Intersection

Objective of the Lecture

Lecturer: To introduce intersection
types and respective design
considerations/principles
The learner should be able to: Select
appropriate intersection type for a
given situation and carry out detailed
design
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Intersectionintroduction
Intersection: A general area where to or more highways
join or cross. (Excludes grade separation)
Includes the areas needed for all modes of travel:
pedestrian, bicycle, passenger vehicles, truck, and
transit.
It encompasses not only the pavement, but also
adjacent sidewalks and pedestrian ramps
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Introduction
Intersections are key features of roadway design in four aspects
Focus of activity- The land near intersections often contains a concentration
of travel destinations
Conflicting movement- Pedestrian crossings and bicycle and motor vehicle
turning and crossing movements occur at intersections.
Traffic controlMovement of users is assigned through traffic control devices
such as yield signs, stop signs, and traffic signals. This often results into delay
Capacity Traffic control at intersections limits the capacity of the
intersecting roadways

Functional Vs Physical Area of Intersection

Functional area of intersection extends upstream and downstream
from the physical intersection area..

Functional area
Functional area consists of three basic elements, (1) perceptionreaction decision distance, (2) maneuver distance, and (3) queuestorage distance.

Design Objectives
Main objective is to
facilitate the convenience, ease and comfort of people traversing the
intersection

While at the same time

enhancing efficient movement of passenger cars, buses, trucks, bicycles and
pedestrians

Other
To ensure effective utilization of the road network
To reduce the severity of the potential conflicts between vehicles, or between
vehicles and pedestrians, while facilitating the necessary maneuvers.

Elements to be considered in design

Human factors:
Traffic considerations
Physical elements
Economic factors

Design considerations of User groups

Motor vehicles other than trucks

Type of traffic control

Vehicular capacity (number of lanes and traffic control)
Ability and capacity to make turning movements
Visibility of approaching pedestrian and bicyclists
Speed of the approaching and crossing motor vehicles

Trucks

Same as above but in addition

May be three to four times longer
Much slower than most motor vehicles
Need much larger turning radii

Design considerations
Transit
Same as other motor vehicles but in addition
May involve transit stop in the intersection area
If light rail transit exists, then, unique features should be taken into account

Pedestrians
Amount of right-of-way provided for pedestrians, incl. sidewalk and crosswalk
width
Crossing distance and resulting duration of exposure to motor vehicle
Accessibility: (Special needs by users, like sight impairment etc.)

Design considerations.
Bicyclists

Degree of roadway surface sharing (whether exclusive or not)

Turning and through movements in relation to motor vehicles
Traffic control for bicyclists
Speed differences with motor vehicles
Off-street path for bicyclists and pedestrians crossing.

Intersection capacity
Roadway capacity usually depend on constraints present at
intersection
Capacity and level of service analysis is one of most important
considerations in the intersections.
It is the maximum hourly rate at which vehicles can reasonably be
expected to pass through intersection under prevailing traffic,
roadway and signalization conditions.

Design elements of an intersection

Alignment and profile,
Intersection sight distance,
Turning roadways and channelization,
Auxiliary lanes,
Median openings,

Design elements..
Indirect left turns and U-turns,
Roundabouts,
Other intersection design elements, and
Railroad-highway grade crossings.

Intersection types
Types:
Three leg intersections channelized or plain types
T-junction or Y-junction
Four-leg intersections channelized and Plain
Multi-leg intersections five or more intersection legs
(not recommended consider the container bus stop
example)
Roundabouts
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Further classifications
Unchannelized, flared, and channelized intersections

Definition of elements see figure below

Approach/Departure
Leg
Channelizing island
Turning roadway
Crosswalk
Major/minor street
Auxiliary lanes deceleration/acceleration lanes, storage lanes

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Design Motor Vehicle

The design motor vehicle is the type of vehicle expected to be
accommodated on the street.
At intersections, the most important attribute of design vehicles is
their turning radius, which in turn establishes the pavement corner
radius and therefore the size of the intersection.

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 The design motor vehicle for intersections

is the larger of the design motor vehicles
for the intersecting streets.
For example, at the intersection of a
minor arterial and a local street, the
appropriate design vehicles for the
intersection is that selected for the minor
arterial (i.e., larger) street.

