PROPOSED TUNNEL
SOUTH
OF
16TH STREET
AND
ELWOOD DRIVE INTERSECTION
Submitted to
Mr. Ted Tedesco
Mayor
City of Ames
Mr. Kevin Woodard
Traffic Engineer
City of Ames
Mr. Lynn Seiler
Associate Director
Facilities Planning and Management
Prepared by
Jeremiah Jondle
Emily Sorrick
Student, Mechanical Engineering Student, Mechanical Engineering
Josh Moody
Student, Chemical Engineering
Josh Williams
Student, Computer Science
Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proposal Abstract ........................................................ 2
Background................................................................. 3
Statement of Proposal ................................................. 4
Sources of Information................................................ 4
Recommendations....................................................... 5
Location ........................................................................5
Tunnel Vs. Bridge ........................................................6
Size ................................................................................6
Costs........................................................................... 6
Benefits....................................................................... 7
Increased Safety............................................................7
Improved Convenience ................................................8
Enhanced Image ...........................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................. 9
Appendix Material
A: Map of Area Surrounding Jack Trice Stadium ..... 11
B: Arial Photo .............................................................. 12
C: Parking Lot Capacities............................................ 13
D: Traffic Count South 16th Street .............................. 14
E: Traffic Count Elwood Drive................................... 15
F: Survey Data.............................................................. 16
Bibliography ............................................................. 17
Page 2
PROPOSAL ABSTRACT
Iowa State University home football games heavily increase the traffic flow on
Elwood Drive, a main road in Ames, IA. The streams of both pedestrian and
automobile traffic meet at many intersections, including South 16th Street and
Elwood Drive where the heaviest flow of pedestrians can be found. We propose
that a tunnel be built under Elwood Drive just south of South 16th Street to assist
and control the mass amounts of pedestrians that cross the road. The
construction of a tunnel would increase the safety of pedestrians and
automobiles, make travel across Elwood Drive more convenient, and enhance the
image of Iowa State University.
Page 3
SOUTH
OF
PROPOSED TUNNEL
SOUTH 16TH STREET AND ELWOOD DRIVE
BACKGROUND
Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State University can seat around 54,000 people. In 2003, the
Iowa vs. Iowa State football game brought over 75,000 fans to Ames. Obviously, some fans
do not even attend the game. Instead, many spend the day tailgating. Both the home and away
team fans will show up early and stay late only to eat, drink, and socialize. Football games,
especially those early in the season, create an excitement and energy in fans that produces a
frenzied atmosphere. Fans will go from their car to the stadium and back numerous times.
The layout of Ames, Iowa allows for nearly all attendees to get a parking spot within
view of Jack Trice Stadium. The designated parking lots for the stadium can hold a total of
around 11,000 cars (see Appendix C). Around half of these spots require the parker to cross
Elwood Drive in order to get to Jack Trice Stadium. The parking lots east of Elwood drive (see
map of lots G2 to G9 in Appendices A and B) can hold around 5,000 cars. Assuming
approximately 2.3 people per vehicle (as accepted by Facilities and Planning Management at
Iowa State), it can be concluded that up to 11,500 people cross Elwood Drive to get to Jack
Trice Stadium for a home football game. According to a study done by Snyder and Associates,
traffic becomes very congested before and after football games (see charts in Appendices D
and E). In the 2003 Iowa vs. Iowa State football game, heavy traffic resulted in a major
gridlock after the game. According to our survey, 76% of Iowa State students felt like it was
difficult to cross the South 16th Street and Elwood Drive intersection during home football
games, and 87% of those who were not Iowa State students also saw crossing the intersection
as tricky. The mix of heavy pedestrian and automobile traffic shows that something needs to
be changed.
Page 4
STATEMENT
OF
P ROPOSAL
A tunnel should be built under Elwood Drive just south of South 16th Street to assist and
control the mass amounts of pedestrians that cross the road. The construction of a tunnel
would increase the safety of pedestrians and automobiles, make travel across Elwood Drive
more convenient, and enhance the image of Iowa State University.
