Yarger Engineering Projects
Yarger Engineering Projects |
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Current, Recent, and Notable ProjectsCurrent
Recent
Notable Projects
Notable Projects by Mr. Yarger (not associated with any company)
* Project remonstration activities by Yarger Engineering, Inc. seek mutually beneficial solutions Project Descriptions
Fenley Real Estate proposed to develop 36 acres into a
planned unit development with retail, office,
residential land uses. The existing zoning is
residential. Yarger Engineering, Inc. was hired by an
attorney for local neighborhood groups opposing the
development. Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the
developer's traffic impact studies and binding
elements, and presented comments to the Planning
Commission and City staff.
Duke Realty developed Walnut Creek Market Place on US 421. As part of a driveway permit, INDOT required a center curb be installed in US 421 by the developer. This center curb cut off access to and from properties on the west side of US 421. Yarger Engineering, Inc. was hired by the businesses on the west side to help mitigate the impacts of the center curb.
Pilot Travel Centers, LLC developed a truck stop with a McDonald's restaurant in the southeast corner of CR 400 North and CR 200 West, just off of I-74 in Shelbyville. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared a traffic impact study, designed a traffic signal, and provided construction engineering for the signal. The traffic impact study included several future offsite developments, four driveways to the truck stop and one public intersection.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. developed a Supercenter in Heartland Crossing on SR 67 in Camby. Yarger Engineering, Inc. was a subconsultant to Traffic Engineering, Inc. Yarger Engineering, Inc. forecasted the traffic, analyzed it, and wrote the traffic impact study report.
Community Schools of Frankfort is planning to build a new elementary school on SR 39 at Kelley Road. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared a traffic impact study for the school. The scope included data collection, forecasting, capacity and loading analysis, and writing a report. Because of the unusual nature of the school traffic in Frankfort where many parents pick up their children from school, Yarger Engineering, Inc. collected trip generation and loading data at the three schools being merged into the new school. As a result of the loading analysis, the curbside waiting areas were increased about ten fold to deal with waiting parents. Maintenance of Traffic Design, I-65 at Memphis Road, Memphis, IN - Paul Primavera and Associates, Inc. Paul Primavera and Associates designed a sewer system for Memphis Road. Yarger Engineering, Inc. designed the maintenance of traffic for the project. Because of the very tight nature of the Memphis Road, the sewer construction was phased in order to close sections of Memphis Road under and around I-65, while allowing most of the road to stay open.
Traffic Engineering, Inc. prepared a traffic impact study for a shopping center on the south side of
SR 32 in Westfield. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared the progression study portion of the traffic
impact study. Villa Francesca Roadway Design, Turkeyfoot Road, Zionsville, Indiana Villa Francesca is a residential development along the west side of Turkeyfoot Road. Yarger Engineering is providing roadway design services for Turkeyfoot Road. The Town of Zionsville required the developer to raise Turkeyfoot Road approximately 5 feet at the north end and bring Turkeyfoot Road along the entire frontage of Villa Francesca into compliance with the Town's standards. Turkeyfoot Road is a 20 wide two lane roadway with no shoulders, drop offs and trees along the east side, and 16.5 feet of right-of-way along the east side. To the south of the development, the west side's right-of-way is 25 feet. North of the development, the west side's right-of-way is 40 feet. The Town's standards call for a 30 foot wide roadway including the curbs plus right turn lanes at subdivision entrances. Because of the spacing of the subdivision entrances to Villa Francesca and to Oak Ridge immediately to the north of Villa Francesca, the Town standards call for a continuous right turn lane for most to the length of the project; therefore, the width of the pavement west of the centerline is increased to 26 feet. To provide a full normal design using the Town's standards would require about 90 feet of width at the widest point. At the same point, the available right-of-way is 56.5 feet. Adjacent property owners refuse to allow the use of their property for temporary right-of-way for grading. Yarger Engineering developed several alignments with full profiles and cross sections to show various options of addressing the design requirements with retaining walls and roadway barrier walls.
