Federal Funding of Transportation Improvements in BRAC Cases Special Report 302 (2011) / Chapter Skim
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2 Case Studies
2 Case Studies
Pages 11-46
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From page 11... ...
As detailed in the third section, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is causing major problems for surrounding development because of military personnel growth and the state's concurrency law, which limits development when infrastructure service levels decline below an acceptable level. In the final section, at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, the state and local communities developed a unique approach to addressing traffic congestion in anticipation of personnel growth at the base.
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. Access to the Main Post and Fort Belvoir North is mainly by I-95 and the Fairfax County Parkway for Fort Belvoir North and, for the Main Post, U.S.
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FiguRe 2 Fort Belvoir, virginia.
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Problems identified to Date Growth at the Main Post and Fort Belvoir North poses a challenge for Fairfax County because the base is located in an area of concentrated development in southern Fairfax County (DoD 2009)
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Shuttles will be provided on a frequent cycle between the new NGIA location and the nearest Metro station and adjacent commuter rail station. Road and transit access to the Main Post and Fort Belvoir North is poor in peak periods.
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For security reasons, a road that formerly bisected Fort Belvoir North was closed and alternate routes were improved for traffic rerouted around the facility.5 In recognition that capital improvements to roads and transit services off the base would not be commensurate with projected needs, the Main Post and Fort Belvoir North are instituting aggressive transportation demand management programs. Although the Main Post has ample parking, Fort Belvoir North will provide parking for only 60% of the new employees.
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From page 17... ...
The implication of these remaining unresolved problems is that an already heavily congested area will become even more so when 13,000 additional employees, as well as hospital patients and contractors, are added to the traffic mix. The Mark Center Description An office complex is being developed at the Mark Center for 6,400 DoD personnel (Figure 3)
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From page 18... ...
. The King Street Metro station, located about 4 mi west of the Mark Center on Seminary Road, has infrequent existing bus service to the Mark Center.
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peak, traffic exiting the Mark Center and headed for I-395 will cause significant delays on Seminary Road. A subsequent traffic simulation for the year 2013 prepared for Alexandria of a larger number of intersections serving the Mark Center projects a similar decline in LOS on Seminary Road and North Beauregard Street (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
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From page 20... ...
Although the Mark Center is adding fewer travelers than the Main Post of Fort Belvoir North, they are being added into an Interstate corridor that is already saturated with traffic during the peak period. Queues of traffic from the Seminary Road ramps will back up onto I-395 and compound delays for military workers as well as other travelers.
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From page 21... ...
It is not possible to accurately predict how the situation will play out during 2011 as the additional employees arrive. But it seems likely that conditions may be severe enough, especially around the Mark Center, that not only will commuters be subject to substantial new delays but also that mission accomplishment of some military units may be compromised and economic competitiveness of local businesses negatively affected.
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FiguRe 4 National Naval medical Center, Bethesda, maryland.
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Problems Identified to Date The NNMC EIS indicated excessive existing peak-hour and directional congestion and delay along the Interstates and arterial roadways serving NNMC. Notably, traffic congestion occurs along Rockville Pike, Old Georgetown Road, and Connecticut Avenue in the southbound direction during the morning peak period and in the northbound direction during the afternoon peak.
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.12 With limited resources to improve roads and pedestrian access before consolidation at the NNMC is complete, BRAC staff focused on traffic demand management. The projected results of the traffic management plan for the NNMC are shown in Table 2.
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From page 25... ...
Maryland state and local funds for transportation improvements needed for NNMC are far from adequate because of heavy demand for these funds and constrained transportation budgets. The Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations inserted a $300 million amendment in the fiscal year 2010 Defense Appropriations bill to fund projects aimed at accommodating traffic growth at both Fort Belvoir and NNMC, but the funds were not included in the bill because of a technical problem.13 The funds would have supported two projects in Maryland.
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Fort MeaDe, MarylanD Description Fort George G Meade, a 5,500-acre Army base that provides installation support activities for bases worldwide, is home of the National Security Agency (NSA)
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FiguRe 5 Fort george g. meade, anne arundel County, maryland.
