Pennsylvania 2006 Five Percent Report
This report is in response to the Federal requirement that each state describe at least 5 percent of its locations currently exhibiting the most severe highway safety needs, in accordance with Sections 148(c)(1)(D) and 148(g)(3)(A), of Title 23, United States Code. Each state’s report is to include potential remedies to the hazardous locations identified; estimated costs of the remedies; and impediments to implementation of the remedies other than costs. The reports included on this Web site represent a variety of methods utilized and various degrees of road coverage. Therefore, this report cannot be compared with the other reports included on this Web site.
Protection from Discovery and Admission into Evidence—Under 23 U.S.C. 148(g)(4) information collected or compiled for any purpose directly relating to this report shall not be subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages arising from any occurrence at a location identified or addressed in the reports. |
Additional information, including the specific legislative requirements, can be found in the guidance provided by the Federal Highway Administration,
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/fiveguidance.htm.
Pennsylvania's Highway Safety Needs and Remedies
This annual report is submitted in accordance with Section 148 (c)(1)(D) of Title 23 of the United States Code entitled Highway Safety Improvement Program Reporting “5 Percent Report.” As a condition for obligating HSIP funds, Section 148 (c)(1)(D) requires States to prepare an annual report that describes not less than 5 percent of their public road locations exhibiting the most severe safety needs. What follows describes the extent of the analysis coverage and the methodology utilized to prepare the list of locations attached as Table 1.
Extent of Analysis Coverage:
This year's report on Pennsylvania's most severe highway safety needs is based on State-owned roads only. Pennsylvania is working toward creating a master linear reference system that can be used by all municipal law enforcement to locate crashes with their reporting methods. This will allow PENNDOT to perform system-wide analysis of safety issues on all public roads (including locally owned and maintained roads) across the state. This enhanced analysis capability is expected to be in place by 2009.
Methodology Utilized to Prepare List:
PENNDOT Engineering Districts worked together with their local planning partners (MPO's/RPO's) to identify areas of safety need throughout the state using available crash data analysis tools and input from local parties.
In order to identify the top 5% of locations with the greatest safety needs, PENNDOT began by looking at identified areas of concern and calculated the following values for each location using the most recent five years crash data (2001 to 2005):
- Crashes per mile (density),
- Crashes per million VMT (crash rate), and
- Severity index1. The severity index takes a weighted sum of the various injury
crash types and divides by the sum of the total number of crashes. The weights for
each crash type are determined based on their relative economic cost to society
and are according to the following schedule:
| Fatal crashes = 12 |
| Major injury crashes = 12 |
| Moderate injury crashes = 3 |
| Minor injury crashes = 2 |
| Unknown injury crashes = 2 |
| Property damage only crashes = 1 |
1 The relative economic cost to society for crashes, injuries, and fatalities, and a similar severity index calculation (
Freeway Traffic Crashes 2002-2004. Akron Area Metropolitan Study. January 25, 2006. Pg 3. Accessed July 2006 from:
http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/webdocs/AMATS/whatsnew/newsletters/archives/first%20quarter%202006.pdf) were used as a basis for determining the weights in the severity index calculation for this report.
The safety locations were then sorted by each of the three above criterion and given a ranking number. Then each location was given a composite ranking by adding the three ranking numbers together. The composite ranking was used to identify the top 5% of areas of greatest safety need. This approach gives equal weight to the frequency of reportable crashes (which does not normalize for traffic volume), crash rate (which normalizes for traffic volume), and crash severity (which normalizes for traffic volume and the frequency of crashes). Each of these methods normalizes for the length of each identified area of concern.
By using a combination of these criteria, an advantage is not given to one site over another such as a high-volume roadway with many crashes, or a low-volume roadway with a high crash rate. Locations that have a history of frequent, severe crashes will rise to the top of the rankings because the severity index has been included in this methodology.
Please contact Andrew Markunas, P.E., Highway Safety Liaison Engineer, from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highway Safety & Traffic Engineering (amarkunas@state.pa.us) if you have any questions about this report.
