(The following story by Eric Smith appeared on The Daily News website on August 19, 2009.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thanks to an expanded BNSF Railway Co. intermodal terminal, direct access to the Southeastern U.S. and the bulk of the city’s warehouses and distribution centers, Lamar Avenue is a lifeline for Memphis’ logistics community.
It’s also the city’s most congested corridor.
A new study that kicks off this month will address traffic flows and transportation needs within the corridor, which centers on Lamar and is bordered by Interstate 240 to the north, the Mississippi state line to the south, Interstate 55 to the west and Hickory Hill to the east.
Cambridge Systematics Inc. will conduct the study in conjunction with the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization, the University of Memphis’ Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute and the Greater Memphis Chamber.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation assigned Cambridge Systematics to the study following a request from MPO; TDOT has an ongoing contract with the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm that studies transportation assets and needs nationwide and has a satellite office in Knoxville.
MPO director Martha Lott said the roughly six- to eight-month study is critical for the city to maintain its role as a distribution hub and transportation hotbed.
“We’ve got big congestion issues with all the truck traffic and the BNSF yard expansion,” Lott said. “The corridor is significant. We need to know what we need to do, and the corridor hadn’t been studied or really looked over about the last 15 years.”
Discovery period
In its study, Cambridge Systematics researchers will look at several components of the Lamar corridor, which doubles as U.S. 78 and someday will become Interstate 22. First, the firm will take an inventory of existing conditions, such as truck traffic counts from the state line to I-240, as well as on arterial roads.
The firm will look at everything from the timing of traffic signals to the origins and destinations of trucks as they travel to, from and between local warehouses and distribution centers.
“They’re going to follow the trucks,” Lott said. “They’ll actually follow them to see the time it takes to, say, leave the BNSF yard and get to the Interstate (or get to the state line) depending on where they’re going.”
Moreover, Cambridge will collaborate with Memphis International Airport and the railroads with an intermodal presence (Canadian National Railway Co., CSX Intermodal, Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific) to gauge the connections between the modes of air, rail and road.
Once the data are compiled and existing conditions understood, Cambridge will develop forecasts for future volumes, an important factor when considering BNSF’s added lift capacity and Norfolk Southern’s forthcoming Fayette County yard.
“We want to find out exactly what we’re possibly going to be faced with over the years,” Lott said. “And then we need to identify all of our deficiencies. Do we not have enough lanes? Is it the signals? Is it just (congested) during the peak periods? Once we get all the deficiencies identified, then we’ll come up with potential solutions and how we can get the traffic to flow, both passenger and freight.”
The company then will make a series of recommendations for improvements.
Taglines and facts
Martin Lipinski, director of IFTI and an engineering professor at the University of Memphis, said it’s important to identify the deficiencies and needs for what has become Memphis’ major freight corridor.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever done any studies in the community before of this type,” Lipinski said. “And I think one of the unique aspects of this is that it’s involving a lot of interaction with the private sector, using a lot of information from the stakeholders to help guide what are some of the realistic alternatives that can be pursued in the corridor.”
Lipinski didn’t want to prematurely paint a picture of what the corridor will resemble until the study is complete, but he said he envisions significant improvements to grade separations at major intersections and some access control along the way, steps that will greatly reduce congestion and improve freight flows.
Jim Covington, vice president of logistics and aerotropolis development for the chamber, said the corridor is integral to Memphis as an aerotropolis, or a city whose economy revolves around the airport but also relies on other transportation modes.
Covington said the centerpiece for everything is connectivity – from road to rail to river to runway – helping Memphis uphold its old moniker of America’s Distribution Center and its new tagline of “America’s Aerotropolis.”
An improved Lamar Avenue corridor will bolster those ideals.
“We can have a great BNSF yard that’s going to generate 500 trucks a day, but we’ve got to get those trucks to their ultimate destination,” Covington said. “And if they’re in town, around town or out of town, they’ve got to get there. The key is the roadway connections.”