The Carey Realty Company development (PDF 1.7MB) is part of a recent development pattern along SR 15 north of US 30 in Warsaw. Along with Wal-Mart, Lowes, Lakeside Chevrolet, Petro PUD, and Thompson Thrift Development, the Carey Realty Company development is rapidly changing the face of northern Warsaw. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared the traffic impact study and is currently preparing the roadway plans for SR 15 and CR 350 North. The study scope included one intersection at SR 15 and CR 350 North. Yarger Engineering, Inc. used its own computerized forecasting and Synchro in the project. As a result of the study, SR 15 is being widened to provide left and right turn lanes to CR 350 North. CR 350 North teed in to SR 15 from the east. This project will provide the west approach of CR 350 North, which is also know as Sheldon Drive. CR 350 North/Sheldon Drive will provide a left and right turn lanes at SR 15.
The Thompson Thrift Development (PDF 200K) is part of a recent development pattern along SR 15 at US 30 in Warsaw. Along with Wal-Mart, Lowes, Lakeside Chevrolet, and the Petro PUD, the Thompson Thrift Development is rapidly changing the face of northern Warsaw. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared the traffic impact study and is currently preparing the roadway plans for SR 15 and CR 300 North. The study scope included three intersections on SR 15 and CR 300 North. Yarger Engineering, Inc. used its own computerized forecasting and Synchro in the project. As a result of the study, SR 15 is being widened to provide left and right turn lanes to CR 300 North. CR 300 North is also being widened to provide a left turn lane at SR 15. The southeast corner is also being improved to facilitate semis turning into Da-Lite Screens. Wal-Mart Supercenter Traffic Study, US 421 at CR 400 North, Michigan City, Indiana Arc Design Resources, Inc. was hired to design a new site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter (PDF 1.4MB), restaurant, and gas station. Arc Design Resources hired Yarger Engineering to prepare the traffic impact study for submittal to INDOT, Michigan City, and LaPorte County. Yarger Engineering counted traffic at five existing intersections and analyzed traffic flow at three existing intersections and three proposed driveways with and without the new development. The extra locations were counted to address traffic volume differences between the existing intersections that were analyzed. Progression Study, US 41 at Lynch Road, Evansville, Indiana Yarger Engineering was hired as a subconsultant to prepare a traffic signal progression analysis study (PDF 788K) for submittal to INDOT. Yarger Engineering used traffic volumes developed by the prime consultant for six intersections with and without the development and with a proposed widening of US 41. Yarger Engineering used Synchro for the analyses and prepared a written report for inclusion in the prime consultant's report.
Local homeowners were concerned about a proposed open pit mining operation in their neighborhood. The proposed use would have generated significant dump truck traffic on Hazel Dell Parkway and 106th Street. Yarger Engineering researched the petitioner's file in the Carmel Department of Community Services and visited the site. They conducted an informal floating car technique speed study and estimated the sight distance at Hazel Del Parkway and 106th Street. Dump trucks require additional intersection sight distance over passenger cars. They also commented on several other traffic related issues. Starlight Leasing (Mining) Remonstration, SR 37 at Perry Road, Martinsville, Indiana Local homeowners were concerned about a proposed strip mining operation in their neighborhood. The only driveway to the site was located on SR 37 across from Perry Road in Morgan County. The proposed use would have generated significant dump truck traffic, which requires additional sight distance over passenger cars. Yarger Engineering measured the sight distance at the intersection and took speed a study to show that three fourths of the traffic exceed the speed limit. The speeds were critical because of the limited sight distance at the intersection was barely adequate for the posted speed, but inadequate for the majority of traffic. Yarger Engineering presented its findings in the remonstration portion of the zoning hearing. Indy Parks Remonstration, Reed Road, Indianapolis, Indiana
Yarger Engineering surveyed the roadway and compared the sight distance at the two intersections. Yarger Engineering also provided additional traffic information and study criteria for the association to use in its remonstration. Kohl's Traffic Impact Study, SR 15 at CR 300 North, Warsaw, Indiana Kohl's Department stores hire Malcolm and Associates to locate a site for a new store in Warsaw and do a feasibility study. Malcolm and Associates hired Yarger Engineering to prepare a traffic impact study for the single use site. INDOT and the City of Warsaw required extensive roadway improvements to approve permits. The project was turned over to Thompson Thrift Development, Inc. so they could spread the costs of the required improvements over more tenants. Kentuckiana Heart Hospital Remonstration, Payne Kohler Road, New Albany, Indiana
