Consultant to study I-380 congestion improvements

CEDAR RAPIDS - The state has hired a Kansas City-based architecture and civil engineering consulting firm to study how to deal with traffic congestion during and after the replacement of the junction of interstates 380 and 80.

The massive project, which is slated to begin construction in 2018, could cripple the flow of the 60,000 cars a day passing through. The Iowa Department of Transportation has commissioned consultant HNTB to conduct the I-380 Coralville to Cedar Rapids Corridor, Multi-Modal and Operations Study before work begins.

'Great news for the Corridor, better to be proactive on the front side of the issue,” said Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett.

Corbett said the Corridor will continue to see growth after the improvements, and one solution is adding a third lane in both directions on I-380, which the city has previously said is feasible given the Iowa DOT already owns the needed land.

But widening I-380 is likely just one part of the answer, and Corbett said he hopes an array of options is studied.

A meeting to kick off the Coralville to Cedar Rapids Corridor study is scheduled for April 9, said Cathy Cutler, a planner with the Iowa DOT District Six office in Cedar Rapids. The DOT will pay HNTB $678,908 to conduct the study.

HNTB is asked to consider how improvements in the I-380 corridor will work in conjunction with the interchange improvements. It will focus on:

' An assessment of ways to reduce traffic by leaning on other modes of transportation as well as possible operational improvements.

' Develop a master plan of short- and long-term mitigation strategies leading up to the reconstruction of the interchange.

'Knowing the reconstruction is very much on the horizon is sparking discussion about how to relieve traffic on 380 and looking to the future of how we can manage 380 traffic,” Cutler said.

Modeling from a 2012 feasibility study showed a breakdown in service on I-380 will exist by 2020 due to increased traffic, she said. Widening I-380 in that time is not possible so this study is expected to provide a range of alternatives, she said.

The study will run concurrently with a similar effort called the Iowa Commuter Transportation Study, which was also conducted by HNTB. Local transportation leaders are developing an implementation plan for that study, which evaluated mass transit options to get people between the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas.

Other research that could fit into the I-380 Coralville to Cedar Rapids Corridor study include:

' Previous transit and commuter train studies.

' I-80 widening study.

' Forevergreen Road interchange feasibility study

' Iowa DOT Park & Ride study.