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Home My WebLink About5.06 Traffic Summary_N23CDPBJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Traffic Summary PREPARED FOR: Caerus Piceance LLC DENVER CORPORATE OFFICE 1001 17th Street, Suite 1600, Denver, CO 80202 PARACHUTE FIELD OFFICE 143 Diamond Ave. Parachute, CO 81635 PREPARED BY: Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Avenue, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 January 2022 BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Caerus Piceance LLC Traffic Summary - Garfield County, Colorado Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Ave, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.entradainc.com Page | 2 INTRODUCTION The following section addresses the requirements for the Traffic Study under Article 4 Section 203.L. of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) as part of an Administrative Review for a Land Use Change Permit for Material Handling use. The Basic Traffic Analysis summarizes findings of a traffic impact analysis performed for Caerus Piceance LLC (Caerus) proposed BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point (N23 CPD) facility. The subject facility will support three well sites situated within Caerus’s North Parachute operations area. The facility will only support well sites operated by Caerus and will not provide services to third parties. The site was recently grading prior to Land Use Change permit approval due to wildlife timeframe and agreements between Caerus, CPW, and COGCC. Caerus is requesting a Land Use Change Permit from Garfield County. The Location Assessment Form 2A was approved by Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on January 14th, 2021. It is expected that the lifespan of the site will be approximately 30 years, the average lifespan of a well site in the Piceance Basin. The site is located on Parcel #1917-274-00-012 within Garfield County, Colorado. The parcel entrance is located approximately 10 travel miles north of the Parachute and interchange along Interstate 70 (I-70). The proposed N23 CDP site plan is designed to be approximately 2.4 acres during initial construction, reducing to 1.02 acres after interim reclamation. The facility will be easterly located on parcel 1917-274-00-012, the Southeast ¼ of the Southwest ¼ of Section 23, Township 4 South, Range 96 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, Garfield County. The subject parcel is approximately 9,333 acres. Caerus is the parcel and surface owner and will be the Operator of the proposed facility. Current land use on the subject parcel is primarily natural gas development. Caerus is currently planning on drilling at three well pad locations in the North Parachute operations area in 2021 through 2023. The objective of the traffic analysis is to provide traffic projections for the facility. • Vicinity Map – Attachment 1 • Public Access Route – Attachment 2 • Garfield County Traffic County Study – Attachment 3 EXISTING ROAD NETWORK Regional trips to this facility will use the I-70 exit at Parachute, Colorado. This facility will be accessed from the north end of CR 215 via a series of private roadways that begin near the Caerus Guard Shack. This private road is located on property owned by Caerus. CR 215 is a preferred haul route according to the Garfield County Road and Bridge Department. CR 215 is generally used for access to ranches and agricultural operations, rural residential uses, and oil and gas operations. BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Caerus Piceance LLC Traffic Summary - Garfield County, Colorado Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Ave, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.entradainc.com Page | 3 According to the Garfield County Road and Bridge Department Director, Wyatt Keesbury, County Road 215 (Parachute Creek Road) is a two-lane asphalt roadway with graveled shoulders and in sections of CR 215 two lanes each direction with turn lanes. The road is considered in fair condition, with Garfield County looking at a rebuild in the next several years. Garfield County Road & Bridge conducted a county-wide traffic study where daily traffic was counted for county roads in 2014 and 2019. The 2014 traffic count study was conducted in July and concluded that the average daily county (ADC) was 716 vehicles per day (VPD) on CR 215 at that time. The 2019 traffic county was conducted in August and concluded that the average daily count (ADC) was 1,282 vehicles per day (VPD) on CR 215 at that time. Background traffic volume counts from 2014 and 2019 are shown in Table 1 below. Calculations for CR 215 road projections for 2021 are based on the vehicles VPD increase from 2014 to 2019 of 113 VPD per year. The 2022 ADC is projected at 1,621 VPD. Table 1: Garfield County Traffic Count Studies – Average Daily County (ADC) County Road Road Name 2014 ADC Actual 2019 ADC Actual 2022 ADC Estimated CR 215 