SOURCES
OF
INFORMATION
To research the need for a tunnel under Elwood drive, we interviewed many experts
through e-mail or a personal interview. These experts are as follows:
 Catherine Brown is Program Coordinator for Campus Planning—part of
Facilities Planning and Management Department at Iowa State University.
Cathy Brown led us to previous research that had been done by ISU on this
same issue.
 Loras Jaegar is the Police Chief for the City of Ames Police Department.
Years ago, Jaegar was the Police Chief in Cedar Falls, Iowa. During his time
in Cedar Falls, the University of Northern Iowa built an overpass over and an
underpass under a four-lane road to connect vehicle parking to the UNI
Dome.
 Ted Tedesco is the major of the city of Ames.
 Snyder and Associates is a consulting engineering firm in Iowa and Missouri
that was hired by Iowa State to do traffic counts (Appendices D and E) and
analysis in two major traffic areas on home game days in Ames.
Page 5
 Douglas Houghton is Program Manager in the Parking Division of Iowa
State University.
We also conducted a survey of 150 people crossing the intersection of Elwood Drive and
South 16th Street before the Iowa State vs. Nebraska game on November 6, 2004, to gain the
views of game attendees. Our results are shown in Appendix F.
N
RECOMMENDATIONS
Pedestrian and automobile traffic that
floods 16th Street and Elwood Drive during home
football games poses a problem. We propose the
construction of a tunnel. The best location and
Elwood Drive
size of the tunnel, as well as why a tunnel is
recommended over a bridge has been researched
to determine the best solution.
Pedestrian
Tunnel
th
South 16 Street
Figure 1: Map of Proposed Tunnel Location
Southwest of S. 16th St. and Elwood Drive
LOCATION
As stated above, Ames should construct a tunnel under Elwood Drive just south of South
16th Street. A map showing the proposed location of this tunnel can be seen in Figure 1 (see
also Appendices A and B). As advised by Loras Jaeger, Douglas Houghton and Cathy Brown,
the ideal position for the pedestrian underpass would be at this intersection because it would
connect the student tailgating lots and grass lots with the most direct route to the stadium at the
location where most people cross.
Page 6
Tunnel or Bridge?
prefer a tunnel to a bridge (see Appendix F)?” As shown in
Bridge
53%
One question asked in our survey was, “Would you
Tunnel
47%
TUNNEL V S. BRIDGE
Figure 2, only 53% of people surveyed preferred a bridge to
a tunnel. Our survey results also show that if a bridge were
to be constructed, people think that they would not hesitate
Figure 2: Survey Question:
Would you prefer a tunnel
over a bridge?
to use it; however, Loras Jaeger informed us that when the University of Northern Iowa built
an overpass as well as an underpass to connect parking lots with UNI-Dome, pedestrians chose
the underpass more often. People were more likely to use the underpass because it did not
require them to walk up and then over the road. Since the spread of preference is nearly half
and half, we have used the observations from the UNI Dome to determine our recommendation
of a tunnel.
SIZE
A pedestrian tunnel would best meet the needs of the problem if it were long enough to
allow for the widening of Elwood Drive in the future—this means it would need to stretch over
four or more lanes of traffic. The tunnel would be wide enough for small vehicles to pass
freely, allowing maintenance vehicles to have convenient access to the other side of Elwood.
A wide tunnel would also facilitate constant pedestrian flow despite the massive crowds.
COSTS
While obtaining information for this proposal, we had a chance to correspond with
Shawn Majors, from the Iowa DOT. We inquired about estimates for a project like this, and he
informed us that a similar tunnel had been researched for construction in Eldora. He said that
Page 7
it was expected to cost around $350,000 to complete, and the construction phase was expected
to last 65 business days.
Another thing to consider is that Elwood Drive would have to be shut down temporarily
during construction. One half of the road could be shut down, while traffic is reduced to two
lanes on the other side.
