quality is designated as being in attainment for criteria air pollutants. Around 16,700 contamination sites have been identified within the study region.
Cultural Environment: The study region contains 267 archaeological or historic sites and 24 sites registered in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Socioeconomics: The communities adjacent to US 27 are predominantly white, non-Hispanic, older adults (65+), whose household income and educational attainment are lower than the state averages. Approximately 95% of households have access to a vehicle, indicating auto travel is the main transportation mode in the study region.
Future Transportation Demand: With AADT close to 63,000, US 27 is anticipated to be at or near capacity by 2045. The busiest sections of US 27 in Highlands County are within the cities of Sebring and Avon Park.
Future Land Use: The Heartland region is expected to experience population and development growth as rural lands are urbanized and agricultural lands are shifted to residential and commercial developments. Over the next 10-years, it is anticipated there will also be an influx of jobs from the Sebring Airport expansion and Airglades Aviation development near the US 27 corridor. Increased residential uses along the US 27 corridor are expected to increase pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile traffic. Based on the review of existing crash types, conflicts between vehicles and bicyclist/pedestrians are anticipated to increase if transportation and safety improvements are not made along US 27.
Freight: Freight activity is expected to shift from agriculture to distribution and trade. Truck traffic is expected to increase due to overall growth in the regional economy.
With the AADT close to 71,500 near the Highlands/Polk County Line and more than 55,000 within the Sebring area, aa general-purpose lane widening alternative along US 27 may not be the best solution considering the induced demand contributing to further capacity constraints and potential crash increases.
Based on the Crash Reduction Factors (CRF) applied by FDOT, improvements in the general-purpose lane widening alternative decreases the total crashes by 13%. However, the general-purpose lane widening improvement increases sideswipe, fixed-object, wrong-way, and pedestrian crashes.
Capacity improvements consisting of six/eight-lane widening typical sections were evaluated for segments where the Level of Service (LOS) was not within the acceptable range. The widening alternative have the potential to impact up to 304 parcels.
Planning-level cost estimates for the capacity improvements are approximately $120 million.
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