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Item J13 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: April 18, 2001 Division: BOCC Bulk Item: Yes No -1L Department: District IV /Nora Williams AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Three part: (J-(update on Hurricane Evacuation plans and 2001 Traffic Control Plan; (2) c nce tual or actual approval o~~e~~t with Islamorada for 200 I Traffic Control Plan implementation an (.J}approval of resolution concerning 18 Mile Stretch compromise. ITEM BACKGROUND: The 2001 Hurricane Season begins May, 2001, and the County is working with the municipalities, FOOT and DCA's Emergency Management Department to have in place a Traffic Control plan for hurricane evacuation that lowers our clearance time below 24 hours. PREVIOUS REVELANT BOCC ACTION: The County has approved a 2001 Traffic Control Plan for Hurricane Evacuation. The County Commission has consistently supported a safer 18 Mile Stretch, and, in the past two years, has also consistently opposed additional full-time lanes on the 18 Mile Stretch. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: TOT AL COST: N/ A COST TO COUNTY: N/ A BUDGETED: Yes NoX REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes Nol AMOUNTPERMONTH_ Year APPROVED BY: County Atty _ OMB/Purchasing _ Risk Management _ . . 1{1'IA. tJ~_.<_ DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL: (TYPE NAME HERE) DOCUMENT A TION: Included _To Follow X Not Required_ DISPOSITION: AGENDAITEM#;I-~~ Revised 2/27/01 Contents of background material on Hurricane Evacuation Agenda Item (Nwilliams) I. Update on Hurricane Evacuation Issues 2001 and Conceptual Agreement to Direct Staff to negotiate an interlocal agreement with Islamorada for implementation A. Conceptual Agr~ment B. Letter from FDOT to Florida City II. The 18 Mile Stretch Comopromise A. My sketches of the configuration and notes on reasons why B. FDOT drawings of configurations C. Note from me on the importance of passing a resolution D, Suggested Resolution LA Conceptual Aereement with Islamorada for Traffic Control Plan for Hurricane Evacuation Because we need to be prepared for the 200 I Hurricane Evacuation Season which begins June I, 200 I, we need to get thej-ssues of implementation of our Traffic Control plan settled AND QUICKLY. The areas that will require action, as of this point, are (1) m.m, 85,7 - 90; (2) m.m, 105 and north and (3) Florida City, At a meeting last week, FOOT agreed to take care of the Florida City implementation. And they have sent the attached letter already, While, in one sense, it seems appropriate for all our municipalities to contribute to this effort (which helps us all avoid a building moratorium), we will need to work out an interlocal agreement to share some of these costs. At the very least, Islamorada (in which m.m. 85,7- 90 falls) should help pay for the implementation within the Village. I'll be asking at the meeting for conceptual approval of directing staff to work out an implementation agreement with the Village. It is my guess that implementation will be the responsibility of County employees (Dave Koppel was present for the meeting) but that costs will be shared. Note that in determining how to best handle the hurricane evacuation scenario for 200 I, in the unlikely event that this traffic management plan would need to be implemented, discussions are still on-going as to whether or not it will be necessary to one-way Card Sound Road. I'll keep you posted as the discussions continue, and I'll be glad to give you further detail at the meeting if you so desire. Nora ~ Florida Department of Transportation JEB BUSH GOVERNOR District Six Din:ctor of Production Office 1000 NW III Avenue Miami, Florida 33172-5800 Tekpboue (30S) 470-S464 TIlOMAS F.IARRY, JR. SECRETARY April 6..2001 ~,FR - 9 2C':~! Mr. Sylvester Jackson Assistant to the Manager Florida City P.O. Box 343570 Florida City, Fl 33034 Dear Mr. Jackson: In anticipation of the upcoming hurricane season I am requesting the City's assistance with Monroe County's evacuation efforts, ifneeded. As you may know the destination of evacuees from 1hc Florida Keys is Florida International University. US 1 through Florida City is a 4-lane divided facility (two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes). The 4-lane section begins at the intersection of US 1 and Card Sound Road and contiwc:ls u a 4-lane facility north of the south terminus of Florida's Turnpike. For hurricane evacuation purposes, the potential improvement on US 1 extends from Card Sound Road to the southern terminus ofFlorid4's Turnpike. The proposed interim improvemem involves the conversion of the inside southbound through lane to a northbound lane (cootra flow 1me) between the intersection of US I and