ~ 0 Month of Yeac MAINTENANCE FACTORS Keeping the road open in winter is the single greatest maintenance problem faced in Logan Canyon. In the narrower parts of the canyon, there is nowhere to push the snow but into the river. Where snow can be plowed to only one side of the road, plows must move across both traffic lanes. This creates a potential safety hazard, particularly when coupled with low visibility due to curves and snow. Winds and steep slopes in the canyon also create maintenance problems with drifting and slides. Some flooding along the road occurs occasionally during spring runoff. TRAFFIC VOLUMES, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PROJECTIONS Traffic volumes for Logan Canyon were obtain ed from the permanent counting station located at Card Ranger ~tation from 1974 to 1983, and just west of Garden City from 1983 on. FIGURE U.S. 89 LOGAN CANYON PERCENT OF AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC OY MONTI! 1984'-1985 These figures show that the road is heavily travelled in summer (53.1 percent of the total from June through August) and on weekends (53 percent of the total on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays). This indicates orientation of the road to recreational traffic. �20 .".' , • •1 r--- t-- 15 S . - r Count s 'l.8 r--- 0 " ,) t- O 1-29 ~r--- r--- 1\Je8. ~ '2 . 0 ~ 2:..2~ 2iJ!! ~ 8 - 13 Wed . 8 - 16 Sat ~ ~ ~ ~ RIght Fork Road (W) 25)4 5)l1 2144 2881 5306 56'4 Right fork Ro.d (E) 2389 5081 2581 7110 S035 SJJ1 Tony Grove Road (W) 2221 4896 2485 2609 4193 5081 Tony Grove Road (E) 2130 4666 2317 2496 4588 4863 S.... lt - Slnks Road (II) 10 2014 4445 2217 2391 4261 45 23 4351 2239 2351 4148 4391 2225 ~ 4187 4448 C C> U ~ a.. 5 - s.-lt - :Hnks Road (E) o 1991 Pe.,...nent Sta ti on ~-S-U-H--~M-O-H--+--T-U~€-4~W-€-O--~-r-"U--+--F-n-'~--S-A-T~ (e) (e) (e) (e) 105 24 hr as percent of 16 hr Oay of Week Permanent station as percent of Right Fork (W) ["IGUHE 2 89 LOGI\N CANYOtl PERCENT OF AVERAGE DI\ILY TRAFFIC OY DAY 1984-1985 U. S. Data collected from manual counts at the Right Fork intersection, Tony Grove intersection, Reaver Mountain intersection, and Summit (Sinks Road), showed: o Composition of the traffic by vehicle type (car, light truck, heavy truck) 79 (a) (w) Indicates total traffic on west leg of intersection (E) Indicates total traffic on east leg of intersection 24-hour counts for the manual count stations were computed using the ratio of the 24-hour to the IO-hour counts at the permanent station . (c ) The permanent counter west of Garden City was not operating on 7-29 and 8-2 . (b) Distribution of traffic by direction of travel (east/west) o 81 Variance in traffic volume between Right Fork and Garden City, o 106 Table 2 shows the variation in traffic volume over the entire project route. It can be seen that in winter, counts at the permanent station near the east end of the route were less than half the volumes at the west end of the route (34 percent and 44 percent). This indicates that there is/are substantial traffic generators (origins/destinations) within the canyon - Beaver Mountain ski area, cross-country skiing, snow mobiling and other winter recreation destinations. The summer volumes also show lower volumes on the east end than on the west end of the route, (81 percent and 79 percent). Since the summer time east end volumes are closer to west end volumes than in winter, this suggests that recreation within the canyon is less of a traffic generator in summer than in winter. Most summer traffic in the Canyon is through traffic. Table 3 gives the percentage composition of tra!fic by vehicle type at three counting stations. Passenger cars and light trucks can be grouped together since their operation is similar. The relatively high percentage of recreation vehicles and trucks combined have significant consequences for a two-lane road with many locations of limited sightdistance for passing and considerable road gradient (see Roadway Conditions). TalJle) U.S. 89 r.ocAN CMYON TRAFFIC COMPOSITION (Percent) Hid Week Pass'enger Car r.i9ht: Truck, Van G Wheel Truck lIeavy Truck Recreat:ional Veh. Table 2 U.S. 89 LOGAN CANYON TRAFFIC VOLUME VARIATION Wint~r Right: t-'ork 52 J3 ~ GI~ OVC Sun.... it: , ~ 52 30 5S 30 1 2 12 S) S8 29 .S .5 12 51 )0 .S _S 12 1 ) 11 I) 56 56 )0 .S )1 12 Weekend Counts 2-22 ::;aturda:i 2-25 Tuesda:i hr(a) ~E. 24 ]0 hr Passengec Car Li9ht Truck, Van G Wheel Truck lIeavy Truck Recreat:ional Veh. 11 _5 .5 12 •S 13 24 hr Right Fork Road (W) (a) 1176 ] 541 848 1111 (a) 1170 ]533 83] ]089 ]041 1364 712 932 55R 731 382 500 530 ~ Right Fork Road (E) Beilver Mountain Road (W) Beaver Mountain Roarl fE) Permanent Stilt ion .-!Qi :!4 hr as percent of 10 hr Permanent ~tation of Right Fork {WI ~ 131 ] 3] 34 44 as percent Because of economic and other considerations, highways are normally not designed to accommodate the highest hours of traffic volume during the year, which .ay happen infrequently, but instead are designed for a lower volume hour that occurs .ore often. UDOT nor.ally uses the 30th highest hourly volume for the design hour volume (DIN). As is shown in Figure J, the 30th highest volume hour for this study road segment is consistent with hourly volumes immediately above and below it, so little would be gained by choosing a different hourly volume for the DIiV. The 30th highest hourly volume, about 14 percent of the average summer traffic, will therefore he used as the hourly volume for which any improvements will be designed. �30,-------~r_------_r--------~--------r_------_y------__, CAPACITY ANALYSIS ". Highway capacity analysis is the estimation of the maximum amount of traffic that can be carried by a given length of highway at various operational qualities. Six categories of road operational quality are defined as Levels of Service (LOS) "A" through "F", "A" being the best operational conditions, F being the worst. Criteria for levels of service address the freedom to move along a roadway without interference from other vehicles. Once estimated; these road capacities can be compared with existing and projected traffic volumes to determine the current and future ability of the road to carry the traffic. 