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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res.

2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013


ISSN 2319 6009 www.ijscer.com
Vol. 2, No. 3, August 2013
2013 IJSCER. All Rights Reserved

Research Paper

CAPACITY ANALYSIS OF SELECTED


INTERSECTIONS ON MAMPONG ROAD, KUMASIGHANA USING MICRO SIMULATION MODEL
J K Borkloe1*, E K Nyantakyi1 and G A Mohammed1

*Corresponding Author: J K Borkloe, juliusborkloe1@yahoo.com

Signalized intersections are critical elements of an urban road transportation system and
maintaining these control systems at their optimal performance for different demand conditions
has been the primary concern of the traffic engineers. Roundabouts are an increasingly popular
alternative to traffic signals for intersection control in the United States. Roundabouts have a
number of advantages over traffic signals depending on the conditions. This study analyzed
capacity of selected intersections on Mampong Road from Kotoko intersection to New Suame
Road intersection. Traffic and geometric data were collected at each of the four intersections.
The intersection capacity analysis gave rise to the design of a signalized intersection control at
the Suame roundabout. Signalized intersection with 5 approach lanes was proposed at Suame
roundabout. Exclusive pedestrian phases were included in the design to protect pedestrians.
The Kotoko Road and Suame New Road have reached their capacities hence signalized
intersection with 3 approach lanes was proposed at the Kotoko Road and Suame New Road on
the Mampong Road to control all the movements and improve upon the performance of the
intersections.
Keywords: Performance analysis, Suame roundabout, Capacity analysis, Transportation network
performance, Mampong Road.

Gerlough published his dissertation:


Simulation of freeway traffic on a generalpurpose discrete variable computer at the
University of California, Los Angeles, in 1955
(Kallberg, 1971). From those times, computer
simulation has become a widely used tool in
transportation engineering with a variety of
applications from scientific research to
planning, training and demonstration.

INTRODUCTION
In general, simulation is defined as dynamic
representation of some part of the real world
achieved by building a computer model and
moving it through time (Drew, 1968).
Computer models are widely used in traffic and
transportation system analysis. The use of
computer simulation started when D L
1

Department of Civil Engineering, Kumasi Polytechnic, Kumasi-Ghana.

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design speed of the circulatory roadway.


Mampong Road is a very busy road and
congested throughout the day. This can be due
in part to the many commercial and social
facilities abutting the road, attracting a lot of
traffic. These include the Tafo cemetery, which
is the largest public cemetery in Kumasi, the
Tafo market and lorry station, which are located
very close to the road, the fitting workshops
and schools (BCEOM and ACON Report,
2004). The Tafo area is a densely populated
area and most residents make return trips to
Kejetia and its surroundings to work, trade and
school. It is common to see vehicular queues
moving at snail pace between the Tafo market
and Suame round about during most times of
the day (BCEOM and ACON Report, 2004).
Previous studies on the performance of the
intersections attributed the congestion critical
capacity and abuse to motorists and/or
pedestrians. As part of the recommendations,
the report proposed to signalize and improve
the capacity at the Suame New Road
intersection which included exclusive NMT
phase and also Kotoko Road Intersection
which also included concurrent NMT phase
(BCEOM and ACON Report, 2004). These
recommendations have not been implemented
due to lack of funds and therefore long queues
and frequent delays still persist during peak
hour conditions at these intersections. The
study therefore analyzed capacity of selected
intersections on Mampong Road.

Signalized intersections typically form the


capacity bottlenecks in urban road networks.
Signal timing plans are developed in order to
segregate potentially conflicting movements at
a signalized intersection. Methods to analyze
the performance of a given signal timing plan,
and to develop optimal plans, have been
developed since the 1950s and are now
embedded in design manuals such as the
Highway Capacity Manual (HCM, 2000) and
Canadian Capacity guide (Teply et al., 1995).
Most of these methods are based on the
pioneering work by Webster (1958) who
developed an expression for average delay
that captured delay from two sources, namely:
(1) delay assuming deterministic arrival and
deterministic service rate; and (2) delay
assuming random (i.e., Poisson) arrivals and
deterministic service rate. Websters original
formulation was modified to permit application
to oversaturated conditions and more recent
modifications (e.g., HCM, 2000) include a term
to account for initial queues. In North America,
the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM, 2000) is
the most widely adopted method for analysis
of signalized intersections. The HCM defines
signalized intersection performance in terms
of average vehicle delay (seconds per vehicle)
and then maps this delay against predefined
boundaries to define intersection performance
in terms of six levels of service (i.e., LOS A
through LOS F). As defined by the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), modern
roundabout are circular intersections with
specific traffic control and design features
(FWHA, 2000). These features include yield
control at entry, channelized approaches, and
geometric approach curvature (deflection) to
induce entering traffic to slow down to the