Card Sound Road and the entrance to the Florida's Turnpike. This configuration will provide three northbound lanes during hurricane evacuation conditions. Tba:ctVrc, we will need the City's assistance in setting up and maintaining this temporary lane configurItiaQ" during an event. Please contaCt me at your earliest convenience to set up a meeting to discu5s this issue in more detJlit 9ir~ ~~. cc: Nora Williams, Momoe County Board of County Commissioners Ken Metca1( Department of Community Affairs www.dot.state.fl.us $ RGCV~ I'N'ER II. A. My Sketches of Compromise 18 Mile Stretch Configuration ;'" " ,,' " 18 Mile Stretch Compromise Cross-Sections (A) Configuration if an additional northbound emergency hurricane evacuation lane is needed (B) Configuration if an additional lane is not required for hurricane evacuation (C) Bridge configuration (in keeping with 1 above) for normal operation (D) Bridge configuration during an eme r- gency hurricane evacuation. Note that FDOT is examining whether the increased 18 Mile Stretch capacity that will result from this compromise will, in and of itself, solve the lane continuity issues raised in the Miller Hurricane Evacuation Report. Hence, there is both an IF an additional lane is needed, and an IF NOT sketch, Pardon my weaknesses as a sketch artist! Apologies also for any typos, I wanted to get this to you as fast as possible and it actually took days to prepare even in this imperfect state, Nora Williams (A) 6' 12', 6' 2' 6' 12' Shoulder Lane" Shoulder Shoulder Lane Median n 2' 8' = 54' Shoulder RS I I 18 Mile Stretch Compromise Cross-Section of the Roadway with room for additional lane out in time of hurricane evacuation, Note: RS-rumblestrip; outside shoulders are not fully laid with asphalt and are unacceptable for everyday use, The northbound outside shoulder could only be used in time of emergency as a lane of traffic, Points on configuration: · the minimum width that a shoulder CAN be is 4', Note that these shoulders are only 2' wider than the minimum, FDOT's lead traffic engineer (who flew down from Tallahassee for this meeting) con- siders 6' necessary because of "shy distance," the amount of space required to "recover" from error. I'll use me as an example: ifI'm traveling 65 mph on the 18 mile stretch and, and the cell phone (which I dropped down the car seat) rings, I'm gonna weave finding it A distance of only 4' makes it significantly more likely that I will hit the median, or leave the road (depending upon which side of the road I'm weaving), 6' gives me a fighting chance, so to speak, to both be an idiot and live through it I don't want to suggest that you try this yourself, but it's pretty easily demonstrated, · The 10' shoulder. HEY, the evacuation side shoulder got BI G- GER!! How'd that happen, Here's why. The road could actually be just 52' wide IF we wanted to have to implement traffic channeliza- tion devices over the entire length of the 18 Mile Stretch-as was proposed in the original compromise, In this scenario, the shoulder itself is wide enough to allow that emergency evacuation without configuration-a significant savings of preparation time and money for the County, In this scenario, the only part of the Stretch that needs such configuration in the case of an emergency evacuation is the bridge itself. We could shave 2' if we were willing to bear the expense (both in labor and materials) of putting down 21 A miles of traffic channelization devices that would have to be removed before the storm actually hit. Sorry to say it, but I think it's worth the 2' not to have to go through that And this configuration will be decid- edly less confusing and intimidating than all those miles of delinea- tion devices, · Do the math yourself. If you want the median (and I don't think there is any question that we do, AND you want shoulders that can serve as an evacuation route on one side, and a safe refuge on the other, it is almost impossible to get the road much smaller than this and not compromise on some pretty serious issues, (B) ,;"..' , ~, 6' 12' Shoulder Lane 6' 2' 6' 12' Shoulder Shoulder Lane Median n 6' = 50' Shoulder RS I 18 Mile Stretch Compromise Cross- Section of the Roadway If extra emergency lane was not needed. Note: Outside shoulders are not fully laid with asphalt and are unacceptable for everyday use, Note that engineers are working to determine if the increased capacity of the 18 Mile Stretch under the new configuration would lessen the problem of merging three lanes of traffic into two at m,m, 106. When that determination is made, the decision whether lane continuity (Le, the creation of an addi- tional northbound lane between m,m. 106 and Florida City) needs to be ad- dressed will be made, (C) .,' " 7' 12' Shoulder Lane 6' 2' 6' 12' Shoulder Shoulder Lane Median 10' = 55' (inside external barriers) Shoulder n Bridge Cross Section (Normal Operation) Note: bridge will not be built to be able to withstand the weight of additional lanes being added, The Median is necessary because the median actually begins a mile before the bridge, AND be- cause head-ons are an issue around Jewfish Creek, Note also on this configuration and configuration D that the additional space is seen to be required because of the presence of the external concrete barriers, The way the road is shaped also reflects the need for conform with the highway that comes before and after the bridge so that "jogging" the lanes is not necessary, (D) .