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ROAD INTERSECTIONS

Recap
In the previous class we discussed about

The reasons for road accidents

The facilities to be provided on the road and
suggest for improvements
To collect the data for suitable Geometrical
design
The measures of controlling the speed of
vehicles
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ROAD
INTERSECTIONS
Road intersections or junctions are places where

two or
more roads meet or cross each other at same or different
elevations.

Factors to be considered in
design of road intersections
1. Angle of crossing
2. Channelizing
3. Entry speeds
4. Camber / Gradient
5. Importance of roads
6. Pedestrian traffic
7. Visibility

The following are some

types of road
intersections

Square Junctions

Acute Junction

T-Junctions

Y-Junctions

Staggered junctions

Multiple junctions
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TYPES OF
INTERSECTIONS
1. At-grade intersections

2. Grade separations or Interchanges

AT-GRADE
INTERSECTIONS
All the road intersections which meet at about the
same level allowing traffic maneuvers like merging,
diverging, crossing are called intersections at grade.

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TYPES OF AT-GRADE
INTERSECTIONS
1. All-paved or unchannelized intersections
2. Channelized intersections
3. Roundabout or Rotaries

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ALL-PAVED
OR
UN-CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS
They are paved for the whole area of road
They are easiest to design but most complex in traffic
operations
They are lowest class of intersections

ALL-PAVED OR
UNCHANNELIZED
INTERSECTIONS

TEE (PLAIN)

TEE (FLARED)
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ALL-PAVED OR UNCHANNELIZED
INTERSECTIONS

CROSS (PLAIN)

CROSS (PLAIN)

CROSS (FLARED
ON ONE END)
CROSS

(FLARED ON ONE END)

SKEW (PLAIN)
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All-paved or unchannelized
Intersections

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CHANNELIZED
INTERSECTIONS
Channelized islands are superior to all-paved types of intersections

To handle large volumes of traffic at intersection, it becomes

necessary to introduce traffic islands to channalize the traffic.

Traffic islands help to control speed of vehicles and angle of

approach

Decrease the conflict area at the intersections

Traffic islands shall be 200mm higher than the road level

Refuse islands can be provided for pedestrians within the

intersection area
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CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS

TEE
TEE
TEE
(PARTIAL
(PARTIALCHANNELIZATION)
CHANNELIZATION) (COMPLETE CHANNELIZATION)

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CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS

SKEW
(PARTIAL CHANNELIZATION)

CROSS
(COMPLETE CHANNELIZATION)

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CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS

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CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS

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CHANNELIZED INTERSECTIONS

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ROTARY INTERSECTION
A rotary

intersection

is

an

enlarged

road

intersection where all the converging vehicles are forced

to move round a large central island in one direction
(clock wise) only before they can weave out of traffic
flow into their respective directions.

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Objective
The main objective of rotary is to
eliminate the necessity of stopping even for
crossing streams of vehicles and to reduce the
area of conflict.

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Rotary intersection

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Rotary intersection

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Rotary intersection

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ADVANTAGES OF ROTARY
ISLAND

There is smooth and orderly flow of traffic with

minimum delay.
It provides a high degree of safety and hence there
are less chances for serious accidents.
There is little loss of traffic capacity as there is
continuous flow of traffic through the rotary.
A well designed rotary can handle about 390
vehicles per hour.

The wear and tear of vehicles using rotary are reduced as

stopping and starting of vehicles are less frequent.

The maintenance cost is considerably reduced as the rotary

is made a self-controlled traffic intersection avoiding the
necessity of traffic police or signals.

Rotary islands are advantageous when the number of

intersecting roads is between four and seven.

DISADVANTAGES OF
If traffic is to be ROTARIES
stopped from time to time for the crossing of
pedestrians.

It may confuse the drivers who are not familiar with such types of
constructions.
It requires large area of flat land and hence, it cannot be adopted
where land values are high.
It proves to be unsuitable for high speed roads.
There is an increase in the size of the rotary with an increase in
design speed.

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Hence, the application of the rotary is more suitable for urban and
suburban conditions having relatively slow moving traffic.

REFUSE ISLANDS

These are the safety Islands having dual purpose of affording

protection to the pedestrians and segregating the traffic.

These are placed at 150 to 200mm above the load level.

They enable pedestrians to wait while they are walking along

the cross walk.

Refuse islands

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GRADE SEPARATIONS
A grade separation is the arrangement of taking one road
over or under another by means of a bridge.
It is also known as a fly-over junction

TYPES OF GRADE SEPARATIONS

1. Clover-leaf junctions or interchanges

2. Diamond junctions or interchanges
3. Rotary interchange

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CLOVER-LEAF INTERCHANGE

The Clover-leaf interchange avoids all the right-hand

movements which are the major source of road accidents.

The radius of ramps can be suitably increased to

accommodate the desired volume of traffic

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Clover-leaf interchange
Ramp

Link Road
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DIAMOND INTERCHANGE

The diamond interchange has a wider range of applicability than

any other type of interchange.

It is capable of accommodating intermediate traffic volumes in

rural areas where operating speeds are high and relatively large
volumes in urban areas at lesser operating speeds.

It is the least expensive of all interchange types

The operation of the diamond interchange is highly desirable

with regard to the major highway.

Diamond Interchange
Major Road
Ramp
Major Road

Bridge

Traffic Island

Ramp
Major Road
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Advantages of grade
separations
It affords the greatest
road safety to vehicles at junction.

It can be adopted for all likely angles and layouts of the intersecting
roads.
The capacity of grade separation is practically same as that of two cross
roads.
It grants maximum facility to the crossing traffic. It helps large value of
traffic to move easily and smoothly without reducing speeds. The
problems of traffic congestion during peak hours doesnt arise.
There is a overall increase in comforts and convenience to the road users.