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would generate truck trips similar to the existing operation, would result in intersection <br /> and roadway conditions similar to existing conditions. <br /> Existing Without Project Conditions <br /> In an attempt to determine the portion of intersection capacity currently used by <br /> quarry related traffic, the truck trips associated with the existing operation were <br /> subtracted from the existing traffic volumes. The product of this analysis would be <br /> equivalent to conditions without the proposed project traffic volumes. The quarry <br /> operation currently generates, and if approved, the proposed project would continue to <br /> generate about 4 truck trips during each of the a.m. and p.m. peak hours. The existing <br /> intersection LOS without project traffic conditions is shown in Table 3.4-2. It can be <br /> seen that the project does not have any significant impact on the LOS of the analyzed <br /> intersections and therefore the project would not significantly impact any other <br /> intersections of concern in the project area. It can be assumed that the LOS for <br /> roadway segments in the project area would be higher than for its associated <br /> intersections because intersection LOS is governed by both traffic volume and turn <br /> movements, whereas road segment LOS is directly related to traffic volume. <br /> It should be noted, however, that even though the project traffic would not <br /> degrade the LOSs at the analyzed intersections, the truck traffic generated by the project <br /> would have a negative impact on the traffic flow on the surrounding roadways. As <br /> noted in the Highway Capacity Manual, heavy vehicles adversely impact traffic in two <br /> critical ways: (1) They are larger than passenger cars and, therefore, occupy more <br /> roadway space than passenger cars; and (2) They have poorer operating capacities than <br /> passenger cars, particularly with respect to acceleration, deceleration, and the ability to <br /> maintain speed on upgrades. <br /> These factors particularly effect two-lane highways where passing must be <br /> accomplished using the opposing travel lane. The roadways surrounding the project site, <br /> including State Route 88, are all two-lane roadways which would have reduced <br /> capacities with any increase in truck volume. However, since the project generates only <br /> about 4 trips per hour, it has minimal impact on the capacity of the surrounding <br /> roadways. <br /> 67 <br />