Hearing the Community Loud and Clear
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As the 69Express Project moves ahead, people near the highway have asked if a noise study will be conducted – and when – to determine whether noise abatement measures will be put in place as part of U.S. 69 improvements.
The short answer is: Yes, a noise study will be conducted when the improvement and alignment are selected.
Federal and state regulations require a noise study to be conducted when a highway project expands the number of lanes or significantly change the highway’s alignment.
Such a study involves measuring noise levels to determine if those levels meet or exceed the 66dB at locations within the Project Area such as homes, parks, schools, businesses that are noise sensitive. To put that noise level in context, see Figure 1.
Current and projected noise levels are examined using noise software developed by the Federal Highway Administration to determine whether noise control measures are warranted and can be feasibly and reasonably built. Project team members need to know what improvement strategy has been selected and what its likely alignment will be in order to estimate future impacts, if any.
The noise analysis will start in the 3rd quarter 2021, once the alternative – traditional widening or express toll lanes – has been selected for U.S. 69. Once that determination is made, the noise study will move into the analysis phase using noise readings currently being gathered.
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Finding $85 million in Savings |
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The 69Express Project Team is examining the potential construction costs for the two most likely alternatives for improving U.S. 69 between 179th and 103rd Streets – Express Toll Lanes (ETLs) and Traditional Widening: |
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One difference between the two options is the number of separate construction phases that could be used to build the entire corridor. The first phase of the Express Toll Lanes alternative must be larger in order for the express lanes to provide a travel time benefit. With each separate phase there are interim improvements needed to tie the new construction back to the existing roadway until the following phase is built.
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In order to provide a long-term reliable trip, the Traditional Widening alternative requires collector-distributor lanes which adds more pavement and bridges. Considering the additional interim improvements and the collector-distributor lanes needed with the Traditional Widening alternative, ETLs can be built for $85 million less than Traditional Widening (Figure 2).
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Figure 2: Cost Comparison of U.S. 69 Improvement Strategies |
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These additional costs add up. By the time the full corridor is modernized and expanded, ETLs can be built for $85 million less than Traditional Widening. |
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Partnering to Improve U.S. 69
The IKE Transportation Program is built on partnerships, and communities across the State are providing a local funding contribution so their projects can be constructed sooner. If a local financial contribution isn’t possible, communities can consider down-scoping or phasing their project.
How Overland Park can fund its local contribution to help improve U.S. 69 is a question that comes up as city leaders, city residents and U.S. 69 users consider future needed improvements.
In the case of U.S. 69, the Project Team has analyzed what the Project’s local contribution options might look like under several scenarios for the city of Overland Park to consider. Here’s how they compare (Figure 3) in terms of funding the near-term project between 103rd and 151st Streets.
For ETLs, tolls could be considered the local contribution from Overland Park; additionally:
- Phase 1 construction would require a $20 million local contribution.
- With tolls being considered the local contribution, no other local funding would be required for Phase 1.
- Tolls likely would be in place until sometime between 2037 and 2042 to cover the $20 million local contribution.
- Half of the toll revenue would come from non-Overland Park residents, based on a study that shows half of corridor users live outside Overland Park.
For Traditional Widening, local contribution considerations include:
- Phases 1-3 construction would require a $20 million local contribution, paid in some other way than with toll revenues.
- Overland Park could make the $20 million local contribution in a single, upfront payment at the beginning of construction.
- If the local contribution is made in annual installment payments instead, the total amount could increase to $22 million over 10 years, reflecting inflation and project cost increases.
Overall, the express toll lane option could save the state of Kansas $85 million by not building, and having to maintain, more infrastructure than necessary. Additionally the express toll lane option provides another way for the City to provide their local contribution to improvements on U.S. 69.
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Figure 3: Potential Local Contribution with Both Alternatives |
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Making Sure U.S. 69 Improvements Benefit Everyone
Important infrastructure improvements like the U.S. 69 Modernization and Expansion Project should broadly benefit the communities they serve. That’s why the Kansas Department of Transportation and its Project Partners – the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) and City of Overland Park (City) – are working to make sure this Project addresses environmental justice and equity concerns.
This is especially true in relation to express toll lanes (ETLs). As a concept for addressing congestion that is new to the state, special attention is merited to ensure that ETL impacts are fully understood and mitigated if the option is implemented.
To that end, KDOT already has committed to deploy a number of strategies in connection with any implementation of ETLs to make sure low-income populations are not disproportionately affected:
- Maintain free travel in two of the three lanes in each direction on U.S. 69.
- Set toll rates to maximize the congestion reduction across all lanes – rather than profits – to benefit all drivers. This keeps the tolls as low as possible.
- Provide ways to use the express toll lanes and pay for its use afterward, without having to pre-plan, set up an account or manage an account for infrequent use.
- Offer Bancpass, a reloadable toll tag, for users who prefer to pay with cash or do not have a bank.
- Allow buses to run in the express lanes to help keep transit costs low while giving transit users access to greater travel time reliability.
It’s important to remember that if ETLs are used to reduce congestion on U.S. 69, they won’t open until 2025. The Project Partners recognize that the strategies outlined above still may not avoid, minimize or mitigate all impacts on underserved communities.
For this reason, KDOT is committed to working with communities of concern to see if additional steps could be taken. Ongoing, intentional dialogue (Figure 4) with underserved communities over the next several years will focus on understanding and quantifying ETL impacts and ways the impacts can be effectively reduced.
To be done well, this process is not something that can be done quickly. It is going to take time and, depending on the mitigation strategy, could require changes in KDOT policy and Kansas statutes, and coordination with organizations beyond KDOT, KTA and the City of Overland Park to implement. If express toll lanes are chosen to move forward, KDOT will work with these communities and their partners to implement additional mitigation measures before the express lanes are opened in 2025.
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Figure 4: Additional Steps for Meaningful Mitigation |
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The 69Express Project Partners will engage in a community dialog over the next several years to develop additional mitigation strategies. Currently, the Partners are in the “Prepare” section of this process, having gathered data on potentially affected underserved communities as well as best practices nationally regarding ETLs and communities of concern. The next phase will involve more broadly engaging with those communities to identify and quantify actual and potential impacts, then discussing with them how to reduce or eliminate those impacts. |
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U.S. 69 Corridor Modernization and Expansion Project.
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