Edmonston Road and Sunnyside Avenue Traffic and Environmental Studies

Client: US Department of Agriculture

Location: Prince George’s County, MD

Services: Traffic Studies, Environmental Investigation and Documentation

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) constructed an office building, the George Washington Carver Center, in Prince George’s County on the south side of Sunnyside Avenue, between Edmonston Road and Baltimore Avenue. This new 350,000 square foot building houses 1,200 employees. KCI was contracted by the USDA to perform traffic and environmental studies for potential improvements to Edmonston Road (MD 201) and Sunnyside Avenue, associated with the new building. The traffic study evaluated the adequacy of the current roadways serving the complex and made recommendations for roadway improvements and upgrades. KCI also conducted an Environmental Assessment to determine the best roadway improvement alternatives and any environmental impacts associated with each alternative.

Traffic Study. The traffic analysis focused on traffic input from various intersections surrounding a recently built USDA office complex. KCI’s traffic engineering staff observed traffic conditions on the road system serving the USDA office complex. KCI obtained AM and PM peak hour counts at the intersections in the vicinity of the USDA office complex site. KCI developed future traffic volumes in coordination with the ongoing Maryland State Highway Administration study of the US 1/MD 201 corridor. Using the Critical Lane Analysis method, KCI evaluated major intersections and roadway segments for level of service. A queuing analysis of all approaches to the intersections was also prepared. A final traffic report documented the methodology, results of the traffic study, and recommendations for improvements.

Environmental Study and Documentation. KCI began the Environmental Assessment (EA) by collecting background information on socioeconomic, cultural and natural resources, as well as engineering opportunities and constraints along Edmonston Road and Sunnyside Drive. Coordination with environmental resource agencies was initiated early in the process to identify areas of particular concern and to help determine regulatory involvement. As part of the EA document development, KCI completed socioeconomics studies including environmental justice; secondary and cumulative effects analysis (SCEA); natural environmental studies (soils, floodplains, etc.); forest stand delineation; wetland identification and delineation; cultural resources; hazardous waste studies; air quality analysis; and noise analysis. KCI used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to produce a composite map of environmental resources. The roadway alternatives were overlaid onto the environmental resources to estimate impacts.

The EA summarized the data for the project, describing the methodologies and technical approaches used to address environmental issues of each alternative. The document summarized the purpose and need of the project, the alternatives, the engineering features, the existing environmental features and effects of these alternatives on those features. A summary matrix was included to illustrate the impacts of these alternatives on key environmental features. Mitigation recommendations were provided to address impacts incurred by the project. KCI also supported USDA in preparing materials (i.e., handouts/graphics) for the project’s public hearing.

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