Southern Indiana Rehabilitation Hospital is located adjacent to the south of the site. They have experienced congestion problems with several intersections in the area and were concerned about the additional traffic and congestion that would be created by Kentuckiana Heart Hospital. Yarger Engineering provided an independent traffic impact study for the proposed hospital. The study included ten intersections. The primary intersections of concern were Blackiston Boulevard at Charlestown Road and Blackiston Boulevard at Blackiston Mill Road. Both are two way stop sign controlled. In the remonstration portion of the zoning hearing, Yarger Engineering presented their findings and the problems with the petitioner's traffic study.
The Petro Planned Unit Development (PUD) is part of a recent development pattern along SR 15 at US 30 in Warsaw. Along with Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Lakeside Chevrolet, the Petro PUD is rapidly changing the face of northern Warsaw. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared the traffic impact study and is currently preparing the roadway plans for SR 15. The study scope included six intersections on SR 15 including two interchange ramps. Yarger Engineering, Inc. incorporated data from previous studies for the other developments and INDOT counts. Yarger Engineering, Inc. used its spreadsheet based forecasting tools and internally developed version of the highway capacity manual for the project. The company also used Synchro and SimTraffic to analyze the existing and future conditions. As a result of the study, Yarger Engineering, Inc. is designing SR 15 to be widened from two to four lanes plus left and right turn lanes to the driveways for Petro PUD and Lakeside Chevrolet. Traffic Signal Design, US 6 at POW-MIA Way, Portage, Indiana Per a traffic signal agreement with INDOT, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. contracted with Yarger Engineering, Inc. to design a traffic signal and perform construction engineering. US 6 is under design for an added travel lanes project, and K-Mart, located directly across US 6, was redesigning their driveway. Yarger Engineering, Inc. incorporated the proposed changes into its traffic signal design so that the future changes by INDOT and K-Mart would not result in drastic changes to the new traffic signal. Yarger Engineering, Inc. will also provide construction engineering services during construction.
The City of Indianapolis contracted with Engineering Design and Inspection Services to design sixteen traffic signal modernizations. As part of the project, a CMAQ funding study was required. EDIS subcontracted Yarger Engineering, Inc. to forecast traffic, conduct speed studies, and estimate the speed improvements from implementing the signal modernizations in the current and design year.
Ameriplex is a 1,300 acre commercial development on the south side I-70 between the Hendricks County Line and I-465 with industrial park and retail uses. Part of the industrial park development has already been developed. A new interchange is proposed for I-70 and Six Points Road. Six Point Road will then become Ameriplex Parkway as it crosses through the middle of the Ameriplex development. Holladay Properties hired Yarger Engineering, Inc. to forecasts traffic for the development, review the proposed roadways in the area, and make recommendations. McKinley Avenue Traffic Study, Muncie, Indiana
The two signalized intersections have some unique features due to the extremely large number of pedestrians. The most prominent feature is the use of pedestrian scramble phasing. This is a very time- consuming way to move pedestrians and wastes intersection capacity. Traffic currently queues up for two to three blocks during peak times. Traffic forecasting was also an issue with the study. The two primary reasons were the study's horizon year (2010 vs. 2023) and the recent plans to move major parking structures and buildings. Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the traffic signal operations and developed alternatives to the proposed plans to account for 2023 traffic levels. Alternatives included different lane geometry, longer turn lanes, different signal and pedestrian phasing, optimized signal timings, and progression alternatives. US 31 at 146th Street, Westfield Indiana INDOT plans to upgrade US 31 to a freeway in Hamilton County. On behalf property owners, Yarger Engineering, Inc. is reviewing the status of the project and commenting on the proposed changes.
