Interchange Alternative Selection Based on Analysis of Operational Measures
Author: Brett Matthew Williams
Publisher:
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 70
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKInterchanges are a particularly important focus in transportation because of the high level of interacting cross-traffic. Often, traditional diamond interchanges are limited in their ability to provide adequate safety and operational needs. Alternative interchanges are a common solution that involve using innovative designs which work well with specific site characteristics. Because there are often many alternative designs to consider and because it can be time-consuming to model and evaluate each alternative, there is a need to expedite the process using a designated screening approach and evaluation. This thesis contains an interchange study for a corridor located in Columbia, Missouri that uses a screening process which incorporates analytical and simulation tools. Several interchanges are analyzed including: diamond, single point urban (SPUI), partial cloverleaf, diverging diamond interchange (DDI), displaced left turn (DLT), roundabout, and an innovative displaced left roundabout (DLR). The results of operational analysis show that: the DDI performs the best on the interchange for high demand; the DLR performs best for the interchange only at low demand; the current design is sufficient with the given growth volume, so an alternative is not warranted. One contribution of this thesis is the development of a systematic procedure that first screens for promising designs and then conducts an extensive simulation analysis to compare their performance.