Funding for the construction of a tunnel across Elwood Drive would likely have to come
from multiple sources, including the City of Ames, Iowa State University, Iowa DOT, state
funding, and alumni. Federal funding might also be available if the tunnel were tied into the
bike trail system because it could be considered part of a park.
BENEFITS
There are many advantages to the construction of a tunnel under Elwood Drive. The
primary benefit is safety of pedestrians and drivers. The secondary benefit is the increase of
convenience for pedestrians1, traffic, and grounds maintenance. A third benefit of a tunnel
under Elwood Drive is an enhanced public perception of Iowa State University and Ames,
Iowa.
INCREASED SAFETY
Loras Jaeger stated that there has only been one accident involving a pedestrian and a
vehicle at South 16th Street and Elwood Drive—it was minor. The fact that only one accident
has been documented when such a great number of people cross the road during home football
games is amazing. It is only a matter of time before many more happen. Constructing an
underpass would be a preventative measure to avoid the occurrence of future accidents.
1
Including game attendees, elderly, handicapped citizens, youth, and other Ames citizens
Page 8
An underpass under Elwood Drive would increase the safety of everyone in the area by
keeping the pedestrians out of the street, which is a major concern of city and university
officials. When the weather is pleasant, more than fifty thousand spectators flock to the Jack
Trice Stadium area. Most of which congregate in the grass parking lots just south and east of
the South 16th Street and Elwood Drive intersection during the pre and post game period (see
Appendix B). As pointed out by Cathy Brown, people in these lots often cross Elwood Drive
multiple times in a day, and are likely carrying items with them, like coolers and chairs. The
dense stream of people and cars in the area increases the likelihood that someone could be
wounded or even killed.
By eliminating the pedestrian movement across the intersection, the problem of
pedestrian and automobile traffic would nearly take care of itself. Vehicles would be able to
flow more freely through the intersection, reducing the traffic congestion and helping to
eliminate confusion, chaos, and automobile collisions.
IMPROVED CONVENIENCE
If the people attending an Iowa State football game do not have to try crossing the street,
going to and from a game can be considerably more convenient. Some groups that stand to
benefit from a tunnel are the elderly, the handicapped, and children. By giving incentive to
increase the amount of these groups present, the family environment of game day would also
be supported—in turn promoting the football program which would follow in the increase of
revenue for the University.
In addition, the softball practice fields are used almost year-round; therefore, students
parking at the stadium would be able to use the proposed tunnel to gain access to the practice
fields.
Page 9
ENHANCED IMAGE
The construction of a tunnel would help improve the image of Iowa State University and
Ames, Iowa. Potential students and ISU football fans would see the tunnel as being
significant, indicating a higher level of quality and professionalism. The tunnel will also
become part of the game day tradition. This in turn would generate an added interest in the
University in potential students, current students, alumni, and community members. An
increase in interest of the university could possibly result in increased enrollment, game
attendance, and alumni contributions.
The new tunnel would be a place for students and cyclone
fans to express school pride. Iowa State University students could
be included in the planning process by designing the tunnel and
creating a theme. The tunnel could also display student related
activities and projects. It would be a natural pedestrian funnel,
Figure 3: The tunnel could be
designed around the Cyclone
mascot, using swirls and the
school colors.
making it an obvious location for advertisement and promotion of
the university.
CONCLUSION
Home football games for Iowa State University bring hundreds of cars and thousands of
fans to Ames, Iowa. The increase in traffic and pedestrian flow must be given attention. We
propose that a tunnel be built under Elwood Drive just south of South 16th Street to assist and
control the mass amounts of pedestrians that cross the road. Eliminating the pedestrian
movement across the intersection would take care of the problem posed by pedestrian and
automobile travel. People, such as families and students, would be more willing to attend by
the increased convenience of crossing from the grass lots to the stadium. A tunnel would also
Page 10
be a place for students and cyclone fans to express their school pride. The construction of a
tunnel is a logical step in the future of our community, and would benefit thousands of people
over its lifetime.