METHODOLOGY
Site Selection and Description
The intersections were selected based on
their accident and safety records in the past
and also the levels of congestion associated

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four (4) Principal arterials, namely: Mampong


road, Okomfo Anokye road, Offinso road and
the Western By-Pass road as shown in
Figure 2.

with them. The Mampong road is a NorthSouth principal arterial, covering an urban
(study) length of about 5 km, (from the Tafo
Market to the Kejetia traffic light). The road
entire length is paved and comprises both
single carriageway (about 70%), and two-lane
dual carriageway (about 30%). The single
carriage way starts from Tafo Market to
about 250 m away from Suame roundabout,
(about 3.5 km), while the dual carriage way
starts from Suame roundabout to Kejetia,
(about 1.5 km).

Figure 2: Geometry of
Suame Roundabout

Kotoko Road
The intersection with Kotoko road, a Collector
road, is about 300 m South-East of the Suame
roundabout. The intersection has three (3) legs
with two (2) approach/entry lanes and two (2)
exit lanes on each leg. Figure 1 below depicts
the geometry at Mampong Road/Kotoko Road
intersection.

Intersection Geometry

Source: From Study

Mampong Road/Suame New Road


Intersection
The intersection with Suame New Road, a
Collector road, is about 1.6 km South of Tafo
market. The intersection has three (3) legs with
one (1) approach/entry lane and one (1) exit
lane on each leg

Figure 1: Geometry at Mampong Road/


Kotoko Road Intersection

BASIC THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND
One of the oldest and most well known cases
of the use of simulation in theoretical research
is the car-following analysis based on the
Generalized General Motors (GM) models. In
these models a differential equation governs
the movement of each vehicle in the platoon
under analysis (Gerlough and Huber, 1975).
Car-following, like the intersection analysis, is
one of the basic equations of traffic flow theory
and simulation, and the analysis has been
active after almost 40 years from the first trials

Intersection Geometry

Source: From Study

Suame Roundabout
Suame roundabout has five (5) legs with two
(2) approach/entry lanes and two (2) exit lanes
on each leg Figure 1. It is the intersection of

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have contributed efforts on this matter. Gunay


(2007) first developed a car-following model
with lateral discomfort. He improved a
stopping distance based approach which was
proposed by (Gipps, 1981), and presented a
new car-following model, taking into account
lateral friction between vehicles.

(McDonald et al., 1998). The car-following


theory is of significance in microscopic traffic
flow theory and has been widely applied in
traffic safety analysis and traffic simulation
(Luo et al., 2010; Tordeux et al., 2010). There
have been many car-following models in the
past 60 years, and these can be divided into
two categories. One is developed from the
viewpoint of traffic engineering and the other
is based on statistical physics. From the
perspective of traffic engineers (Brackstone
and McDonald, 1999), car-following models
can be classified as stimulus-response models
(Gazis et al., 1961; Newell, 1961), safety
distance models (Gipps, 1981), psychophysical models (Wiedemann, 1974), and
artificial intelligence models (Kikuchi and
Chakroborty, 1992; Wu et al., 2000).

Jin et al. (2010) proposed a non-lane-based


car following model using a modified fullvelocity difference model. All the above models
are based on the assumption that drivers are
able to perceive distances, speeds, and
accelerations. However, car-following behavior
is a human process. It is difficult for a driver of
the following vehicle to perceive minor lateral
separation distances, and drivers may not
have precise perception of speeds and
distances, not to mention accelerations.

