Technical Support for Implementation of Access Management Plan

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this effort will be to provide technical assistance and staff support for implementation of an access management plan in Kentucky. BACKGROUND: The Kentucky Transportation Center has completed a report titled "Access Management for Kentucky" and has offered a series of recommendations to implement a program of access management in Kentucky. Among those recommendations are several tasks that will require technical expertise and staff support. From past experience and through the development of the access management plan, the Transportation Center staff has gained a level of expertise that should be of value during the implementation process. The Transportation Center report on access management addresses the need for development of a new roadway classification system that is linked to establishing the allowable access level. In addition, a series of spacing requirements were proposed using the classification system. FY 2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Monthly meetings of the Access Management Implementation Task Force were held to discuss results and recommendations from Research Report KTC-04-05 titled "Access Management for Kentucky". Staff support was provided and presentations were made to explain and expand upon the results and recommendations contained in the research report. Preliminary analyses were performed to expand on the summary of benefits related to access management contained in Research Report KTC-04-05. Workshops were conducted in each highway district to explain and address steps required for implementation of the new access management classification system that is linked to allowable access levels and a series of access management standards for each roadway classification. FY 2007 PROPOSED WORK: Additional meetings of the Implementation Task Force will be held and assistance will be provided to that group by the staff at the Transportation Center. Following is a list of tasks that have been recommended as part of the Implementation Plan. Several of these tasks have been addressed during the past year and will continue to be addressed during FY 2007. • Complete efforts to fInalize the Access Management ClassifIcation System for all state maintained routes in Kentucky and develop rules and procedures for consideration of changes to the classifIcation system. • Complete efforts to quantify the benefits of the proposed program. • Complete efforts to formalize coordination procedures between KYTC access permitting staffs and local planning and zoning commissions. • Complete efforts to develop a design policy for the integration of access management standards into alternatives considered for highway improvement projects. • Continue efforts to identify and investigate opportunities to incorporate elements of the program into existing policies and practices. • Continue efforts to investigate technical and legal issues that arise. • Continue efforts to develop documentation for various elements ofthe program. • Provide technical assistance, as requested, to Cabinet design teams on access management issues that arise during project development deliberations. • Provide technical assistance, as requested by the Cabinet, to local agencies in the development of access management standards and policies. Implementation of an access management program in Kentucky will result in several changes in the manner in which highway access is controlled. With this recognition, the objectives of this project have been developed to stress integration of program elements into existing policies and practices. At the same time, it is expected that efforts undertaken with this project will result in significant progress toward the promulgation of an Administrative Regulation to put Kentucky's access management program into effect. PROJECTED COST THROUGH FY 2006: PROGRAMMED COST FY 2007: TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $115,000 $ 10,000 $125,000