TIM Newsletter. Donna R. Danson FDOT District 2 ITS Operations Project Manager REMAINING TIM 2015 TEAM MEETING DATES: AUGUST 12 OCTOBER 14 DECEMBER 9

Transcription

1 TEAM UPDATE PAGE 1 TMC UPDATE PAGES 2-3 FL FOREST SERVICE UPDATE PAGE 4 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE PAGES 5-6 TEAM MEMBER PROFILE PAGE 7 MISSION: The FDOT District Two Traffic Incident Management Teams, through partnering efforts, strive to continuously reduce incident scene clearance times to deter congestion and improve safety. The Teams objective is to exceed the Open Roads Policy thus ensuring mobility, economic prosperity, and quality of life. VISION: Through cooperation, communication and training the Teams intend to reduce incident scene clearance times by 10% each year. TEAM UPDATE Alachua-Bradford Traffic Incident Management Newsletter Update Hurricane season is upon us and it is time for all of us to be as prepared as we can. We have already had one named tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean and one hurricane is forcefully moving in the Pacific Ocean at the time of this writing. Let s all make preparations ahead of time so we can be ready to assist with any traffic situation even in bad weather. At our last Alachua-Bradford Traffic Incident Management Team meeting, it was announced that Shelby s Towing had qualified for the Rapid Incident Scene Clearance (RISC) Contract. Since then, the contract has been executed and was put to good use right away with two RISC events being handled in the first month. On May 13th Shelby s Towing responded to an incident involving two semi-truck near the US 441 Interchange on I-75 northbound. In this incident, one semi was burned completely and the second was totaled. On May 18th Shelby s Towing responded to another RISC event at mile marker 395 on I-75 northbound. This incident involved a Recreational Vehicle (RV) which caught fire and burned. Shelby s Towing did a great job in meeting all contract guidelines during both of the RISC events and have been commended by FHP for their work. We have already debriefed these two RISC events at our June TIM Team Meeting and will be ready for the next event whenever it may occur. Remember our Team s goal and vision for this year is to decrease the incident clearance times by 10 percent on our highways while remaining safe. Let s continue to work as a Team and COMMUNICATE. Craig Carnes continues to conduct SHRP 2 Training, so if you or your agency is interested, remember we are available to conduct this training any time, any place so feel free to get in touch with Craig Carnes at ccarnes@metriceng.com, or me at donna.danson@dot. state.fl.us, and we will work out a schedule to fit your needs. Other training is also available on-line like our Time4Safety video that can be found at: Donna R. Danson FDOT District 2 ITS Operations Project Manager REMAINING TIM 2015 TEAM MEETING DATES: FDOT GAINESVILLE OPERATIONS OFFICE N.E. 39TH AVENUE, GAINESVILLE, FL - (352) AUGUST 12 OCTOBER 14 DECEMBER 9 PAGE 1

2 TMC UPDATE Traffic Management Center Activities The Traffic Management Center (TMC) is a jointly funded project by: City of Gainesville; Alachua County; University of Florida; and the Florida Department of Transportation. It is operated by the City of Gainesville. Throughout the spring, the City of Gainesville Traffic Management Center has been keeping Gainesville safe by alerting drivers of weather, potential roadway hazards, construction and congestion. Increased traffic from special events, as well as the numerous areas under construction throughout Alachua County, has made the Gainesville Alachua County Traffic Management Center (TMC) an invaluable resource to commuters. The annual Gatornationals drag racing event was hosted in Gainesville March The event brought in drivers and racing fans from across the country and also caused an increase in traffic on I-75, State Roads 24, 121 and 331. The TMC created special traffic patterns and coordinated closely with the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sherriff s Office (ACSO) to safely manage the additional traffic. In early May, the University of Florida graduation ceremonies took place, bringing friends and family members to the area from across the country. This increase in traffic caused delays to the area surrounding the University and required TMC staff to intervene to ensure traffic moved smoothly around town by putting special patterns in place. Spring has brought new construction projects to Alachua County. There is a milling and resurfacing project on Southwest 34th Street (State Road 121) between Northwest 5th Avenue to Southwest Archer Road (State Road 24). This work has resulted in alternating lane closures along the heavily used corridor. Additionally, with the two large commercial areas under construction along Southwest Archer Road near I-75, the TMC is closely monitoring the area and modifying signal timings as needed to prevent additional congestion. Also, the Northwest 16th Avenue construction continues to push motorists to find alternate routes along already congested corridors. With all of these projects going on simultaneously, the TMC continues to use social media to inform drivers of modified traffic patterns during increased congestion periods. Southwest 34 th Street (SR 121) Construction; Multiple Alternating Lane Closures 5/23/15 10:36 a.m. I-75 North, mile marker Vehicle crash/fire closed down I-75 Northbound; Congestion on I-75 North for 8 miles 5/18/15 11:25 a.m - 5 p.m. Continued on the next page... PAGE 2