The car-following theory is based on a key


assumption that vehicles will travel in the center
line of a lane, which is unrealistic, especially
in developing countries. In these countries,
poor road conditions, irregular driving
discipline, unclear road markings, and different
lane widths typically lead to non-lane-based
car-following driving (Gunay, 2007).
Heterogeneous traffic, characterized by
diverse vehicles, changing composition, lack
of lane discipline, etc., results in a very complex
behavior and a non-lane-based driving in most
Asian countries (Mathew and Radhakrishnan,
2010). Therefore, it is difficult for every vehicle
to be moving in the middle of the lane. Vehicles
are positioned laterally within their lanes, and
the off central-line effect results in lateral
separations. However, to the limit of our
knowledge, the effect of lateral separation in
the car-following process has been ignored by
the vast majority of models. A few researchers

Algorithm on Synchro/Sim Traffic


Software
Simulation is basically a dynamic
representation of some part of the real world
achieved by building a computer model and
moving it through time. The results obtained
from any simulation model will be as good as
the model replicates the specific real world
characteristics of interest to the analyst.
Once a vehicle is assigned performance
and driver characteristics, its movement
through the network is determined by three
primary algorithms defined below:
Car Following
This algorithm determines behavior and
distribution of vehicles in traffic stream.
Synchro varies headway with driver type,
speed and link geometry whereas SimTraffic
generates lower saturation flow rates.

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Lane Changing

Comptran Engineering for the analysis while


Vehicular classification was based on GHA
classification system. Average daily factor for
each day was obtained and used to calculate
the average weekly volume from which the ADT
was computed. The proportion of each vehicle
class in the traffic stream was computed as
well as the base year ADT for each vehicle
class as shown in Table 3. The year AADT for
each vehicle class was obtained by multiplying
the classified ADTs by the average variation
factor for the days for which traffic was counted
and the Monthly Variation Factor (MVF) for that
month in which the data was collected;

This is always one of the most temperamental


features of simulation models. There are three
types of lane-changing which includes
Mandatory lane changes (e.g., a lane is
obstructed or ends)
Discretionary lane changes (e.g., passing)
Positioning lane changes (e.g., putting
themselves in the correct lane in order to
make a turn): This creates heavy queuing,
which is a common problem for modeling
positioning lane changes. Vehicles often
passed back of queue before attempting
lane change and their accuracy relates to
degree of saturation and number of access
points such as congested conditions which
requires farther look ahead and denselyspaced access (i.e., short segments) which
presents a problem.

AADT = ADT x MVF

...(1)

The total year AADT is the summation of


the classified AADTs
The Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
was obtained by multiplying the weekly ADT
value to the corresponding monthly variation
factor.

Gap Acceptance
Gap acceptance affects driver behavior at
unsignalized intersections, driveways (e.g.,
right-in-right-out) and right-turn-on-red (RTOR)
movements. If default parameters are too
aggressive, vehicle delay will be underestimated
and creating serious implication for frontage
roads. Conversely, parameters which are too
conservative may indicate need for a signal
when one isnt necessary. Gap acceptance
parameters are network-wide in SimTraffic.

Thus,
AADT = V24 *DVF*MVF
= ADT (Weekly) *MVF

...(2)

where
V24 = Average 24 h volume
DVF = Daily variation factor
MVF = Monthly variation factor

Field Surveys

Turning Movement Counts

Manual Classified Counts

Turning movement counts were conducted at


all the selected intersections to obtain the
turning volumes at the intersections to enable
the assessment of the present capacity
conditions. The conduction of intersection
turning movement studies on all the selected

Manual classification count for the Mampong


road was received from Comptran
Engineering. This was reviewed and thus used
as a reference data for the analysis. Manual
classification count was also received from

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intersections was also done to check for


validity and reliability of the data. This became
necessary because at the time when BCEOM
and COMPTRAN conducted the traffic studies
on the Mampong road, the Tafo Hospital
junction road which is one of the major junctions
along the route had not been developed. All
the Turning movement counts were conducted
at 15 min intervals as in Table 1.

Hour Volume (DDHV) and number of lanes (N)


required for each direction of the road are
given as in equations 3, 4 and 6.
The following key equations in the HCM
2000 were utilized:
DDHV = AADT * K * D

...(3)

where,

Traffic Lane Capacity Analysis of


Mampong Road
Capacity analyses of the links and
intersections were carried out to determine
their adequacies. The Highway Capacity
Manual and Synchro software were used in the
capacity analysis. The Planning Applications
or Analysis procedures from the HCM 2000
were used for the capacity analyses of
Mampong road. The applications/procedures
assumed a preferred LOS and the minimum
number of lanes required to achieve that LOS
was determined.

