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Blake Schreck, President of the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce sat down with me and provided his thoughts on the importance of the I-435/I-35/K10 interchange area to Lenexa and how improvements to the interchange are critical to the economy of Lenexa.
Please note this is our first pod video interview, so there is room for improvement from a video/quality standpoint.

As part of our recent online survey we received a few comments and suggestions on the study. I will be posting them here in the days to come. “I am a BIG FAN of longer exit ramps to clean up 95th Street going north and on 119th and Santa Fe going south. They are dangerous, especially the mess going into Olathe around 4:30-6:15 pm each day. I feel it is far too dangerous because people trying to get off are forced to PARK on the highway and often are rear-ended.”
Response: That is a good comment and suggestion. Longer ramps will be part of the improved concept and it is likely that some of those suggestions will be part of an interim improvement project as well. As the design engineers get further into the details of the design we will have more information to share.

The study team has developed two concepts alternatives that improve safety and reduce congestion. Each concept creates more separation for drivers traveling through the interchange area and those who want to exit. The concepts use collector distributor roads to help create a separation and eliminate much of the weaving for those traveling through the area and those going from one major highway to another. Decision points for exits are placed well ahead of their current location, but with appropriate signage it should be easy to navigate. At least that was the reaction from the recent focus groups who viewed the concepts.
In the next couple of weeks we will have a video simulation posted to show how the concepts function.

In order to gather additional information from commuters and regional users of the I-435/I-35/K-10 Interchange, we are conducting focus groups to talk about specific issues surrounding the interchange. We are working with ETC Institute , to randomly recruit and invite people who use the interchange frequently to attend and provide their thoughts and opinions on transportation issues related to the improvement of the area. So far two focus groups have been completed and participants were glad to know that KDOT is studying ways to improve the interchange. The input from the focus groups will help the study team understand the most important issues to commuters as work continues on the improvement concepts.

We are looking for feedback on access and mobility issues. Please providie your input by taking the online survey. The surveys provide insight into what issues are of most concern to the respondents and help the study team as they work on the alternative for improvements.

On January 8, 2010, KDOT invited key businesses and stakeholders in the study area to an issues workshop where the study team presented two draft concept alternatives. We asked the business community what concerns they had with the proposed concepts and how they thought the improvements might impact them. Overall, most of the concerns noted had to do with funding the improvements and for what short-term solutions could be implemented until all the improvements could be completed. As the study progresses, there will be more discussion on the short-term improvements. At this time, there is no funding for construction or any right-of-way acquistion. The presentation can be found in the resource link under meeting summaries.

The Johnson County Gateway Study area is identified as the area bound by 95th Street, Quivira Road, College Boulevard and Renner Boulevard. This approximately 6 square mile area has some fairly significant development which could be impacted by potential modifications to the access to the freeway system. We have determined that generally within this area (some of the data tracts do not exactly follow those boundaries) there is the following:
• Approximately 1,280 businesses with 30,400 jobs.
• Approximately 4,967 households with 11,630 residents living in those households.
• Approximate tax revenue = $250 Million per year. This tax revenue includes an estimate of federal and state income taxes for all employees in the areas plus the property tax. This estimate of taxes paid does not include sales tax paid by employees, sales tax collected by businesses, personal properly tax, income tax paid by the business or income tax paid by the residents that live in the area.

Improving transportation on the highways in and through this area is critical to the local, regional and state economy.

Sources for information above include:
Business data
Source: Business data provided by InfoUSA, Omaha NE Copyright 2009, all rights reserved. ESRI forecasts for 2009.

Household and Residential Data
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000 Census of Population and Housing. ESRI forecasts for 2009.

Tax Revenue Estimates
Source: City of Lenexa

From the November 29, 2009 Unfettered Letters section of the Kansas City Star.com this letter appeared:

Bottleneck on I-435
One of the major bottlenecks to westbound Interstate 435 traffic on the Kansas side is the ramp to Interstate 35.