3 TMC UPDATE Traffic Management Center Activities (Continued) On both May 13 and 18, vehicle crashes on I-75 caused complete closures of the interstate and extensive detours. With two large vehicle fires that resulted in both northbound and southbound closures thousands of drivers had to take detour routes or wait in extensive congestion for the roadway to clear. The City of Gainesville was able to activate emergency traffic control and also coordinated with Florida Department of Transportation and ACSO to ensure detour routes were cleared of construction and managed effectively. With the extensive network of traffic monitoring cameras, operators in the TMC were able to inform motorists of the best routes to take and the extent of the congestion. S. Max Elliott, E.I., ITS Operations Engineer I Gainesville Public Works Department - Traffic Management Questions: (352) Traffic Management Center Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 7 AM to 6 PM Twitter Gainesville / Alachua County Smartraffic like us on Facebook! I-75 North, mile marker Vehicle fire closed down I-75; Congestion on I-75 for 14 miles 5/13/15 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. West University (SR 26) at 13 th St Heavy rains caused intersection to flood 5/14/15 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. PAGE 3

4 FL FOREST SERVICE UPDATE Protect Your Home and Property Tips for homeowners to help protect their home from wildfire For more information about protecting your home from wildfire, call your local Florida Forest Service office. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services PAGE 4

5 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Summer is upon us and road construction is abundant with more work coming in the next few months. Construction bids will be received June 17 on three major projects in Alachua County. All three will most likely require highly-effective incident management. Two of the projects are on the interstate and the third is located in one of the most heavily-traveled traffic areas in Gainesville, Newberry Road in front of the Oaks Mall and North Florida Regional Medical Center. Traffic management will be challenging to say the least but I have no doubt that providing a smoother ride for motorists will far outweigh the traffic angsts during construction if we just practice patience. I think Mr. Jimmy Buffet says it best in one of his songs, Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On. Upcoming Projects: Newberry Road (State Road 26) Resurfacing Three miles from west of Northwest 80th Boulevard to Southwest 38th Street will be resurfaced. If the project begins in the fall, scheduled completion will be late fall I-75 Resurfacing/Interchange improvements More than 12 miles will be resurfaced from 39th Avenue (State Road 222) to north of U.S. 441 where the current resurfacing project is underway. If the project begins this fall, estimated completion will be in early I-75 Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) This ITS project will pick up where the current ITS project is nearly completed and head north for 87 miles from Archer Road (State Road 24) to the Florida/Georgia line. Fiber optics will be run during the first phase. The project is estimated to be completed in 2017 at an estimated cost of $6.5 million. Project Updates: I-75 and U.S. 441 ITS The current ITS project on I-75 and U.S. 441 through Paynes Prairie is moving toward completion. Installation of the Dynamic Message Boards begins within the coming weeks. A 30-day test period is required once they are installed and go active. The project is scheduled for completion this summer. I-75 Resurfacing north of US 441 to the Santa Fe River Paving is rescheduled to begin June 14, weather permitting. Once paving begins, daytime and nighttime lane closures can be expected Monday through Thursday. Detours will be necessary during construction of the Exit 404 ramp and County Road 236 overpass later this year. Continued on the next page... PAGE 5