DDHV

Directional design-hour volume


(veh/h),

AADT

Annual average daily traffic


(veh/day),

Proportion of AADT occurring


in the peak hour, and

Proportion of peak-hour traffic


in the peak direction

Service flow rates were computed from the


DDHV as follows:

SF

In accordance with the road capacity


analysis of the Transport Research Board
(TRB), United Kingdom, the road way capacity
analysis was carried out.

DDHV
PHF * f HV * f p

...(4)

where,

The Service Flow (SF), Directional Design

SF

Service flow rate (pc/h),

PHF

Peak-hour factor,

fHV

Heavy-vehicle adjustment factor,

Table 1: Location, Type and Duration of Traffic Surveys


Item

Name of Road/ Intersection/Junction

Type of Survey

Duration

Date

Suame Roundabout

Turning Movement Counts

12 h

16/12/2012

Kotoko Road

Turning Movement Counts

12 h

16/12/2012

New Suame Road

Turning Movement Counts

12 h

16/12/2012

Source: From Study

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Computation of HCM Level of


Service

and
fp

Driver population factor

PHF = V/(V15 * 4)

Synchro computes the signalized intersection,


unsignalized intersection, and arterial LOS
according to the HCM. For signalized
intersections, Synchro provides the user with
two additional intersection Levels of Service
(LOS). One is called the Intersection LOS; the
other is called the ICU LOS.

...(5)

where,
V

Projected hourly volume demand


(veh/h)

V15

Maximum 15-minute volume

The minimum number of lanes required for


a desired LOS will be computed from vp, as
follows:
N = vp /SFmax

The Intersection LOS is based upon a


percentile control delay computation but uses
the same numerical delay thresholds as the
HCM. The percentile control delay is different
than the HCM control delay for the intersection.
The computation is explained below under the
delay MOE.

...(6)

where,
N

Minimum number of lanes required

SF max =

Max. Service Flow Rate for the


required LOS from HCM 2000.

The ICU LOS is based upon the critical flow


ratio (ICU) for the intersection. The critical flow
ratio is the sum of green +clearance times
required to serve the critical movements at the
intersection divided by a reference cycle
length. The ICU LOS is designed to be
insensitive to the actual signal timing for the
intersection.

Use of Synchro 6
Synchro is designed to evaluate the
performance of urban streets, signalized
intersections, and unsignalized intersections
(two-way stop, all-way stop, and single-lane
roundabouts). Synchro does not provide
performance data for freeways, multilane
highways, or two-lane rural roads. Synchro is
a software application for optimizing traffic
signal timing and performing capacity analysis.
The software optimizes splits, offsets, and
cycle lengths for individual intersections, an
arterial, or a complete network.

ICU

Max min grn, CL * v / s


i

CL

Li

...(7)
where
ICU = Intersection capacity utilization ratio.

SimTraffic performs micro simulation and


animation of vehicular traffic. With SimTraffic,
Individual vehicles are modeled and displayed
traversing a street network. SimTraffic models
signalized and un-signalized intersections, and
freeway sections.

Min grn = Minimum green time for critical


movement i (s).
CL = Reference cycle length (s). Set to
120 s.

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The Department of Transport of the UK


recommends a research carried out by the
Transport and Road Research Laboratory
(TRRL) that predicts an equation for the
determination of the capacities of
roundabouts. The predictive equation for entry
capacity into the circulatory area is given by:

L = Loss time for critical movement i (s).


The ICU is converted into a letter LOS grade
according to Table 3.
Intersection Capacity Analysis
There are 3 major intersections on the
Mampong road. These are Suame
Roundabout (5 legs), Kotoko Road (Tee
Intersection) and New Suame Road
intersection (Tee Intersection).

Qe = K*(F fc Qc ...(8)
where,
Qe is the entry flow into the circulatory area
in passenger car units per hour (pcu/h)

The intersection Capacity analysis was


performed using Intersection Capacity
Utilization (ICU) to determine the LOS at all
the selected intersections. An initial analysis
was performed for the existing rotary
intersection to determine its performance.
Once the ICU was fully calculated, the ICU LOS
for the roundabout was calculated based on
the following criteria in Table 2.