The Greenwood American Legion Post requested Yarger Engineering, Inc. to redesign their driveway to better inform motorists of the one-way circulation pattern for their parking lot. Yarger Engineering developed a marking and signage plan, and also provided construction engineering and staking.
A new residential development requested a zoning variance in Johnson County. The adjacent neighborhood to the north was concerned about connecting the two neighborhoods because of potential cut through traffic, speeding, and a sight distance problem that would be created by connecting the two neighborhoods. On behalf existing property owners, Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the existing and proposed roadway plans and documented the sight distance problem. Yarger Engineering developed alternatives to eliminate or at least reduce the cut through traffic and speeds. By reducing the speeds, the sight distance problem would be lessened. INDOT has developed roadway plans to widen SR 66 in Evansville. On behalf of a law firm representing some property owners along SR 66, Yarger Engineering, Inc. worked with INDOT to minimize impacts from the right-of-way takings and assisted the property owners with internal circulation plans for the resulting roadway geometrics. Yarger Engineering, Inc. looked for ways that both INDOT and the property owners would benefit from their proposed changes to the roadway plans. One example is the closing of one driveway nearest a signalized intersection and the relocation of another that resulted in about a 90% reduction in the number of parking spaces removed from an auto dealership. The new driveway location also resulted in better internal circulation.
Hamilton County Highway Department planned to widen Fall Creek Road and 96th Street at County Line Road. Local property owners hired Yarger Engineering, Inc. to review the need to widen the roads. After reviewing the plans, Yarger Engineering, Inc. was able to convince the Hamilton County Commissioners that the proposed four and five lane sections were too wide for the forecasted traffic east of the intersection. The review is still under way for the intersection and to the west; however, the Commissioners are very doubtful if Fall Creek Road west of the intersection will ever be widened.
At the request of Brownsburg, Yarger Engineering, Inc. designed a traffic signal for the intersection and performed construction engineering. The project was a design/build contract with James H. Drew Corporation. The traffic signal included coordination with the CSX Railroad for traffic signal preemption and incorporated plans to widen Northfield Drive.
Yarger Engineering, Inc. performed a traffic impact study for a new elementary school on Grassy Branch Road in Westfield, Indiana for the Westfield - Washington School System. The school site plan proposed a single driveway to the site. Most of the surrounding land was vacant for many miles to the north and east. Yarger Engineering, Inc. determined the likely growth of the community to north and east of the school, forecasted the traffic in front of the school, and determined lane geometry and traffic control needed on Grassy Branch Road and within the site. Yarger Engineering, Inc. also commented on a nearby intersection that would need major improvements with or without the school. (Aerial photography provided by Above All Photography, Ltd.) Johnson Street Traffic Signal Timings, Elkhart, Indiana
Traffic Engineering Consultants gathered the data and performed isolated traffic signal capacity analyses. Yarger Engineering optimized the signal system timings, and then installed the traffic signal timings into controllers and made field adjustments. Yarger Engineering also troubleshot the existing traffic signal equipment as they related to the new timings. Since the initial project, Yarger Engineering has returned to Elkhart several times to update and maintain the traffic signal timings. New traffic signal controllers were installed in September 1999 and Yarger Engineering adjusted the traffic signal timings to reflect the new equipment and changes in traffic volumes. In 2001, a nearby city street was closed and the traffic rerouted to Johnson Street. Yarger Engineering developed and installed traffic signal timings for the detours.In 2004 Yarger Engineering provided trouble shooting services for a malfunctioning traffic signal system.