Parachute Creek Road 716 1,282 1,621 CR 401 No Data Collect No Data Collected No projections for CR 401 were provided in this report due to the lack of available traffic data. Due to the remote and geographic location of CR 401, the majority of traffic occurring on CR 401 is associated with oil and gas activities. Caerus currently maintains CR 401. TRIP GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION The Applicant/Operator reviewed and analyzed vehicles necessary for activities and operations for the proposed site. Operations will be conducted in 5 phases at the N23 CDP: initial grading activities (completed), facility construction, production operations, interim reclamation activities, and final grading/reclamation of the site. Stages may occur simultaneously at the site but in different areas. Grading activities are completed. Traffic estimates for the proposed facility were provided by Caerus, based on operations at existing CDP facilities within the North Parachute operations area. After facility operations are established, the N23 CDP will not require vehicles to access the site daily. Inspection (stormwater, noxious weeds, housekeeping) activities will be conducted by personnel performing similar activities at other facilities in the field, so these trips would currently be accounted for within the background traffic volume. Inspection activities may occur during all phases and is not considered a separate operational phase Initial Grading Activities BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Caerus Piceance LLC Traffic Summary - Garfield County, Colorado Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Ave, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.entradainc.com Page | 4 Initial grading activities are completed for the facility. Due to wildlife timeframe stipulations set forth by CPW, COGCC, and the BLM, Caerus obtained a grading permit prior to submittal the land use change application. Caerus completed grading activities during 3rd quarter of 2021. Facility Construction Grading activities for the site have been completed. Construction activities for the N23 CDP are anticipated to occur for 30 days. During the construction phase (30 days), public roads will incur the most vehicular trips. Forty-five (45) large and equipment transport vehicles will access the site from public roads, resulting in 90 trips for the construction phase. In addition, ten (10) pickup trucks (20 VPD) will access the site from public roads. A total of 690 trips will occur over 30 days during the construction phase, resulting in 23 VDP for this activity. Interim Reclamation Activities Interim reclamation activities will take approximately 10 days to complete. Vehicles will access the facility from public roads. Vehicles utilized during interim activities will consist of large equipment transport vehicles and pick-up trucks. Two (2) large equipment vehicles will be mobilized from public roads, resulting in 4 trips. within the Cascade Creek field. Four (4) pickup trucks will access N23 CDP from public rods during the interim reclamation phase (8 trips daily). A total of 84 trips will occur over 10 days during the interim reclamation activity stage, resulting in 8.4 VDP for this activity. Production Activities During the production phase, up to a 30-year time interval depending on well site production, the N23 CDP facility will be access solely from other oil and gas locations within Caerus’s North Parachute operations areas and will not be accessed directly from public roads. Caerus anticipates two (2) pickup trucks a day to access the N23 CDP during initial production operations. After production operations are established, vehicular access will be reduced to 2-3 pickup trucks per week. Production activities would be conducted by personnel performing similar activities at other oil and gas locations in the field, so these trips would currently be accounted for within the background traffic volume. Inspection Activities Inspection activities will occur throughout operations at the site and will coincide with other stages. Inspection activities will vary and may include (but not limited to): noxious weed and stormwater inspections, government agency compliance inspections, housekeeping, maintenance, and sampling. Vehicles will access the site from within the North Parachute operations area. Vehicles associated with inspection activities will access the site during all activity stages. Sampling and inspection (stormwater, noxious weeds, housekeeping) activities BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Caerus Piceance LLC Traffic Summary - Garfield County, Colorado Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Ave, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.entradainc.com Page | 5 will be conducted by personnel performing similar activities at other facilities/locations in the field, so these trips would currently be accounted for within the background traffic