Qc is the flow in the circulatory area in


conflict with the entry flow in passenger car units
per hour (pcu/h).
K = 1-0.00347(f - 30) 0.978(1/r 0.05)
F = 303 X 2
fc = 0.21tD(1+0.2X2)
tD = 1+0.5/(1+M)

Capacity Analysis for Suame


Roundabout

M = exp[(D 60)/10]

Table 2: Intersection Capacity Utilization LOS and Grading Criteria


LOS

ICU (%)

Grading Criteria

55

55<ICU<64

Intersection has very little congestion

64<ICU<73

Intersection has no major congestion

73<ICU<82

Intersection normally has no congestion

82<ICU<91

Intersection is on the verge of congested conditions

91<ICU<100

Intersection is over capacity and likely experiences congestion periods of 15 to 60


consecutive minutes

1005<ICU<109

Intersection is 9% over capacity and experiences congestion periods of 60 to 120


consecutive minutes.

>109%

The intersection is 9% or greater over capacity and could experience congestion periods
of over 120 minutes per day.

Intersection has no congestion

Source: Husch, David Intersection Capacity Utilization, Trafficware 2003, accessed December 8, 2010

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D = Inscribed circle diameter: the biggest


circle that can be inscribed within the junction
= Entry angle: measures the conflict angle
between entering and circulating traffic

X2 = v + (e v)/(1+2S)
S = 1.6(e- v)/l
And
e = Entry width (meters)- measured from a
point normal to the rear kerbside
v = Approach half-width: measured along a
normal from a point in the approach stream
from any entry flare
l' = Average effective flare length: measured
along a line drawn at right angles from the
widest point of the entry flare
S = Sharpness of flare: indicates the rate at
which extra width is developed within the entry
flare

r = Entry radius: indicates the radius of


curvature of the nearside kerb line on entry.
Tables below show the entry capacities,
circulating flows and the reserve capacities for
the various approaches to the roundabouts.
Capacity Analysis for Other
Intersections
The following intersections namely Kotoko
Road and Suame New Road had no signal
controls. The priority rule was only applicable

Table 3: Manual Classified Traffic Volume Count


Vehicle Type

ADT(2004)

ADT(2012)

% of Total

Taxi

4877

6225

25.34

Cars

3501

4468

18.19

Pickup/Vans

1347

1720

7.00

Small Bus

6340

8091

32.94

Medium Bus/M. Wagon

1633

2084

8.49

Large Bus

252

322

1.31

Light Truck

461

588

2.39

Medium Truck

351

447

1.82

Heavy Truck

173

220

0.90

Semi-Trailer(Light)

61

78

0.32

Semi-Trailer(Heavy)

91

116

0.47

Truck-Trailer

144

184

0.75

Extra Large/Others

15

19

0.08

19244

24561

100

TOTAL
MVF for Feb

1.34

AADT (vph) (base year)

32,912
Source: Comptran (2004)

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Bound South (NBS), V11 had the highest hourly


flow rate of 653 veh/h at Suame roundabout.
This meant that 6533 vehicles traversed the
north bound south direction in an hour.
Similarly, South East South (SES), V19 had the
lowest hourly flow rate of 56 veh/h meaning 56
vehicles traversed the East Bound North
direction within an hour.

and thus traffic on the minor road gave way to


those from the major road. The Synchro 6 traffic
software was used to perform the intersection
capacity analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Manual Classification Counts
Tables 3 and 4 shows the manual classified
traffic counts and vehicle group analysis.

Table 9 shows the approach flow at Suame


roundabout Offinso approach (VA,N) had the
highest approach flow of 1615 veh/h as shown
in Table 9 at Suame roundabout. This meant
that 1615 vehicles came from Offinso in an
hour. 1484 veh/h came from Kejetia approach
(Va,S), followed by Western bypass approach
(Va,W) which had 1457 veh/hr. Krofrom
approach (Va,SE) gave 985 veh/h and
Mampong approach gave a lowest approach
volume of 800 veh/h.

Turning Movement Counts


Tables 5 and 6 show the turning movement
counts for the selected intersections
Summary of total approach volumes from
Suame roundabout is shown in Table 7.
It can be deduced from Table 7 that a total
of 1615 vehicles move from Offinso to the
other approaches at Suame roundabout. This
is followed by a total of 1484 vehicles from
Kejetia to other approaches. Krofrom had 761
vehicles moving to other approaches.

