The Enhanced 2-Lane with Added Lanes Alternative would include the following improvements:

• 2 lanes would continue to be provided in each direction of I-40 and the inside and outside shoulders would be widened to 12 feet on both sides and crossovers would be provided.
  1. ­ Wider shoulders could be used to provide space for incident management to get 1 or 2 lanes moving as soon as possible.
  2.  A wider roadway section allows for 2 lanes to be provided on I-40 during construction.
  3.  Crossovers would be constructed periodically to provide a pathway to allow temporary detours to be established in the event of a crash, maintenance, or construction.
• A third lane would be provided in areas where additional roadway capacity may be needed in the future or where it would offer safety benefits.
• I-40 geometric deficiencies and drainage, bridge, and pavement deficiencies would be addressed.

Enhanced 2-Lane with Added Lanes

This example section shows widening to the median of I-40, in some areas of the I-40 study area, widening may occur to the outside.

This alternative would include all of the elements of the Enhanced 2-Lane with Added Lanes Alternative plus a third travel lane would be provided in each direction for the full 150-mile corridor.

3-Lane Alternative

This example section shows widening to the median of I-40, in some areas of the I-40 study area, widening may occur to the outside.

Both build alternatives would incorporate the following supporting elements to improve safety and operations on I-40:

Improving Alternate Routes
This would include improving and/or providing adjacent frontage roads to provide alternate routes when needed for incident management and could include:

• Considering improvements on either I-40 or within the right-of-way for the 30 miles where alternate routes are not provided.
• Reconstructing or rehabilitating pavement on existing alternate routes where needed.
• Removing vertical clearance constraints for trucks on existing alternate routes.
• Improving bridges with limitations (such narrow widths) as they approach the end of their service life.

Minimizing Lane Closures During Construction and Maintenance
This includes developing and implementing construction approaches to minimize disruptions to traffic during construction and maintenance activities. This could include:

• Maintaining 2 travel lanes in each direction on I-40 during construction and maintenance activities.
• Nighttime or off-peak construction in cases where 2 travel lanes cannot be maintained.

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Improvements
ITS technologies augment traditional infrastructure by integrating advanced communications technologies into existing infrastructure to improve transportation operations, efficiency, and reliability. Proposed ITS improvements for I-40 include a range of solutions as summarized in the table below.

ITS Improvements Overview

Basic ITS improvements would improve traffic operations and safety by implementing services for traffic management, surveillance, and data collection; and provide traveler information, work zone management, and weather data collection and processing. Enhanced ITS Improvements would include additional services to provide additional active traffic management services (variable message signs, dynamic lane management, service patrol support, etc.); specific support for commercial vehicle operations; and expanded data management services in work zones.

Improving Incident Management
This would formalize incident management policies and procedures and could include the following components:

• Developing and implementing a corridor-wide incident management plan for responding to incidents and getting traffic moving as quickly as possible.
• Providing a courtesy patrol to assist drivers of disabled vehicles or those involved with crashes.
• Providing additional traffic control support to State Patrol and local police during incidents.