2018 Issue

38 W hy should we have Regional Transportation Corridor Plans and Agreements? We have all been driving through a community on a nice wide roadway and then crossed a city limit to find that the road- way narrows up significantly or eventually disappears. Also, we drive through communities with heavy congestion due to narrow roadways or with numerous access points onto the main roadway. With proper planning a lot of this can be prevented. We travel out to the communities around us for work, shopping, school, family and recreational activities. We all desire a safe and efficient transportation network. I will focus on local jurisdictional roads and not state roads to talk about the need and benefit. As development is increasing around us, the existing transportation corridors are becoming congested. In many communities, the state highways are the only main corridors. Alternate routes are needed to maintain a robust transpor- tation network. Studies should be conducted to identify which existing and future roadways should be the main corridors connecting the surrounding communities. So what are the benefits to a regional corridor plan? • Consistent roadway cross section. • Maintain important corridors, improving traffic flow in the region. • Safer roadway networks. Maps Several components should be included in a regional transportation corridor plan. One of the first and probably most important things to do would be to take what each of the adjacent communities currently have and combine that information into one corridor map. The map can then The Benefits and Components of Regional Transportation Corridor Plans By John Powell, P.E. Project Manager/ ASCE NUB President J-U-B Engineers, Inc.