Curt Thacker
Bonner Springs

Response
The Kansas Department of Transportation is aware of the issue and currently has plans to add additional lanes from Quivira to I-35 as part of the US 69/I-435 improvements. Unfortunately, at this time, there are no funds for construction so there is no timetable for the improvements.

KDOT is also studying the I-435/I-35/K-10 interchange to determine what improvements are needed to reduce congestion and improve safety in the area. To learn more about that study check out the web site: www.jocogateway.com

The purpose of the Phase 1 Regional Study Report was to better understand the existing conditions of the interchange and determine areas for improvement by reviewing the influence of regional and localized traffic generators, future traffic levels and travel patterns on the interchange area.
The report summarize the existing conditions as noted:
• 230,000 drivers use the interchange every day.
• With the exception of bridge surface maintenance, the bridges within the interchange area are in good condition.
• Most of the roadway pavement has experienced significant rehabilitation in recent years with pavement patching and overlays. Despite this rehabilitation, very little remaining service life is left in the pavement.
• Sections of the interchange area do not meet current design criteria. This includes several horizontal curves, ramp acceleration/deceleration lengths, weave distances and local service interchanges in close proximity to system
interchanges.
• Severe congestion levels exist in both the AM and PM peak hours on portions of the I-435, I-35 and K-10 corridors. Today, 20 percent of the interchange is congested. A drive through the interchange that should take 3 minutes actually takes, on average, 4 minutes due to congestion.
• The K-10 and I-435 highway crash rates are higher than the Kansas statewide average for similar facilities. The highest density of crashes occurs on I-435 from K-10 to Quivira. Rear end crashes are the most prevalent crash
type.
• Transit plays an important role in the interchange area. Johnson County Transit operates a number of fixed route
and flexible route (paratransit) services through the interchange.
• The SCOUT system is operated in part of the interchange area.
• Ramp metering service will be added in November 2009, to I-435 just east of the study area.

The report also summarize the future no-build conditions as:
• 360,000 drivers are expected to use the interchange by 2040.
• Regional historical growth patterns have shown a southerly and westerly development pattern along the I-35 and K-10 corridors. This growth pattern is expected to continue in the future. (As noted in chapter 3 of the report.)
• Regional traffic generators surround the study interchange and rely on the interchange area for access to the interstate system.
• Severe congested conditions are expected to occur in much of the AM and PM peak hours on portions of the
I-435, I-35 and K-10 corridors. By 2040, 50 percent of the interchange is expected to be congested. A typical
drive through the interchange that should take 3 minutes in uncongested conditions is expected to take 16
minutes at the peak hour by 2040.
• As traffic demand and congestion increase, the number of crashes is also expected to increase.

We’ve heard a number of comments about keeping through travelers in their lane, while those exiting should move to exit lanes. Like this comment, “make right hand lane from the K-10 Westbound exit in the I-435 Southound lanes a solid white line area (no passing to left 2 lanes). Dedicate this lane for only oncoming traffic or those exiting to I-35 Southbound. Make it this way until the Quivira exit. This would allow people in middle and left lanes to not have to stop on the interstate so people coming on could get in. Anyone wanting to go to I-35 would have to be in right hand lane from K-10 exit on to do so. This has worked for the Grandview triangle area, so it could work here. Would make it safer to get onto and off the highway since only oncoming and exiting cars would be using it. It is a short distance to stay in a dedicated lane. Would reduce possibility of being side swiped by impatient oncoming drivers and would help reduce rear end collisions caused by others stopping to let some rude driver in. It would also help on days when sun is in your eyse and you have problems seeing those wanting in and stopping traffic.”
Response:
As improvement options are developed the idea of keeping the ‘thru traveler’ in the appropriate lanes in order to keep traffic flowing has been discussed. Options for local traffic access would be separated in order to reduce conflict opportunities.