Development of Planning-Stage Models for Analyzing Continuous Flow Intersections
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 11
Abstract
Despite the increasing use of continuous-flow intersections (CFIs) to contend with the congestion caused by heavy through and left-turn traffic flows, a reliable and convenient tool for the traffic community to identify potential deficiencies of a CFI’s design is not yet available. This is due to the unique geometric feature of CFI, which comprises one primary intersection and several crossover intersections. The interdependent relationship between traffic delays and queues at a CFI with five closely spaced intersections cannot be fully captured with the existing analysis models, which were developed primarily for conventional intersections. In response to such a need, this study presents a comprehensive analysis for the overall CFI delay, identifies the potential queue spillback locations, and develops a set of planning-stage models for the CFI design geometry. To facilitate the application of these proposed models, this paper also includes a case study of a CFI at the intersection of MD 4 and MD 235 constructed by the Maryland State Highway Administration.
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Acknowledgments
The data support from the Maryland State Highway Administration is greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 11 • November 2013
Pages: 1124 - 1132
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 16, 2013
Accepted: Jun 18, 2013
Published online: Jun 20, 2013
Published in print: Nov 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Nov 20, 2013
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