The current intersection is a conglomeration of minor widening projects and split phasing for 106th Street. The intersection design proposed by the Hamilton County Highway Department included several new turn and through lanes, plus a standard eight phase traffic signal. At the request of the Clay Township Trustee's Office, Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the traffic study and plans. Several deficiencies and over designed items were discovered. The most crucial issues discovered in the review were that the through and turn lanes were not long enough to work as initially thought. In a detailed operational review, queues were found to stretch of over half a mile with a design that a less detailed analysis using HCS found to work fine. The assumptions of the HCS were violated, but not discovered until Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the plans. Yarger Engineering, Inc. then presented alternatives to provide a design that would truly function in the desired manner. Hazel Dell Ponds Subdivision, Carmel, Indiana A developer submitted plans to insert a new housing subdivision that the adjoining neighborhood associations felt would lower their property values. The main issues were double frontage lots and vehicular speeds. By building a street in the new area, there would only be enough land for one row of houses and thereby create double frontage lots out of the existing lots. This street would also be long enough to encourage through traffic to reach high speeds. Yarger Engineering, Inc. was asked to review the plans and Carmel Subdivision Ordinances, and then comment on the concerns. Working with an attorney and the Carmel Planning Commission, the group was able to reach a compromise that did not include the offending street, but still allowed the development. Parkwood West and College Hills Remonstrations, Traffic Impact Studies, Carmel, Indiana
Yarger Engineering, Inc. provided traffic engineering assistance to Heartland Coalition in the form of reviewing the developer-prepared study and by preparing an independent traffic impact study that identified deficiencies in the proposed roadway improvements by the developer to mitigate the increased traffic. The study consisted of the I-465 ramps, US 31, 96th Street, 103rd Street, Springmill Road, College Avenue, and various driveways. Yarger Engineering, Inc. demonstrated that the development was too large for the surrounding roadway network to handle even with proposed modifications. The scope of the development was dramatically reduced and the traffic was reanalyzed. Yarger Engineering used Synchro and SimTraffic as well as internally developed versions of the highway capacity manual to analyze the traffic. The Synchro and SimTraffic were selected for their ability to show graphically the congestion problems to the Carmel Planning Commission in Carmel City Council. In a related project, the College Hills neighborhood was redeveloped as an office complex. This project is immediately east of Parkwood Crossing. Yarger Engineering again used Synchro and SimTraffic to demonstrate the resulting congestion. (Aerial photography provided by Above All Photography, Ltd.)
The existing intersection had single lane approaches to a four-way stop. The intersection design proposed by the Hamilton County Highway Department included several new turn and through lanes. At the request of the property owners in the area, Yarger Engineering, Inc. reviewed the traffic study and plans. Several deficiencies and over-designed items were discovered. Yarger Engineering, Inc. then presented alternatives to provide a design that would truly function in the desired manner while saving many acres of private property and lowering the cost of the project. For example, one family saved about 20,000 sft of frontage on Towne Road.
