Ky. Speedway Simulates Traffic Situations

Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 7:29 AM

Kentucky Speedway general manager Mark Simendinger points to a traffic simulation of roads and highways surrounding the speedway Wednesday.

Kentucky Speedway

(Sparta, Ky.) – Officials at the Kentucky Speedway are running computer tests to ensure that parking lot and road improvements will fix traffic problems there.

The day of last year’s inaugural NASCAR Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup race, Kentucky 35 and Interstate 71 approaching the Gallatin County track became parking lots.

Traffic jams stretched for miles and lasted hours. Some fans with tickets to the race never made it to the gate.

Track owner Speedway Motorsports Inc. is spending $11 million to add 326 acres of new parking with 18,700 spaces. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet have been spending millions more to improve the highways and entrance/exit ramps around the track.

To ensure all the improvements will fulfill their intended purpose of easing traffic on race day, computers by traffic engineering company Stantec are being used to simulate how well traffic will flow. The company has offices in Louisville and Lexington.

“Stantec’s microscopic traffic simulation models depict the movement of individual cars through the transportation network based on traffic control, traffic conditions and other factors. The models are populated by data that include the number of people coming to the speedway, where they are coming from, and when they will arrive,” a press release from the track stated.

The models also simulate how drivers behave while moving through the highway network. It can take into account how a crash on I-71 or weather events might impact vehicle movement.

Based on the simulations, Stantec will make recommendations to the speedway and the state.

The second NASCAR Quaker State 400 will take place at the Kentucky Speedway on June 30. You can hear the race live on Eagle 99.3.

LINKS:

Ky. Speedway Continues To Add Parking

KY 35 Closes At Speedway For Construction

Ky. Awards Road Construction Contract At Track

Ky. Speedway Adding 10,000 Parking Spaces

Ky. Speedway Making Improvements

Traffic Leaves Bad Taste For KY Speedway