Page 11
APPENDIX A
Map of Area Surrounding Jack Trice Stadium
Iowa State
Campus
G1
G6
G7
G2
G3
Main HW 30 on-ramp
and off-ramp to get to
Stadium and University.
Proposed Tunnel
Location
G4
G5
G9
G8
Count Locations
Snyder and Associates (south 16th and
Elwood Dr)
Page 12
APPENDIX B
Arial Photo
N
G6
G7
Proposed Tunnel
G3
G2
G4
G9
G5
G7
G8
Page 13
APPENDIX C
Parking Lot Capacities
Refer to Appendix A and B for parking lot locations
Information compiled by Snyder and Associates
Iowa State
Center Lots
Lot
Cars
A1
156
A2
194
A3
194
A4
150
B3
198
B4
288
B5
288
B6
214
C3
148
C4
462
C5
459
C6
438
D1
61
D2
230
D3
230
D4
199
Total 3909
Vet Med Parking
Lot
Cars
Lots 93/96
583
Grass Areas 1000
Total
1583
Iowa State Center
Stadium Lots
Grass and Gravel Lots
Vet Med Parking
Total Spaces
Stadium Lots
Lot
Cars
S1
150
S2
240
S3
186
S4
200
S5
189
S6
189
S7
170
S8
170
85E
294
85W
193
Total
1981
Grass and
Gravel Lots
Lot
Cars
G1
460
G2/G3 900
G4/G5 950
G6
200
G7
1000
Total 3500
3,909
1,981
3,500
1,583
10,973
Page 14
APPENDIX D
Traffic Count South 16th Street
Information Compiled by Snyder and Associates
OU  Oklahoma University vs. Iowa State
October 4, 2003
6:00 PM Kickoff
UT University of Texas vs. Iowa State
October 18, 2003
11:00 PM Kickoff
Page 15
APPENDIX E
Traffic Count Elwood Drive
Information Compiled by Snyder and Associates
OU  Oklahoma University vs. Iowa State
October 4, 2003
6:00 PM Kickoff
UT University of Texas vs. Iowa State
October 18, 2003
11:00 PM Kickoff
Page 16
APPENDIX F
Survey Data
Taken at 16th Street and Elwood on 11/06/04
Questions:
A) Are you an ISU student?
B) Do you come to ISU games often?
C) Do you find it difficult to cross Elwood Drive?
D) Would you use a pedestrian bridge over Elwood?
E) Would you prefer a tunnel to a bridge?
Answers:
1 Yes
0 No
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
A
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
B
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
C
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
D
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
E
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
#
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
A
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
B
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
C
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
D
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
E
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
#
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
A
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
B
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
C
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
D
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
E
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
#
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
A
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
B
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
C
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
D
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
E
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
Page 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Cathy. Personal Interview. 04 November 2004.
Dobbs, Charles. “RE: Proposal Project”. cdobbs@iastate.edu. 26 October 2004.
Houghton, Douglas. “FW: Project Proposal”. dad@iastate.edu. 27 October 2004.
Houghton, Douglas. Personal Interview. 02 November 2004.
“Iowa Geographic Map Image Server.” Geographic Information Systems Support and Research
Facility. Iowa State University. 03 November 2004
<http://ortho.gis.iastate.edu/cir/cir.html>.
Jaeger, Loras A. “Re: Project Proposal”. LJaeger@city.ames.ia.us. 28 October 2004.
Majors, Shawn. Iowa DOT. “RE: Project Proposal.” Shawn.Majors@dot.iowa.gov.
15 November 2004.
Perington, Mark. Snyder and Associates. “Traffic Operations from the Oklahoma vs. Iowa State
and Texas vs. Iowa State Football Games.” October 2003.
Office of University Marketing and Office of Athletic Marketing, Iowa State University.
“2004 Football Gameday Donor Parking Map.” 02 November 2004.
Tedesco, Ted. “Re: Project Proposal”. TedJoanie@aol.com. 26 October 2004.