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From these primary routes, Fort Meade commuters access the base gates via several state and county two-lane roads that intersect with the northern part of the base. Transit access to the base is provided by Maryland commuter rail service operating between Baltimore and Washington with stations in three towns from 5 to 7 mi away.
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From page 29... ...
, which operates in stop-and-go conditions in peak periods. Actions Taken to Date to Address Identified Problems As described above, the Fort Meade region is actively examining road and highway improvements and providing those few projects that can be funded.
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From page 30... ...
TDM goals to reduce the percentage of SOV use would require large shifts in mode choice in a location not favorable for transit, though carpools and vanpools, telework options, and staggered work schedules may be more effective. Conclusions Fort Meade is similar to Fort Belvoir North and the Mark Center in that significant numbers of office workers are being moved from locations near the center of the region with comparatively good transit service to more remote locations where transit service is virtually nonexistent and rarely used.
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From page 31... ...
Nonetheless, because of the new trips resulting from base expansion major already heavily congested highways like I-95 around Fort Belvoir and I-395 at the Mark Center could become even more so. Local roads serving Fort Belvoir, NNMC, and Fort Meade could approach, if not experience, lengthy queues of stalled traffic.
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FiguRe 6 Joint Base lewis–mcChord, washington state.
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ProjeCteD iMPaCt oF BraC The effects of BRAC on JBLM are modest because BRAC mainly streamlines the administration of the formerly independent bases by establishing a single administrative authority for the joint base. Pronounced personnel growth at JBLM is attributable to other military initiatives (Grow the Army, Army Modular Force, and Global Defense Posture Review)
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Traveling to Yakima for military maneuvers occurs at night to avoid traffic congestion. The I-5 JBLM transportation analysis conducted as part of the ongoing planning process identified a number of significant problems with the transportation network adjacent to the base.
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Construction of showers on the base could reduce peak demand on the roads serving the base, 20 albeit it would add one more to the 130 construction projects the base public works director reported to the committee were needed from DoD's military construction budget. One option for making transit work is for the public authority to drop passengers off at the gate 21 and for a military shuttle to operate within the base (as at Fort Belvoir; see above)
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From page 36... ...
. It encompasses three military installations, collectively known as the Eglin Complex: Eglin AFB, the host unit for the 96th Air Base Wing; Hurlburt Field, headquarters to Air Force Special Operations Command; and Duke Field, which houses the 919th Special Operations Wing, the only special operations unit in the Air Force Reserve.22 Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, and Duke Field are located in Okaloosa County.
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From page 37... ...
FiguRe 7 eglin air Force Base, okaloosa County, Florida.
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From page 38... ...
initial training center to Okaloosa County. As a result, Eglin will grow by an estimated 6,100 relocating people associated with the 7th Special Forces Group (2,200 military, 1,500 spouses, and 2,400 children)
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From page 39... ...
The basis for adequate public facilities, the concurrency requirement, is LOS standards. As long as SR-85 is inadequate, because corrections are not made as a result of the base expansion, additional development affecting SR-85 in Okaloosa County to serve Eglin AFB is prohibited.
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. ProjeCteD iMPaCt oF BraC BRAC 2005 adds about 11,000 troops to Fort Bliss.
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FiguRe 8 Fort Bliss, texas.
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From page 42... ...
Vehicles are counted and the state reimburses the private firm over several years according to that number.28 Construction of the interchange between Fort Bliss and Biggs Army Airfield at Fred Wilson Avenue and Airport Road will help relieve congestion that has plagued the area for years; $10 million in local funds is being used to improve connections between local roads and improved base gates (DoD 2009, p.
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. ConClusion Although needed transportation improvements remain in and around El Paso, Fort Bliss provides a counterexample to other cases examined in this chapter.
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From page 44... ...
2010. Gridlock: 5,000 New Workers to Commute to Fort Meade by 2011.
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Mark Center Drive at Seminary Road Alexandria, Virginia. Submitted by Department of the Army, Approval of Concept, Location, and Final Foundation Plans.
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From page 46... ...
2009. Mark Center Transportation Study.
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