University High School developed a private high school in the southwest corner of 116th Street and Towne Road. Yarger Engineering, Inc. prepared a traffic impact study consisting of seven existing intersections and three new driveways. The company also prepared plans and specifications for a driveway and associated turn lanes on 116th Street in coordination with nearby projects by Carmel and Hamilton County. SR 1 at I-69 Progression Study, Fort Wayne, Indiana As part of a traffic impact study, Yarger Engineering, Inc. was asked to perform a progression study of SR 1 using PASSER. The study determined the optimal coordination patterns and demonstrated that the coordination of SR 1 would not be severely disrupted by an additional signal in the system. Yarger Engineering, Inc. also pointed out that PASSER, while providing very good mainline progression, was actually not optimizing the system. Because of the high turning volumes, PASSER's assumption that the mainline progression would progress the majority of the traffic was incorrect. The mainline only accounted for 40% of the traffic at the site driveway while the side streets (I-69 off ramps) accounted for 60% of the traffic. Yarger Engineering, Inc. then determined the necessary offsets to progress the majority of the traffic. By understanding the way that PASSER works and having hands-on experience in traffic signal operations, Yarger Engineering, Inc. was able to find the best solution for the project. INDOT Statewide Traffic Data Collection, Indiana In 1997, INDOT contracted with Dames and Moore to provide traffic data collection services. Dames and Moore subcontracted with Yarger Engineering, Inc. to provide technical expertise and local area knowledge. When requested by INDOT, Yarger Engineering, Inc. scoped out the counts and estimated the fees required to collect the data. Dames and Moore personnel then placed the counters and retrieved them a couple of days later. Yarger Engineering, Inc. reduced the raw counter data and reformatted it to be compatible with INDOT's data collection software.& Some of the locations counted included I-80/94 in Lake County and I-465 in Marion County. These involved special counters that did not have compatible file formats to INDOT's data collection software. Yarger Engineering, Inc. developed translation procedures to convert the data into an acceptable file format. Fully Actuated Versus Semi-Actuated Signal Systems - A Research Paper (Fully Actuated Versus Semi-Actuated Signal Systems - PDF 160K) (Get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader) In 1993, Mr. Yarger personally took on a research project into the operation of traffic signal systems using HCS, TRANSYT-7F, and Traf-NETSIM. The purpose was to answer design issues about whether fully actuated signal systems performed better or worse than semi-actuated systems. When confronted with differing opinions as well as his opinion, he did a literature search, but found that there was no factually based information on the topic. His own experience was that fully actuated traffic signal systems were extremely rare in Indiana and that most people believed in order to coordinate fully actuated signals they had to be placed in semi-actuated mode. Having successfully designed, installed, and operated fully actuated systems without going to semi-actuate mode, he knew it was not only possible, but also practical. For this research, Mr. Yarger selected HCS and TRANSYT-7F for some of the initial optimizations and Traf-NETSIM as the primary analysis tool. The research concentrated on arterial systems, but grew in scope to include pretimed traffic signals and grid patterned street systems. He put in approximately 400 hours of his own time doing the research. In the end, he determined that not only did fully actuated signal systems out perform semi-actuated system, but pretimed systems also out performed semi-actuated systems when not hampered by pedestrians. Mr. Yarger submitted his paper to ITE as a presentation topic and it was accepted. In September 1993, Mr. Yarger gave the presentation to an international group of traffic engineers at the 1993 ITE Annual Meeting in The Hague, Netherlands. Later that year, he presented it to a national corporate meeting of traffic engineers from HNTB. In 1995, Mr. Yarger also presented the paper at the ITE District III annual meeting. This project demonstrates Mr. Yarger's familiarity with traffic signal systems, which he has acquired through years of study, research, operation, planning, design and maintenance of them. While the research was completely theoretical, his hands-on knowledge was invaluable to the project. US 41 at Honey Creek Square, Terre Haute, Indiana In 1982, Mr. Yarger personally took on an analysis project of US41 in Terre Haute using NETSIM. The purpose was to investigate closing a cross over that was experiencing left turn accidents. Locals complained that INDOT's plans to close the cross over would substantially increase the delay at a nearby signal that was already over capacity. On behalf of the Crawfordsville District Traffic Department, Mr. Yarger analyzed the before and after conditions using NETSIM. Because of the very complex nature of the intersection, the actuated traffic signal, and the unsignalized intersection, NETSIM was selected for the analysis tool. At the time, it was the only tool capable of analyzing all the components at the same time. The analysis showed there would be substantially no difference in the delay at the signalized intersection. Mr. Yarger presented his findings at the Indiana Section - Purdue Student Section Joint ITE Meeting. |
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