2S The methodology used to analyze the traffic capacity of U.S. 89 through the canyon is published in the Transportation Research Board report, "Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209." A "general terrain" methodology, which is based .a ·+----------jl -------~------~ -------~ .--------_I-------___l Table 4 CAPACITY .AT EACtI LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR LOGAN CANYON PRESENT ROAOWAY CONDITIONS 0~--------~--------+--------1---------_I -------_4--------~ 10 30 .0 o GO 20 50 '~ighest Hours of the Year lEGEND o Level of Service or .JUNE. ""UlY AHO AUCUSf fHAF"ee Segment 1 Maximum Vehicles Per lIour Segment Segment 2 3 .AVI[AAGE a A FIGURE ) HIGHEST SOURLY VOWMES AS PERCENT OF SU~~~R AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC 53 68 n 191 174 165 267 C '010 I I I ~ < Q V V / V Y I I I 538 461 1508 1152 10~6 on average terrain, geOMetrics and traffic conditions, vas applied to the highway study aection. For conditions above or below the average of these elements, the capacity was increased or decreased. Under ideal operational conditions, capacity for a two-lane road is 2,800 vehicles per hour (vph). The results of the analysis are given in Table 4. YEAR It~O 306 629 E Various techniques are used to project future traffic volumes. All techniques rely on certain assumptions to provide the basis of the forecast. This study selected a past trends technique, which assumes that the trend established by past changes in traffic volume will generally continue into the future. Forecasts prepared using this method show an increase in summer traffic volume of approximately 2 percent. The summer ADT in the year 2010 is projected to be approximately 5800, a 75 percent increase over the present. Figure 4 shows that these figures compare very favorably to projections based on the current baseline population projections for the Wasatch Front and Bear River areas developed by the State of Utah. These areas are projected to experience population increases averaging 1.95 percent compounded annually. Using a projected annual growth rate of 1.95 percent, the ADT in Logan Canyon at the Card Guard Station would increase from 3,276 vehicles per day in 1980 to 5,847 vehicles per day in 2010. A summer ADT of 5,800 will therefore be used as the projected ADT for this study. 386 D U.S. 89 LOGAN CANYON By comparing these capacities with the selected design hour volume (DIN) based on present summer traffic volumes of between 370 and 425 vehicles per hour (vph) and a OHV based on projected summer traffic volumes of 545 to 627 vph, it can be seen in Table 5 that the road is currently operating during the summer at Level of Service D. By 2005, summer operational conditions will have deteriorated in all segments of the road to Level of Service E. This means that the road is currently over its capacity to carry its traffic without substantial delays occurring 75 percent or more of the time. With future traffic volumes, delays on the road can be expected more than 75 percent of the time. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION NEEDS An examination of highway characteristics for the study section of road suggests that the high number of curves resulting in limited visibility, which prevents passing, and substandard lane and shoulder widths are the greatest cause of the capacity problem. The large proportion of recreational vehicles and other slower vehicles of the total traffic volume is also a significant contributor to the problem that may increase in the future. If it is desirable to accommodate present and projected vehicle loads in Logan Canyon through the year 2010 at a level of service higher than "OW or WE," it will be necessary to improve problem areas of the roadway in some manner. This can best be accomplished by increasing passing opportunities and widening traffic lanes and shoulders, thus helping to prevent the formation of vehicle platoons and allowing traffic to move more freely through the canyon. I I lEGENO ECONOMIC' POPUlAT ION ,IIENO 9"5EO FOAEC"ST nGURE 4 PAST TAENO 8"S£ 0 fOil£C"Sl US - 59 PAST TREND VS ECONOMC AND POPULATlO~ ADT FORECAST Specific methods of achieving these improvements will be developed in the next step of the study, the development of improvement alternatives. �Table :; LEVEL or SERVICE AT PROJECTED DESIGN HOUR VOLUMES (OHVl PR.ESENT ROAOW~Y CONDITION 1990 1985 Segment 2000 1995 2010 2005 OHV LOS OHV LOS ~ LOS OHV LOS OHV ~ OHV LOS 425 0 469 0 S17 0 569 0 627 O-E 690 t 389 0 428 0 472 0 519 0 S72 630 E )70 ~ 0 408 0 <449 0 495 545 600 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS On August 26, the environmental and engineering staff of CH2M HILL working on the Logan Canyon project toured the Highway 89 study section with representatives of various local enviro~ntal groups and the U.S. Forest Service. The purpose of the tour was for the engineering consultant to gain a preliminary understanding of what environmental issues and concerns need to be considered in the development of improvement plans for the canyon. The following s\l~ary of the findings is preliminary because other