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Minimum Problem Statements – Highway – 1 Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO Minimum Problem Statements -- Highway Note -- The order of listing is: Interstates, US highways, NC routes and then other roadways. Each section is in alphabetical order. I-85 (US 70 to Granville County) I-85 from US 70 to the Durham and Granville county boundary is mostly a four-lane freeway but is six lanes in the section closest to US 70. In terms of regional trips, this interstate connects Durham to several small North Carolina cities and towns in the northeast, and is one of the few major roadways that connects Durham to the north and east because of the barrier that Falls Lake imposes. In terms of interstate trips, I-85 is the principal roadway connecting Atlanta (Georgia), Charlotte, the North Carolina piedmont cities, Richmond (Virginia) and Washington (DC). The CTP includes the addition of travel lanes to create a six-lane freeway and upgraded interchanges and ramps. As a practical matter, the lane additions and upgrades should be extended across the Falls Lake bridge to the I-85/US 15 interchange because there is a significant number of commuter trips to large employers in Butner, the prisons and state hospital, and to Creedmoor residences. The CTP has a new four-lane divided roadway, the Northern Durham Parkway, which will intersect I-85 at the current Glenn School Road (SR 1675) interchange. The 2013 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) ranges from 43,000 vehicles per day (vpd) to 52,000 vpd on a roadway with a 60,000 vpd Level of Service (LOS) D capacity. The 2040 volumes are projected to range from 65,000 vpd to 70,000 vpd. This increase will yield volume-to-capacity ratios that approach 1.2 and cause travel delays, and possible crash frequency and severity increases on this important interstate corridor. Currently, there are not any major interchanges on this segment and as a result there are not any extraordinary intersection delays or safety problems based on the 2014 DCHC MPO Mobility Report Card. Red Mill Road (SR 1632) and US 15 are the highest volume intersecting roads and their 2013 AADT is 9,600 vpd and 8,100 vpd, respectively. And, Glenn School Road is the only interchange that has a significant retail presence. However, the volume on the intersecting roads is expected to increase significantly given the expected residential and employment growth in this portion of the region. The CTP deficiency analysis shows that the Glenn School Road/I-85 and Red Mill Road/I-85 interchanges have functionally obsolete bridges, and the East Club Boulevard (SR 1671)/I-85 interchange bridge is both structurally and functionally obsolete. The Red Mill Road/I-85 interchange meets at least one of the intersection crash warrants, and should be further investigated. These interchanges and ramps will need to be upgraded. The 2040 projected volumes for Red Mill Road, East Club Boulevard and the Northern Durham Parkway (new facility) will approach 17,000 vpd, further straining the obsolete design of these facilities. The DCHC MPO, Capital Area MPO and NCDOT began the Triangle Tolling Study in late 2016 and will complete the study by 2018. I-85 will be part of the tolling study to ascertain whether or not managed lanes are feasible and logical for I-85. Attachment 3