Impacts of Access Management Case Study: Dave Ward Drive, Hwy 60, Conway, AR

• Authored by:  M. Q. Le

Le, M. “Impacts of Access Management Case Study: Dave Ward Drive, Hwy 60, Conway, AR,” Proceedings of the 8^th National Access Management Conference, Baltimore, MD (2008).

      This study documents change in property value and accident history along a section of Dave Ward Drive prior to, during and after widening Dave Ward Drive to a four-lane, median-divided roadway to improve traffic operations and roadway safety (1999-2006). An access management plan that specifies minimum distances required for roadway elements such as median breaks, signalized intersections, and driveways, was also adopted along with the widening project.

      Total appraised property values in the City of Conway rose 75% during these years, while Dave Ward property values rose 136% in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars (see Figure 15). The overall crash rate per million vehicle miles decreased 20%, while the serious crash rate decreased 83% even though the number of fatalities increased. Due to the increased fatalities however, the economic and comprehensive social costs of serious (fatal plus incapacitated) injury accidents increased 26.6%. The facility as designed decreased the number of conflict points 18%. The author concludes;”While this preliminary analysis shows improvement, it is too early to assess the true effectiveness of the improvements and/or the access management techniques employed.” However, it is useful data as it is one of few studies documenting change in property value over time before and after implementation of a corridor access management plan.

Figure 15. Property values before and after access management treatments.