opportunit1es for public input regardi.ng environmental ~oncerns will occur prior to the selection of the preferred ~mprovement alternatives and prior to the environmental analysis of the project. Nevertheless, it is important for the consultant to be aware, prior to any development of improvement alternatives, what are considered to be the most important and sensitive environmental resources of the canyon. During the tour, it was suggested by some present that the Canyon should be treated as a recreational corridor (a destination) rather than as a transportation link (a conduit for traffic). Recreational use of the corridor should be given priority over transportation use whenever a decision involving trade-offs is to be made in the study. Recreational use . d~a~s with visual resources, fishery habitat, recreational fac11~t1es, vegetation, and possibly other environmental elements. It was also pointed out that a special ambience exists in the lower part of the study route (Right Fork to below Lower Twin Bridge), created by the narrm" canyon walls, sheer rock cliffs, and tree canopy. Although the existing highway has been constructed through the canyon, other signs of human alteration are minimal. A number of specific elements that contribute to this overall ambience were identified. o Visual - . concern regarding road cuts and fills; destruct~on of focal points and existing fields of v~ew; introduction of artificial features; imposit10n of human alterations upon a relatively natura). setting o Recreation - protection of campgrounds, picnic areas and features of interest (springs, caves, etc.); provision of necessary facilities at interest points (parking, restrooms, etc.); bicycle safety; protection of fisheries • o River Protection - as a visual element; as a water body; as fishery habitat; as a recreational resource The tour progressed through the canyon from Logan to Bear Lake viewpoint w~t~ stops a~ong the way to address specific concerns ~t sens~t1ve locat~ons where road improvements were proposed 1n the past. The area from Right Fork to Tony Grove, the summit, and the Bear Lake viewpoint are the locations on the route that are most sensitive. Concern was cited that slopes in the lower canyon are so steep that cuts for the purpose of road widening can result in serious slope instability and slides. Avalanches can also be a problem in winter. Installation of guardrails in some places on the road has decreased site distance, cutting utilization of the few good passing locations. In other locations, their installation has eliminated views of the river. As additional concerns and issues relating to possible road improvements in the canyon become identified, they will be reported in project fact sheets, press releases, and public meetings. � Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <a href="http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/highway89/id/27">http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/highway89/id/27</a> Purchasing Information Describe or link to information about purchasing copies of this item. To order photocopies, scans, or prints of this item for fair use purposes, please see Utah State University's Reproduction Order Form at: <a href="https://library.usu.edu/specol/using/copies.php">https://library.usu.edu/specol/using/copies.php</a> Digital Publisher List the name of the entity that digitized and published this item online. Digitized by: Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library Date Digital Record the date the item was digitized. 2013 Conversion Specs Scanned by Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library using Epson Expression 10000 scanner, at 800 dpi. Archival file is PDF (800 dpi), display file is JPEG2000. Checksum 2338513696 File Size Size of the file in bytes. 2776373 Bytes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summary fact sheet Highway 89, 1986 Description An account of the resource Four page fact sheet of the Logan Canyon Study from November 1986 by Utah Department of Transportation and CH2M HILL summarizing the area's transportation needs, roadway conditions, safety, and maintenance. Also included are graphs and tables detailing the percent of daily traffic, and current and projected service level capacities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Utah Department of Transportation CH2M Hill (Firm : Salt Lake City, Utah) Subject The topic of the resource Logan Canyon (Utah) United States Highway 89 Utah Roadside improvement--Utah--Logan Canyon Roads--Design and construction Logan Canyon Study Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Administrative records Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Utah Department of Transportation CH2M HILL Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905-06-08 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Logan Canyon (Utah) Utah United States Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1980-1989 20th century Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Senator John P. Holmgren papers, 1985-1989, COLL MSS 133 Box 10 Folder 6 Is Referenced By A related resource that references, cites, or otherwise points to the described resource. View the inventory for this collection at: <a href="http://uda-db.orbiscascade.org/findaid/ark:/80444/xv07669">http://uda-db.orbiscascade.org/findaid/ark:/80444/xv07669</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the USU Libraries Photograph Curator, phone (435) 797-0890. Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Highway 89 Digital Collections Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MSS133Bx10Fd6_Item_5.pdf Highway 89;