| Confidential - Traffic Engineering and Safety Study |
| This document is the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation. The data and information contained herein are part of a traffic engineering and safety study. This safety study is provided to those official agencies or persons who have responsibility in the highway transportation system and may only be used by such agencies or persons for traffic safety-related planning or research. The document and information are confidential pursuant to 75 Pa. C.S. §3754 and 23 U.S.C. §409 and may not be published, reproduced, released or discussed without the written permission of the PA Department of Transportation. |
Table 1 Pennsylvania's Safety Needs and Potential Remedies
| County | State Route | Beginning Segment | Ending Segment | Potential Remedies | Estimated Phase Costs | Comments |
|---|
| Armstrong | 0056 | 0020 | 0020 | Upgrade all existing signal equipment | $65,000 | |
| Bedford | 0915 | 0140 | 0140 | Intersection reconstruction. | $264,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| Berks | 2005 | 0060 | 0100 | Upgrade traffic signal equipment and optimize signal timings at 11 intersections. Extension of the northbound left turn lane. | $1,435,000 | |
| Berks | 2012 | 0010 | 0020 | The upgrading of traffic signals at 63 intersections and other miscellaneous construction. Improved coordination of the downtown Reading signal system to reflect current traffic demands. | $417,000 | |
| Blair | 0022 | 0450 | 0460 | Intersection improvements. | $77,000 | |
| Bucks | 0013 | 0010 | 0201 | Closed Loop Traffic Signal System (Approx. 18 intersections within limits) Signal Improvement Intersection Improvements | $1,296,000 | |
| Bucks | 2019 | 0010 | 0021 |
| Cumberland | 1006 | 0010 | 0020 | Widen, add turning lanes and improve intersection | $12,000 | |
| Cumberland | 0944 | 0570 | 0590 | Widen PA 944 (Wertzville Road) and SR 8035-001 (I-81 exit ramps) and add turning lanes at intersection with SR 1004. | $2,952,000 | |
| Dauphin | 0743 | 0190 | 0191 | Interconnect traffic signals and realign two intersections. | $54,000 | |
| Dauphin | 2016 | 0010 | 0021 |
| Dauphin | 0322 | 0260 | 0270 | Realign intersection and upgrade traffic signals. | $78,000 | |
| Dauphin | 0743 | 0120 | 0130 |
| Dauphin | 0230 | 0050 | 0061 | Lane and shoulder widening, signal upgrades | $55,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2006 |
|
| Dauphin | 3009 | 0010 | 0011 |
| Dauphin | 3010 | 0010 | 0011 |
| Delaware | 0013 | 0130 | 0130 | Signal Improvement | $103,000 | |
| Delaware | 0013 | 0330 | 0330 | Traffic Signal Interconnect. Signal improvement. Corridor Optimization. | $74,000 | |
| Delaware | 2016 | 0140 | 0190 |
| Erie | 2029 | 0120 | 0120 | Update existing traffic signals. | $977,000 | |
| Franklin | 0030 | 0350 | 0371 | Install a fully actuated traffic signal. | $14,000 | |
| Franklin | 4013 | 0010 | 0010 |
| Huntingdon | 0453 | 0010 | 0020 | Highway rehab, truck climbing lane. | $10,661,000 | |
| Lancaster | 0272 | 0300 | 0310 | Signalization and other improvements. | $144,000 | |
| Lancaster | 0372 | 0130 | 0140 |
| Lancaster | 0023 | 0370 | 0370 | Signalize intersection, road widening, turning lanes, install curbing | $83,000 | |
| Lebanon | 0022 | 0010 | 0300 | Install median barrier, left turn lanes and improve traffic signals | $480,000 | |
| Lehigh | 0145 | 0150 | 0171 | Intersection Improvement. Add left turn lane, widening. | $440,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| Luzerne | 1009 | 0020 | 0031 | Upgrade and Interconnect Traffic Signals | $32,000 | |
| Monroe | 0196 | 0010 | 0020 | This connector road will eliminate all South Bound SR 196 traffic from entering into the 5 points intersection. | $175,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| Monroe | 0940 | 0310 | 0330 |
| Montgomery | 0030 | 0010 | 0121 | Signal improvement; closed loop system at 24 signalized intersections | $216,000 | |
| Montgomery | 0611 | 0010 | 0010 | Closed Loop Signal System. Signal improvement.Corridor Optimization. | $5,229,000 | |
| Montgomery | 0029 | 0060 | 0060 | Traffic System Management - Construction of the new road to connect SR 29 and SR 113. Also, the addition of new lanes on RT 29 north and southbound. There will also be a left turn lane added on RT 29. | $4,385,000 | |
| Philadelphia | 0013 | 0220 | 0304 | Signal Improvement: Closed Loop System, 42 Signalized Intersections | $66,000 | |
| Philadelphia | 2007 | 0140 | 0151 |
| Philadelphia | 0611 | 0080 | 0161 | Safety improvement pedestrian initiative; corridor improvements | $303,000 | |
| Philadelphia | 3010 | 0010 | 0051 | Intersection improvements: 17 intersections, install pedestrian cross walks. Corridor improvements: lengthen standby lane on SR 3010. | $384,000 | |
| Philadelphia | 0001 | 0060 | 0081 | Integrate corridor (interstate/arterial network) TSM (Traffic System Management) systems to reduce congestion and improve safety. | $356,000 | |
| Susquehanna | 0171 | 0710 | 0710 | Corridor safety improvements. | $132,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| Venango | 0257 | 0130 | 0130 | Intersection Improvement | $22,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2008 |
|
| Westmoreland | 0030 | 0200 | 0200 | Widen from four to five lanes to accommodate left turn/center left turn lane. Replace four signals. Relocate utility poles. | $63,000 | |
| Westmoreland | 0136 | 0340 | 0340 | Widen roadway from two to three lanes to accommodate center left turn lane. | $435,000 | |
| Westmoreland | 0056 | 0240 | 0250 | Two Signal improvements and add lane to SR 4048 (from 2 to 3 lanes). | $4,514,000 | |
| York | 0024 | 0310 | 0330 | Three intersection improvements and add center turn lane. | $80,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| York | 0624 | 0010 | 0010 |
| York | 4001 | 0140 | 0160 | Curve realignment | $968,000 | |
| York | 4011 | 0010 | 0020 |
| York | 0015 | 0100 | 0111 | Left turn lanes along with protective left turn signals | $102,000 | | Preliminary Engineering | 2005 |
|
| York | 4040 | 0140 | 0150 |
| York | 0074 | 0030 | 0040 | Roundabout | $30,000 | |
| York | 0851 | 0720 | 0720 |
