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Functional Classification <br />County Road 116 will play a more significant role in the region's future transportation network <br />due to anticipated growth in the area, lack of adequate east -west routes, and other system <br />improvements including the conversion of TH 10 to a freeway and a new river crossing. For <br />example, the next arterial east -west route to the north is CSAH 22 (Viking Boulevard), which is <br />6.75 miles north of County Road 116. This means County Road 116 and CSAH 22 <br />(Viking Boulevard) will become more important in servicing east -west travel demands. Because <br />of County Road 116's increased role in the future transportation network, Anoka County recently <br />pursued and obtained the approval for changing the functional classification of County Road 116 <br />(from CSAH 83 to CSAH 17) to an A -Minor Arterial. Anoka County should also pursue <br />changing the County Road portions of the corridor to County State Aid Highway. These changes <br />would allow the County to more aggressively pursue funding for needed improvements and to <br />preserve and protect the corridor. <br />Year 2025 Forecast Traffic Volumes <br />Year 2025 forecast traffic volumes were developed to assess the corridor's ability to provide <br />adequate transportation service to the region and to adjacent land uses. Evaluating this <br />information enables agencies, communities and businesses to plan for future traffic growth. <br />Traffic volume information was developed from a number of different sources. These sources <br />included the following: <br />• Historic traffic volumes and growth rates (1996 to 2001) <br />• Anoka County's 2015 Transportation Plan <br />• City of Ramsey's Comprehensive Plan <br />• City of Anoka 's Comprehensive Plan <br />• TH 10 Interregional Corridor Study model <br />• Regional TP+ model <br />The most recent and detailed traffic sources in this list are the TH 10 IRC Study and the Regional <br />TP+ model. The TH 10 IRC Study provides information on the future traffic demand on TH 10 <br />assuming a number of improvements to TH 10 and a new Mississippi River Crossing. These <br />numbers, in turn, can be used to help estimate potential traffic in and around County Road 116. <br />The TP+ traffic -forecasting model uses information provided by local and regional plans and/or <br />staff to project the umber of vehicles that are likely to use County Road 116 in the future. This <br />includes planned transportation improvements (i.e., a new river crossing, widening County Road <br />116 to four lanes in most areas), future land use, future employment and population projections, <br />average auto occupancy and percent transit riders. <br />Information obtained from the TH 10 IRC Study and the TP+ model indicate that traffic volumes <br />on County Road 116 are going to increase significantly from what they are today. Year 2025 <br />forecast traffic volumes on County Road 116 are projected to range from 15,500 to 24,000 <br />(Figure 15) throughout most of the corridor. The magnitude of these numbers suggests that <br />County Road 116 should be widened to a four -lane facility with turn lanes to adequately <br />accommodate peak hour demands. <br />SRF Consulting Group, Inc. - 32 - February 2004 <br />