NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After some travelers found themselves stranded for hours at Nashville International Airport, officials have provided a summary and timeline of what exactly led to the "unprecedented traffic event" earlier this month.
On Sept. 15, hours-long traffic issues around BNA resulted in bumper-to-bumper traffic and passengers walking along Interstate 40 toward the airport with their luggage.
BNA officials later revealed that several factors — including a surge in rideshare demand, event-related travel, and convention arrivals and departures — led to the traffic snarl.
On Sept. 30, a report detailing a summary and timeline of the Sept. 15 traffic event was released with the goal to "prevent an event of this magnitude from occurring again." Douglas Kreulen, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, added officials have identified ways to improve travel at BNA following the event.
"Through this experience, the Metropolitan Airport Authority (MNAA) has identified five areas that we can improve to strengthen our operations, enhance our communications, and improve the overall travel experience at BNA," Kreulen said in a statement.
Here's a timeline of what happened on Sept. 15, according to BNA:
1 p.m. - The Ground Transportation Center, where rideshare drivers conduct pickups and drop-offs, began to see elevated levels of traffic. Airport Operations deployed additional resources to assist.
1:30 p.m. - BNA Operations initiated Phase I response to mitigate traffic by manually operating two traffic lights on Terminal Drive. Shortly after, officers were dispatched after the request.
1:48 p.m. - The Airport Communications Center sent high-volume traffic notices to airport partners and stakeholders.
BNA officials noted that there were 24 arrivals and 22 departures from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., with 3,484 arriving seats and 3,696 departing seats.
2:15 p.m. - Traffic volume continued to increase, resulting in deteriorating traffic conditions. BNA Operations Team then directed DPS to implement Phase II of the airport contingency plan, which diverted all traffic onto Donelson Pike to ensure the airport's roadway loop did not lock up on itself and come to a standstill. Additional BNA Operations staff were also deployed to manage intersection traffic. An alert was also posted to BNA's social media page and website to alert passengers to heavy traffic volume.
From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., BNA officials stated that there were 23 arrivals and 22 departures, with 3,531 arriving seats and 3,075 departing seats.
3:10 p.m. - The airport's terminal roadway system was at a complete standstill.
3:20 p.m. - First DPS unit arrived at the Donelson Pike traffic light.
BNA officials noted that there were 22 arrivals and 24 departures from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., with 3,450 arriving seats and 3,707 departing seats.
4 p.m. - DPS began to divert exiting vehicles onto Donelson Pike, leading to some slight improvements. MNAA'S Chief Operating Officer made an additional request to the Tennessee Highway Patrol and to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
4:20 p.m. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation reached out to MNAA'S Chief Development Officer to offer assistance. THP and MNPD arrived at 5 p.m.
From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., BNA officials stated that there 23 arrivals and 18 departures, with 3,645 arriving seats and 2,927 departing seats.
5:45 p.m. - Traffic conditions began to noticeably improve and the Chief Development Officer informed TDOT that they could depart the scene. BNA posted an update on social media and website alerting passengers.
6 p.m. - Roadways improved slightly, but the congestion near the GTC and Terminal Drive returned due to the evening peak of aircraft arrivals and departures.
6:30 - 11 p.m. - BNA Operations, DPS and mutual aid partners continued to manage traffic, but with unprecedented requests for rideshare services, coupled with existing congestion, very little improvement was noticed.
From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. alone, there were reportedly 29 arrivals and 24 departures, with 4,427 arriving seats and 3,621 departing seats.
11 - 11:15 p.m. - Traffic volume and flow returned to normal. BNA posted updates online to let the public know that traffic returned to normal.
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Moving forward, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority leadership plans to implement the following measures to ensure an "incident of this magnitude does not occur again."
- MNAA Traffic Management: Further strengthen internal staffing procedures for traffic response and mitigation for planned and unplanned high-volume surges.
- TNC Collaboration and Coordination: Explore additional opportunities for further coordination in partnership with Transportation Network Companies to improve efficiencies on a day-to day basis.
- Traffic Modeling and Data Assumptions Reassessment: Reevaluate capacity of the GTC with supporting data from a third-party engineering firm to inform potential maximum pick-up and drop-off requests in coordination with TNC partners.
- Maximizing Technological Resources: Implement technological advancements such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to enable real-time traffic monitoring and predictive analytics in the GTC.
- Traffic Management with Mutual Aid: Strengthen traffic management and enforcement capabilities in partnership with state and local agencies though improved communication and coordination.
BNA officials added that some of the measures have already been implemented successfully. As of Sept. 30, the MNAA has reportedly had four days larger than Sept. 15 with minimal traffic disruptions or delays.
from WKRN News 2 https://ift.tt/KxRhMVE
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