volume. Reclamation/ Final Grading Activities At this time of this Traffic Summary Report, Caerus does not have a timeline for reclamation activities. On average in the North Parachute operations area, a well site may be produced for 30 years. The N23 CDP timespan will be based production of the well sites the subject facility is supporting. Reclamation standards at the time of closure will influence vehicular traffic and timeline associated with reclamation activities. Caerus anticipates that vehicles will access the site from public access roads and within the North Parachute operations area. Vehicle activities utilized during final reclamation activities will consist of large equipment transportation vehicles, grading equipment, and pick-up trucks. N23 CDP Facility Trips The following Table 2 summarizes the expected average and maximum trips for the operational life of the facility. Table 2: Trip Generation – Total Trips on Public Roads Per Activity – BJU N23-496 CDP Stage/ Activity Time Interval (Days) Excavation Equipment Mobilization Trips Per Activity Pickup Trucks Trips Per Day Pickup Trucks Trips Per Activity Total Maximum Trips Generated Per Activity VDP Per Activity Initial Grading Completed Facility Construction 30 90 20 600 690 23 Interim Reclamation 10 4 8 80 84 8.4 Production Phase* Final Reclamation Total Lifespan Trips Access the Site from Public Roads 94 680 774 The total maximum trips generated on public roads the N23 CDP will be approximately 774 vehicles. The total of average trips generated over the lifespan of the N23 CDP facility is not an appropriate measure of traffic patterns since a majority of vehicular trips will occur during initial operations (40 days for construction and interim reclamation) and the site will operate for approximately 30 years. During initial operations of the proposed site, the maximum average VPD per activity accessing the site from public roads will be 23 trips, occurring for 30 days. Caerus anticipates that both construction and interim reclamation will commence and be completed in 2022. The N23 CDP is projected increase traffic on public roads for 40 days in 2022. For the year 2022, the facility will average of 2 VPD on public roads. BJU N23-496 Central Delivery Point Caerus Piceance LLC Traffic Summary - Garfield County, Colorado Entrada Consulting Group 330 Grand Ave, Suite C Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.entradainc.com Page | 6 County Road 215 – Parachute Creek Road Based on the background traffic calculations, Caerus’s N23 CDP related traffic will have an average of 0.1% increase on daily traffic activity during operations of the facility in 2022 on CR 215. The following Table 3 summarizes the expected percentage of trips this facility will generate on CR 215 during the 2022 year. Table 3: CR 215 Trip Distribution – 2022 – BJU N23-496 CDP Year CR 215 VPD Year CR 215 VPD (Estimated) Generated Average Operations VPD for Year 2022 Generated Percent of VPD Average 2019 1,282 2022 1,621 2 0.1% ROADWAY ANALYSIS State Highway Crossings and Access CR 215 is accessed by the State of Colorado highway system at either 1- 70 at the Exit 75 interchange or by US 6 (1- 70 Frontage Road) in Parachute, Colorado. The 1- 70 interchange access point is controlled by signal lights. The interchange approximately two (2) miles west of the Exit 75 interchange which allows some traffic to by-pass this interchange. Access to the series of private roads that lead to the facility is controlled at the Caerus Guard Shack. This control point is designed to prevent public access and security purposes. Railroad Crossings CR 215 crosses an at -grade local railroad spur line approximately 1. 5 miles north of the I- 70/ CR 215 interchange. This spur line is generally used for the delivery of gas industry supplies and the removal of bulk materials. Rail traffic at this crossing generally runs at a relatively low speed and at an irregular schedule. This railroad crossing is controlled by a warning signal. SUMMARY Based on the expected trip generation rates discussed above, average daily traffic will increase on CR 215 for 40 days in 2022. Production and inspection activities are not anticipated to increase traffic on public roads. The increase in average daily traffic during the site’s lifespan is not expected to be significant on roads generally used by the public. CR 215 will see only an increase in traffic during the initial development in 2022. Long-term traffic impacts are not anticipated from the development of the N23 CDP. . 0 1 2 3 4Miles Garfield County Road N23 496 CDP Colorado County Boundaries 401Parachute PITKIN GARFIELD RIO BLANCO MESA N23 496 CDPLocation Proximity 0 10 20 30 405Miles R IO B L A N C O GA R F I E L D 215 . 0 1 2 3 4Miles Caerus Private Road Garfield County Road N23 496 CDP Colorado County Boundaries 401Parachute PITKIN GARFIELD RIO BLANCO MESA N23 496 CDPLocation Proximity 0 10 20 30 405Miles R IO B L A N C O GA R F I E L D 215403