Measures

Measures. Measures. Measures shall be used to quantify the effect of the proposed major highway project on the highway system or the communities that will be affected by the project. These measures shall contribute points beyond the minimum score and will be used to place projects in relative rank order. The department shall numerically evaluate proposed major highway projects in the following 5 categories: (1) Economic measure. (a) The department shall evaluate each proposed major highway project’s ability to increase the competitiveness of the existing businesses through all of the following: 1. Comparison of the reduction in long-term travel costs to the cost of constructing and maintaining the proposed major highway project. The reduction in travel costs may include, but is not limited to, vehicle operating cost savings, travel time savings and accident savings. The calculation of the score for this economic measure component shall be based on each proposed major highway project’s points relative to the proposed major highway project with the highest number of points in this category. These points shall contribute to 37.5% of the total 100 points allowable for the economic measure score. The following formula shall be used to determine the score for this component: 2. Evaluation of the existing businesses that will benefit from the proposed major highway project, which may be measured by the number of business entities, and the amount of employment, population and tourism in the proposed or existing highway corridor. Greater consideration shall be given to businesses that are projected to have significant growth over a majority of the life of the proposed highway project. (b) An evaluation shall be made for the proposed major highway project’s ability to attract new businesses through: 1. Consideration of the proposed major highway project’s potential to increase the productivity of industry along the highway corridor. 2. Consideration of the business redistribution potential of the proposed major highway project. Greater consideration shall be given to proposed major highway projects that do not redistribute growth from one part of the state to another, and to projects that contain businesses with the ability to attract business from outside of the state. 3. Consideration of the economic development strengths of the communities served by the project. Greater consideration shall be given to communities that are sufficiently organized to capitalize on the economic opportunities associated with the proposed major highway project. 4. Consideration of unique regional differences in the economic need and abilities of the communities affected by the proposed major highway project. (c) An evaluation shall be made of the proposed major highway project’s ability to improve connections between economic centers. Greater consideration shall be given to those routes that are either part of Wisconsin’s corridors 2020 network of quality highways, or part of the national highway system. (2) Traffic flow measure. (a) The department shall evaluate the existing and predicted traffic flow on the highway system that will be affected by the proposed major highway project. Traffic flow shall be measured using accepted engineering practices to compute the level of service on the highway system segments, and may consider traffic density, travel speed or time delayed and other related factors. (b) Greater consideration shall be given to the severity of congestion and to the amount of traffic that is on the existing highway system segments that would be affected by the proposed major highway project. (c) The calculation of the traffic flow measure points shall be based on a combination of the existing and predicted levels of service, weights for the levels of service and the number of existing and predicted vehicle miles traveled on the highway segments affected by the proposed major highway project. Points will be calculated for individual highway segments within the highway system affected by the major highway project. The total points for the major highway project is equal to the sum of the points for the highway segments. The following formula shall be used to determine the traffic flow measure points: (d) The calculation of the traffic flow measure score shall be based on each proposed major highway project’s traffic flow points relative to the proposed major highway project with the highest number of traffic flow points. The following formula shall be used to determine the traffic flow measure score: (3) Safety measure. (a) The department shall evaluate the number of crashes as well as the severity of the crashes that exist on the highway system affected by the proposed major highway project through: 1. Determining the crash rate which shall be calculated by the total number of crashes divided by the number of hundred million vehicle miles traveled over the length of the highway system segments. 2. Computing the severity proportion which shall be calculated by dividing the number of fatality and incapacitating injury crashes by the total crashes on the highway system segments. (b) Consideration shall be given to those crash rates and severity proportions that are significantly above the statewide average for similar highway types. (c) An evaluation of the number and severity of crashes shall include as many historical years as necessary to determine a reliable average. (d) An evaluation shall be made to determine if the proposed major highway project will affect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists. A proposed project that will increase speeds on the existing highway without providing for improved pedestrian and bicyclists facilities will be scored lower. (e) The calculation of the safety measure points shall be based on the crash rate, severity proportion, and the hundred million vehicle miles traveled on the highway segments affected by the proposed major highway project. Points will be calculated for individual highway segments within the highway system affected by the major highway project. The total points for the major highway project is equal to the sum of the points for the highway segments. The following formula shall be used to determine the safety measure points: (f) The calculation of the safety measure score shall be based on each proposed major highway project’s safety measure points relative to the proposed major highway project with the highest number of safety points. The following formula shall be used to determine the safety measure score. (4) Environmental measure. (a) The department shall evaluate environmental considerations associated with the proposed major highway project through a draft environmental impact statement or environmental assessment. The draft environmental impact statement or environmental assessment shall provide summary information which shall be used to determine the potential net effects the proposed major highway project may have on environmental resources.