MPC
Research Projects (2005-06)

Identifying Number

MPC-259

Project Title

Relating Vehicle-Wildlife Crash Rates to Roadway Improvements

University

University of Wyoming

Project Investigator

Dr. Rhonda Kae Young
University of Wyoming
(307)766-2184
(307)766-2221
rkyoung@uwyo.edu

External Project Contact

John Lane
Wyoming Department of Transportation
(307)777-4180
john.lane@dot.state.wy.us

Project Objective

The main objective of this research work is to investigate the effects of past roadway improvements on vehicle-wildlife crash rates. To meet this objective the following major research tasks are proposed.

• Analyze vehicle-wildlife crashes in Wyoming with a focus on Park and Teton Counties in the Northwest portion of the state using GIS to look at crash frequencies and crash rates.
• Identify major roadway improvements that have occurred in the last ten years in areas prone to vehicle-wildlife crashes and perform before and after crash analyses.
• Look for correlation between project characteristics and crash analysis results.

Project Abstract

Improving safety is a major goal for transportation agencies with significant resources being devoted nationwide reducing the number of vehicle crashes that are occurring on roadways. One aspect of roadway safety is vehicle-wildlife crashes that account for approximately 5 percent of all automobile crashes nationwide. In rural states, such as Wyoming, this issue is often of even greater importance as wildlife can be more prevalent causing more wildlife-roadway interactions. While there is significant research work into the effectiveness of different vehicle-wildlife crash countermeasures, very little information exists on the impacts of roadway improvements to vehicle-wildlife crash rates. This research effort looks at the past roadway improvement projects with respect to the vehicle-wildlife crash rates before and after construction. From the before and after analyses, correlations between specific project aspects and crash rates will be made.

The first step in the research effort will be to analyze vehicle-wildlife crash rates and frequencies throughout Wyoming for a 10 year period using a Geographic Information System (GIS) based methodology. This will identify areas within the state where these types of crashes most commonly occur. Next, the construction records from the state and local agencies will be reviewed to determine construction improvement projects that occurred in the high crash areas. The construction documents from these projects will be reviewed to determine what types of improvements were constructed for each project and to develop a database of roadway features in the improvement sites such as lane width, shoulder width, roadway curvature, embankment slopes, and vegetation.

For each selected construction site, the before and after crash frequencies and rates will be calculated to determine if a significant chance in crashes occurred. Projects will be categorized based on the amount of changes that occurred and correlated to project and roadway features that could explain these changes. The before and after crash analyses will control for changes in traffic volumes, estimates of changing wildlife populations in the area, and qualitative measures of land development and habitat pressures in the project area. Both vehicle-wildlife and total crash rates will be examined in these analyses to determine if one crash type is being offset by other types. Lastly, conclusions and recommendations based on these findings will be made.

Task Descriptions

1. Perform a statewide analysis of vehicle-wildlife crashes and identify high hazard locations for a 10-year period.
2. Locate construction projects that occurred in high hazard locations and identify specifics about project and roadway characteristics.
3. Perform before and after crash analyses for each of the project locations.
4. Determine specific characteristics that correlate to the results of the before and after crash analyses.
5. Submit final report.
6. Submit a technical paper to the Transportation Research Board Meeting

Milestones, Dates

Starting Date: July 1, 2005
Ending Date: June 30, 2006

Yearly and Total Budget

$61,639

Student Involvement

One graduate research assistant and a part-time undergraduate assistant

Relationship to Other Research Projects

This research is not related to any other research project funded by the MPC.

Technology Transfer Activities

Research effort can be applied to the development of roadway design standard for areas with vehicle-wildlife crash hazards. The research results will be disseminated through a final report, technical paper, and conference presentations.

Potential Benefits of the Project

The results of this research effort will provide transportation planners and roadway designers in the state, region, and internationally with a better understanding of the impacts of roadway improvements or vehicle-wildlife crashes.

TRB Keywords

Crashes, roadway design, safety, wildlife