~. .' 7' Shoulder 12' Lane 6' 2' 3' 12' Shoulder Shoulder Lane Median 10' 3' = 55' (inside ext.barriers) Shoulder n Bridge Cross Section during evacuation This configuration will be established with the use of traffic channelization markers, Note: bridge will not be built to be able to withstand the weight of additional lanes being added, The Median is necessary because the median actually begins a mile before the bridge, AND be- cause head-ons are an issue around Jewfish Creek, Note also on this configuration and configuration C that the additional space is seen to be required because of the presence of the external concrete barriers, The way the road is shaped also reflects the need for conform with the highway that comes before and after the bridge so that "jogging" the lanes is not necessary, II. 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'" / . ..../;.:::"..; :<;.~:/;.~.:::::. ,.,~:?:" .... :/' .(' ., f~ .F;:i ' .-' :::I". ; 1& Cl '6 ~"'! III '& ',~, ;~.'i;8 "'s' . " III' '. ',,' '." 'a::'.. ., ,; I ea" I:'IS _ e = :i ..... . 1:: ~ E ~ - f ~ l() i . i II 1 ~ I ~ III. C. Note from me about the importance of a resolution With Key West bonding with the Miami-Dade MPO on a wider 18 Mile Stretch, it is imperative that ther~ be some support from us immediately on a two-lane compromise. If we can't be reasonable, why try to make us happy? And the proposal before you today IS reasonable. Please, before we lose footing in this battle for the worst of reasons, let us show our commitment to supporting the governor in working to create a compromise that gives us a safer 18 Mile Stretch. If any of you still protest that it's wide enough to be turned into a 4 lane, let me specifically address that issue in two ways. Simply by having a shoulder on each side of a two lane highway WITHOUT a median, you've laid enough concrete to span the width of three 12' lanes, add the median and you've got the 50' in width you see before you. But, of course, that would only be wide enough if the road that developed had no shoulders at all (for a four lane!). They can't give us a median and shoulders and have a road that's as wide as it is today. And it is unreasonable to argue that they could. HOWEVER, that said, I do think it is crucial that part of our resolution of support be an interagency agreement that any reconfiguration of this road that results in additional lanes MUST "start the process over." There can be no reconfiguration of the compromise in a manner that would result in the creation of additional permanent lanes - FDOT has already expressed a willingness to sign such an agreement. Note also that the compromise will be built on the existing road bed. In order to make sure that traffic isn't stopped, it will be done in sections, allowing traffic to temporarily pass around construction as the work continues. It has taken me many many hours to prepare these materials for you so that you will have the documents one week before the meeting. If there are additional pieces of information you feel you need, just let us know and I'll do my best to get them for you. II. D. Proposed resolution ~ ~.,r ~. ~ S -( !) ~o I am asking for a resolution of support for . ~ ~ (I) the 54' COnfiguratio~R;1:11d it ee FeMHd t~at an additional northbound lane is needed C7 during emergency hurricane evacuation between m.m. 106 and Florida City Q (2) if the additional northhQutld laue ili f9RRd to Rot be Reeded, the 50' configuration detailed in these materials. (]7/ In addition, this support is predicated upon an agreement between the County and the State that expresses the following agreement: "We express the current intent ofFDOT and Monroe County that this project will never be converted to a three or more lane permanent highway. If, in the future, in the event of unforeseen and compelling circumstances, FDOT determines that this roadway must be altered to produce additional lanes, than it is agreed that this compromise may not simply be reconfigured or changed to produce that result, rather such a project must go through the full permitting and public comment process."