HANDBOOK: GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL LOCATION AND ACCOMMODATION OF MAJOR DISTRIBUTION CENTERS ON TEXAS HIGHWAYS by Brian Bochner, P.E. Senior Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute Laura Higgins Associate Research Scientist Texas Transportation Institute and William Frawley, AICP Research Scientist Texas Transportation Institute Product 0-5335-P1 Project 0-5335 Project Title: Guidelines on Mitigating the Impacts of Major Distribution Centers on Texas Highways Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration August 2009 Published: April 2010 TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER This research was performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of the FHWA or TxDOT. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. This report is not intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. The engineer in charge of the project was Brian Bochner, P.E. #86721. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank the members of the Project Monitoring Committee who collaborated on this project. Guidance was provided by Lonnie Gregorcyk (Program Coordinator), Gary Moonshower (Project Director), and Project Advisors Duncan Stewart, Maria Burke, Billy Goodrich, Roy Parikh, and Mark Wooldridge. The authors thank these individuals for sharing their experience and expertise in the form of input and reviews, and to thank the Texas Department of Transportation for its support of this project. The authors also wish to thank the following researchers for their contributions to this report, including Kay Fitzpatrick, William Frawley, Edwin Hard, Laura Higgins, Ryan Longmire, Dan Middleton, Curtis Morgan, and Andrew Wimsatt. This project was conducted in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii  List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii  1. Background and Overview ..........................................................................................................1  Background ..................................................................................................................................1  Site Needs ....................................................................................................................................2  Large Distribution Centers in Texas ............................................................................................4  TxDOT Involvement and Considerations ....................................................................................8  Access ......................................................................................................................................8  Design ......................................................................................................................................8  Safety .....................................................................................................................................11  Traffic Impacts .......................................................................................................................11  Pavement Life ........................................................................................................................11  Funding and Timing of Improvements ..................................................................................12  Coordination/Collaboration ...................................................................................................12  Local Agency Considerations ....................................................................................................13  Economic Impacts ..................................................................................................................13  Incentives ...............................................................................................................................13  Impacts on the Road System ..................................................................................................14  Interest in TxDOT Considerations .........................................................................................14  Conclusion .................................................................................................................................14  2. Purpose, Benefit, and Strategy for TxDOT Involvement ..........................................................17  Benefits to TxDOT ....................................................................................................................18  Recommended Strategies ...........................................................................................................19  Providing Value to DC Site Selection Process ......................................................................20  Adopting a Helpful Posture ...................................................................................................22  3. Best TxDOT Practices for Working with New DCs ..................................................................25  Best Practices – TxDOT ............................................................................................................25  Work with the GOED ............................................................................................................25  Assist with Site Selection Criteria and Information ..............................................................27  Improvement Process and Scheduling ...................................................................................28  Funding ..................................................................................................................................29  Scheduled Improvements .......................................................................................................31  Underutilized “Truck Ready” Interchanges ...........................................................................32  Assist in Locating “Mutually Beneficial” Sites .....................................................................32  Utilize Traffic Impact Analysis to Verify Needs ...................................................................33  Early Involvement for Lead Time .............................................................................................43  Funding for State Highway Improvements ................................................................................43  Access Management ..................................................................................................................45  Design Roads for Large Trucks .................................................................................................45  Geometric Design – Turning Paths ........................................................................................45  Pavement Design – Intersections ...........................................................................................45  Incentives ...................................................................................................................................46  v Financial and Site Improvement Incentives ...........................................................................47  Access Improvements ............................................................................................................48  Site Access Reviews ..................................................................................................................50  4. Best Practices for Distribution Center Interests – State Highway Accessibility .......................53  Involve TxDOT Early ................................................................................................................53  Site Selection Criteria ................................................................................................................54  Traffic Access/Impact Analysis .................................................................................................55  Requests .....................................................................................................................................56  TxDOT Manuals ........................................................................................................................56  Appendix A. Texas Counties and Corresponding TxDOT Districts .............................................57  Appendix B. TxDOT District Office Contact Information ............................................................67  Appendix C. Site Access Examples ...............................................................................................69  References ......................................................................................................................................72  vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Pavement Damage from Trucks Tracking Off Pavement at a Short Corner Radius. .......9  Figure 2. Broken Pavement Edge Where Truck Tires Have Tracked over the Edge. ...................10  Figure 3. Interchange Added to I-45 Using Multi-Partner Funding. .............................................30  Figure 4. Hourly Trip Generation Variations – General Retail Merchandise DC. ........................36  Figure 5. Daily Trip Generation Variations – General Retail Merchandise DC. ..........................37  Figure 6. Monthly Truck Trip Generation Variations – General Retail Merchandise DC. ...........37  Figure 7. Flush Reinforced Concrete Curb to Resist Edge Deterioration under Truck Turns. ......46  Figure A-1. TxDOT District Divisions. .........................................................................................57  