Title
E-470 Hazardous Material Route Evaluation Letter
Body
Summary and Background Information:
Title 42, Article 20 of the Colorado Revised Statutes governs the routing of hazardous materials by motor vehicles on all public roads. The Colorado State Patrol has the sole authority to designate which public roads shall be used and which shall not be used by motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials. State statute does not authorize the E-470 Authority to seek HAZMAT route designation on its own; only a town, city, or city and county is permitted to petition the Colorado State Patrol for such a designation regarding any public road located within its jurisdiction. As such, the Authority is seeking partnerships with member jurisdictions along E-470 to establish HAZMAT route designation.
The Authority sent the attached letter in May 2018 to member jurisdictions seeking to better understand the position and interest of the agency in partnering to pursue this designation. Prior to submitting a petition, a robust analysis must be conducted to determine whether the route meets HAZMAT designation criteria. CDOT route analysis and CSP review process would be used for consideration prior to the possible designation of Hazmat route for E-470. City Council held a study session to discuss the topic August 13 (https://commerce.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3599106&GUID=4D5CE5A9-A333-40C6-9D6F-9BCFED1842F1). At the time, Adams County and the City of Thornton were in support of evaluating a route, while Brighton and Aurora had not weighed in. Council requested additional information relating to the review process, which has been attached for consideration. Brighton has not yet taken a position (although a work session was held in December), while Aurora has expressed concerns about the financial impact of fire response.
E-470 believes studying the designation could be of benefit for the following reasons:
1. Designation will allow more options to petroleum transporters and others that will not have negative impacts on the industry. The request for designation is supported by the Colorado Motor Carriers Association and the Colorado/Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association.
2. E-470 provides continuous routing through all jurisdictions and makes a much needed connect and alternative to existing routes. No other current Hazmat routes are being proposed to be eliminated with this routing request.
3. E-470 is designed to federal interstate standards and has one of the best safety records for urban highways in Colorado. E-470 also contracts with Colorado State Patrol for continued safety and law enforcement services 24/7 along the corridor. E-470 also has camera coverage along the corridor that links back to a traffic management center that is monitored 24/7 and can quickly detect any accident for rapid response.
4. The route provides an opportunity to consolidate hazmat loads to a safe and convenient route to expedite delivery of products from origin to destinations. Rather, the additional route(s) will allow for easier movement of goods, thus potentially providing cost savings to transporters and potentially their customers.
5. Designation will not divert hazmat products from one community to another but will provide more options to deliver the products to the communities who use them. In addition it will provide alternative routing that remove loads otherwise using local streets and corridors to a safer more direct route with E-470.
6. The process to add E-470 as a hazmat route is not anticipated to be overly burdensome to the Authority. Although we may have some minor startup expenses related to staff training, permitting and signing, we already use certified contractors to assist with Hazmat cleanup after accidents.
The data desired by council will not be obtained unless a route designation is evaluated. A route designation that does not extend from I-25 to I-70 is not of benefit to the city; a shorter designation to I-76, for example, increases the likelihood of traffic using the city's major arterials to access businesses (vs. immediate adjacency to the tollroad). The review process allows the City to support studying route designation and - based on data - withdraw support/provide additional comments during the public process. As such, a letter is attached for consideration, which indicates support for studying route designation and obtaining more data.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Deputy City Manager Troy Smith
Staff Member Presenting: Deputy City Manager Troy Smith
Financial Impact: $0
Funding Source: N/A