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Typical Design Motor Vehicles at Intersections

Major Arterial Tractor-trailer Truck (WB-50)
Minor Arterial Tractor-trailer Truck (WB-50)
Major Collector Tractor-trailer Truck (WB-50), Single-unit Truck
Minor Collector Passenger Car (P)
Local Roads and Street Passenger Car (P)

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Template for transit bus

Obtain minimum radius and turning path width
from the guidelines (AASHTO)

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Turning templates Passenger car

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Hierarchy of intersection control

Three basic levels of control can be implemented:
Level I-Basic rules of the road
Level II-Direct assignment of right-of-way using YIELD or STOP signs
Level Ill-Traffic signalization

Level I Basic rules of road

Drivers on the right must yield to the driver on the left, when the
vehicle on the left is approaching in a manner of causing an
impending hazard
For this type, the drivers must be able to see each other in time.
Sight distance for this type is achieved through provision of sight
triangle

Sight triangle

Sight triangle formulae

Where:
dA = distance in meters from Vehicle A to the collision point
dB = distance in meters from Vehicle B to the collision point
a = distance from driver position in vehicle A to the sight obstruction,
measured parallel to the path of Vehicle B

Sight triangle
Sight distances are normally limited by buildings or other sight-line
obstructions located on or near the corners
The drivers should be able to stop before reaching the collision point
when they first see each other.
When the position of one vehicle is known, the position of the other
can be determined. i.e. the triangle is dynamic

Sight triangle
The distances dA and dB should be equal to or greater than Stopping
sight distances.
However, some buffer distances are added to ensure safe operations.
Vehicle A must travel 18 feet past the collision point in the same time
that Vehicle B travels to a point 12 feet before the collision point
Thus:

+18
0.278

12
0.278

= + 18
+ 12 where VA and VB are vehicle speeds for A

and B respectively.

Level II- YIELD and STOP Control

If a check of the sight triangle seems inadequate, then level II control
is imposed
Other reasons also might justify the use of this type of control such
as: intensity of traffic demand, and general complexity of the
intersection environment

Level III-Use of traffic signals

This is the ultimate form of intersection control
This can reduce the number and nature of intersection conflicts as no
other form of control can.
The costs associated with installation are considerably higher than for
STOP and YIELD signs installation.

Level III..
In addition, traffic signals introduce a fixed delay into the system,
hence they should not be overused
For such reasons, they should only be installed when no other
solution or form of control would be effective.
Some signal warrants exists to justify the use of this type of traffic
control.

Approach and Departure sight triangles (no

sight obstructions within the triangles) should
be available for an intersection controlled by
the basic road rule.
The dimensions depend on the design speed of
the meeting roadways

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 For Signalized intersections

Drivers of the first stopped vehicles in all
approaches should be able to see one another
Turning vehicles should be able to select gaps from
the opposing traffic
No other requirements
Signalization may be used to resolve problems of
crashes when volume is high and SD is inadequate

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Horizontal alignment
Angle of Intersection
Should mostly be 90 degrees approximately.
Accepable range is between 60 and 105 degrees
Re-alignment can be done for the ranges outside acceptable one
Flat curvature if major roadway is on curve Why? (SD as it affects
needs for TCD and superelevation considerations)
The approaching tangent should be at least 150m or with sight
distance of at least 15km/h less the design speed. This should be met
especially when re-alignment is done.

Horizontal alignment guidelines

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Acceptable angle and re-alignment directions

Re-alignment possibilities

Vertical Alignment
Intersection grades of the major roadway should be kept below
maximum allowable to avoid:
Difficulty in acceleration or deceleration of vehicles (especially trucks )when
they are required to stop at an intersection.
Tipping of tall vehicles when passing on minor roadway at the crossing

In most cases, the maximum recommended grade is 3% and should

be kept well 30m on either sides of the intersecting roadway.

Vertical alignment guideline

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Roundabouts
Roundabout is an intersection with central island around whicn traffic
must travel clockwise and in which entering traffic must yield to
circulating traffic.
Safe operation of roundabout involves its ability to force traffic to
enter and circulate it at slow speeds.
However, consideration on successful turning

Roundabout features (for definitions see

section 9.10.1 of AASHTO Green book)

Principles in roundabout design

Slow entry speeds and consistent speeds through the roundabout (
adequate deflectionradius of the roundabout )
Provide appropriate number of lanes and lane assignment to achieve
adequate capacity, lane volume, and lane continuity (
Provision of smooth and intuitive channelization so that drivers can use
intended lanes ( splitter islands etc.)
Provide for accommodation of design vehicles ( Check turning radii etc)
Consider pedestrian and cyclists needs (bike lanes, sidewalk, splitter island
etc) etc)
Provide appropriate sight distance and visibility ( Stopping sight distance,
etc.)

Roundabout: Design Elements

The key elements of geometric design
The circulating roadway, which carries motor vehicles
and bicycles around the roundabout in a clockwise
direction.
The central island, defining the inner radius of the
circulating roadway around it.
A core area within the central island

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Roundabout design
Inscribed circle defined by the outer edge of the circulating roadway
Splitter islands separating the entry and exit lanes
Crosswalk crossing approach and departure roadways

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