6 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Project Updates (continued): U.S. 301 at Southeast 144th Avenue-Bradford County Intersection relocation on U.S. 301 at Southeast 144th Avenue in front of the Deerfoot Village Shopping Center (Tractor Supply) in Starke is scheduled for completion later this month. The new signalized intersection opened June 3 to north and southbound traffic on U.S. 301 and traffic entering/exiting the shopping center. The new intersection will became fully operational when Southeast 144th Avenue being built by Bradford County opens. Median access was modified, new turn lanes and turnouts were added and new sidewalks connecting with existing sidewalks were constructed along with the new entrances to the Tractor Supply Shopping Center and Vystar Credit Union. Weekday nighttime lane closures can be expected after 8 p.m. along with weekend lane closures until the end of the project which began in early January. Southwest 34th Street The project to resurface two miles of Southwest 34th Street from Archer Road to Northwest Fifth Avenue began April 20. Paving is scheduled to begin June 19. The $2.6 million project is scheduled for completion this fall. Southwest 34th Street to Gale Lemerand Drive Southwest 34th Street to Gale Lemerand Drive The project to add a bike lane and sidewalk from Southwest 34th Street (State Road 121) to Gale Lemerand Drive (also known as the UF Campus Greenway) began February 24. The $1.8 million project is scheduled for completion this summer. Recently Completed Projects: I-75/U.S. 441 at Exit 399 The newly paved southbound on-ramp to I-75 from U.S. 441 East opened April 11. The left turn lane from U.S. 441 eastbound to the existing southbound on-ramp at the signal has been removed. The project was completed June 2. U.S. 301 Resurfacing in Island Grove Resurfacing one-and-a-half miles on U.S. 301 between the Marion County line and County Road 325 near Island Grove was completed May 27. The $1.9 million project began in mid-february. U.S. 441 Resurfacing-Alachua County Work on the U.S. 441 resurfacing project between Alachua and Gainesville was completed April 10. The 11-mile project between Northwest Sixth Street and the County Road 2054 railroad overpass began in March Rebecca Leigh White Atkins PAGE 6

7 TEAM MEMBER PROFILE Sgt. Mike West Traffic Unit Commander - Gainesville Police Department - City of Gainesville My path into law enforcement began while I was in college at Florida A&M University. Although my major was in Criminal Justice and Military Science, my decision to become a law enforcement officer wasn t clear until I accepted an internship at the Tallahassee Police Department. Originally, my dream was to play professional football but my focus quickly changed during my Internship. Upon graduating, I entered the Police Academy and was eventually hired at the Florida State Prison, Bradford County Sheriff s office and at the University of Florida Police Department. I then accepted a job with the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) which is where I have been for approximately 19 years. During my years at the GPD I have served on the SWAT Team, COP Team, CAT Team (Undercover Unit) and on the Traffic Safety Team. My biggest accomplishment thus far is being assigned as the supervisor of the Traffic Unit. While serving on the Traffic Unit, I was afforded many great opportunities to include presidential escorts, University of Florida football escorts and other community-related events promoting traffic safety. I have also instructed at Gainesville High School Driver s Education for several years promoting traffic safety. I definitely have a deep compassion for traffic safety. Saving lives through enforcement, education and compassion is my platform. One of my hobbies and passions in my personal life is playing the drums. I currently play the drums for the Greenhouse Church in Gainesville and for a gospel group named New Vision Ensemble. Sgt. West was recently promoted to Sergeant and assigned as the Supervisor of the Traffic Safety Team. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife April and last remaining kids at home, Robin and Chelsi. Above: Sgt. West with Judge Walter M. Green, Alachua County Eighth Judicial Circuit Court PAGE 7