Figure A-2. Counties in the Abilene District. ................................................................................57  Figure A-3. Counties in the Amarillo District. ..............................................................................58  Figure A-4. Counties in the Atlanta District. .................................................................................58  Figure A-5. Counties in the Austin District. ..................................................................................58  Figure A-6. Counties in the Beaumont District. ............................................................................59  Figure A-7. Counties in the Brownwood District. .........................................................................59  Figure A-8. Counties in the Bryan District. ...................................................................................59  Figure A-9. Counties in the Childress District. ..............................................................................60  Figure A-10. Counties in the Corpus Christi District. ...................................................................60  Figure A-11. Counties in the Dallas District. ................................................................................60  Figure A-12. Counties in the El Paso District................................................................................61  Figure A-13. Counties in the Fort Worth District. .........................................................................61  Figure A-14. Counties in the Houston District. .............................................................................61  Figure A-15. Counties in the Laredo District. ...............................................................................62  Figure A-16. Counties in the Lubbock District. ............................................................................62  Figure A-17. Counties in the Lufkin District. ................................................................................62  Figure A-18. Counties in the Odessa District. ...............................................................................63  Figure A-19. Counties in the Paris District. ...................................................................................63  Figure A-20. Counties in the Pharr District. ..................................................................................63  Figure A-21. Counties in the San Angelo District. ........................................................................64  Figure A-22. Counties in the San Antonio District. .......................................................................64  Figure A-23. Counties in the Tyler District. ..................................................................................64  Figure A-24. Counties in the Waco District. .................................................................................65  Figure A-25. Counties in the Wichita Falls District. .....................................................................65  Figure A-26. Counties in the Yoakum District. .............................................................................65  Figure C-1. Aerial Photograph of DC with Separate Inbound and Outbound Access. .................69  Figure C-2. Aerial Photograph of DC along Frontage Road. ........................................................70  Figure C-3. Aerial Photograph of DC with Separate Outbound Access. .......................................71  vii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Selected Distribution Center Site Location Factors. ..........................................................3  Table 2. Selected Texas Distribution Centers over 500,000 Square Feet. .......................................5  Table 3. Most Important Site Location Factors for Distribution Centers and Manufacturing Facilities – Annual Survey of Corporations and Site Consultants. ........................................17  Table 4. Potential TxDOT Public Website Information of Interest to DC Interests. .....................20  Table 5. Potential Information for Electronic/Hard Copy “TxDOT DC Site Assistance” Brochure. ................................................................................................................................21  Table 6. Trip Generation Characteristics of Major Distribution Centers. .....................................35  Table 7. TxDOT TIA Staff Review Checklist. ..............................................................................39  Table 8. Selected State and Local Incentives Used for DCs in Texas. ..........................................47  Table 9. Access Improvements Requested for DCs. ......................................................................49  Table 10. Site Access Review Checklist. .......................................................................................50  Table 11. Intersection Sight Distances for Combination Trucks – Left Turn from Stop to Two- Lane Highways. .....................................................................................................................52  Table B-1. TxDOT District Office Contact Information. ..............................................................67  viii 1. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW Distribution centers (DC) have become more common in Texas over the past decade. As major generators of large truck traffic, DCs can increase design and maintenance requirements of Texas highway facilities. This handbook contains guidelines for use by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) staff and others to help to successfully locate major DCs without adversely affecting Texas highways. This handbook describes characteristics that are important to DC owners and developers. It contains guidelines on how TxDOT can assist DC owners, developers, or their agents in finding acceptable sites while avoiding the need for extensive improvements to state highways site selection. Also included are additional guidelines on related topics associated with DC location, design, and operation along state highways including geometric design of roadways, pavement selection, traffic impact studies, and site plan reviews. BACKGROUND Globalization of many parts of the economy has resulted in some fundamental changes in the supply chain for the goods people consume. Distribution and transportation have undergone major changes, especially for large retailers but also for manufacturers. Goods are often transported by container, carload, or truckload from across the country and the world to major distribution centers where the loads are broken down to less than truckload lots, combined with other goods to form truckloads destined for a single retail store, and then shipped as a full truckload to retail outlets. Distribution centers are widely used in many types of businesses including retail, grocery, oil, motor vehicle, and manufacturing. They may serve several functions:  Transportation – handles shipments into and out of distribution center;  Repackaging – divides large quantities and repackages for individual stores;  Value added – adds features to products before repackaging (e.g., apparel monograms); and  Product dedication – may handle selected products, such as refrigerated products or tires (1). 1 The role of DCs in the supply chain is to receive bulk shipments and process the products for shipping to retail stores as efficiently as possible (2). Some DCs serve regional or other specialized roles or supply other distribution centers. While DCs may serve a short-term warehousing role, most DCs are not intended to serve a major long-term warehouse function. Many DCs are hubs for just-in-time delivery to retail stores. Hence, truck movements to and from a DC can be expected to exceed those at a similar-sized warehouse. Efficiency of access— both regional and local—is important for the successful site selection and operation of a DC. DC site locations are usually sought and selected in privacy. Real estate brokers, consultants, or other agents are usually used to explore opportunities and sites. The owning companies usually maintain anonymity until a site is selected or until only a very small number of prime sites are being considered. Often competing sites are used to seek incentives for a DC to be located in a given location; local agencies often compete for the tax base and jobs associated with a new DC. Highway accessibility is one of the most important characteristics for a DC, and frequently access improvements are needed and become negotiation items for a new DC site. SITE NEEDS The locations of distribution centers are critical to their success in supplying goods to outlet stores and other facilities. Important site characteristics include:  Site size – usually enough space for the DC building, loading bays along one of more sides, parking for tractors and trailers, an office, visitor parking, on-site drainage detention, and space for future expansion.  Location and proximity to area to be served – normally near the center of the area served by the DC. Many serve areas within a one-day round trip of stores served; some are within a one-day, one-way trip.  Access – most DCs are located along or within two miles of an interstate highway or another major freeway that connects to the interstate highway system. The DC may be located on a frontage road, a state highway, a city street, or a county road. Different companies have different location preferences. Most prefer to be away from other urban development; some locate in industrial parks set up for distribution 2