Table 10 shows the circulating flows from


each approach at Suame roundabout Krofrom
approach (Vc,SE) had the highest circulating
flow of 2077 veh/h at Suame roundabout,
followed by Kejetia approach (Vc,S) which
gave a circulating flow of 1971 veh/h as shown
in Table 10. The Mampong approach (Vc,E)
had a circulating flow of 1859 veh/h with Western

Capacity Analysis
Hourly flow rate for the approaches at Suame
Roundabout is shown in Table 8.
From Table 8, it was realized that North

Table 4: Vehicle Group Analysis


Vehicle Group

ADT (2004)

ADT (2012)

% of Total

Light

16065

20503

83.48

Medium

2346

2994

12.19

Heavy

833

1064

4.33

19244

24561

100

Total

Source: From Study

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Table 5: Volume Counts for Kotoko Road Intersection


Time

From Kumasi

From Mampong

From Magazine

Total Volume

6-7

1066

820

332

2218

7-8

1040

919

277

2237

8-9

1060

869

320

2249

9-10

902

858

208

1968

10-11

911

722

217

1849

11-12

920

745

275

1939

12-13

857

656

250

1762

13-14

939

718

266

1924

14-15

630

737

322

1690

15-16

912

928

340

2179

16-17

869

817

368

2054

17-18

799

773

362

1934

18-19

1354

1041

422

2817

19-20

781

690

208

1680

20-21

619

507

187

1313

21-22

403

383

93

878

22-23

281

223

67

570

23-24

179

145

53

377

24-1

111

85

32

228

1-2

87

67

25

179

2-3

49

58

25

132

3-4

76

77

28

181

4-5

188

177

80

444

5-6

388

375

176

939

Estimated 24hr volume

33742

daily VF for Tue

0.91

ADT

30705

MVF for DEC

1.14

AADT (vpd)

35004
Source: Comptran (2004)

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Table 6: Volume counts for Suame New Road Intersection


Time

From Kumasi

From Mampong

From Tafo Nhyiaeso

Total Volume

6-7

703

900

331

1934

7-8

860

1010

306

2177

8-9

756

786

278

1820

9-10

738

570

318

1626

10-11

585

470

243

1298

11-12

713

495

211

1419

12-13

672

564

354

1591

13-14

466

382

296

1144

14-15

564

420

326

1310

15-16

672

419

287

1378

16-17

730

403

352

1484

17-18

644

434

389

1468

18-19

893

1143

421

2457

19-20

646

759

230

1634

20-21

441

459

163

1063

21-22

329

254

142

726

22-23

180

145

75

400

23-24

139

96

41

276

24-1

87

73

46

206

1-2

43

36

28

106

2-3

44

33

25

103

3-4

56

35

24

115

4-5

158

87

76

321

5-6

313

211

189

713

Estimated 24hr volume

26768

daily VF for Tue

0.91

ADT

24359

MVF for DEC

1.14

AADT (vpd)

27769
Source: Comptran (2004)

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Table 7: Summary of Total Approach volumes at Suame Roundabout


Approaches

Mampong

Offinso

Western bypass

Kejetia

Krofrom

Total

Mampong

60

249

302

189

800

Offinso

69

392

653

501

1615

W estern bypass

389

236

245

587

1457

Kejetia

550

493

340

101

1484

Krofrom

195

335

399

56

761

Total

1203

1064

1131

954

1189

Source: From Study

Table 8: Capacity Calculations for Roundabout


Approaches

Hourly flow rate (veh/hr)

East Bound North (EBN), V1

60

East Bound W est (EBW), V2

249

East Bound South (EBS), V3

302

East Bound South East (EBSE), V4

189

West Bound North (WBN), V5

236

West Bound East (WBE), V6

389

West Bound South (WBS), V7

245

West Bound South East (WBSE), V8

587

North Bound East (NBE), V9

69

North Bound West (NBW), V10

392

North Bound South (NBS), V11

653

North Bound South East (NBSE), V12

501

South Bound North (SBN), V13

493

South Bound West (SBW), V14

340

South Bound East (SBE), V15

550

South Bound South East (SBSE), V16

101

South East North (SEN), V17

335

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013


Table 8 (Cont.)

Approaches

Hourly flow rate (veh/h)

South East West (SEW), V18

399

South East South (SES), V19

56

South East East (SEE), V20

195
Source: From Study

Table 9: Approach Flow at Suame Roundabout


Approach Flow (veh/h)

Approach Volume, Va

Va,E = V1+V2+V3+V4

800

Va,W = V5+V6+V7+V8

1457

Va,N = V9+V10+V11+V12

1615

Va,S = V13+V14+V15+V16

1484

Va,SE = V17+V18+V19+V20

985
Source: From Study

Table 10: Circulating flows at Suame Roundabout


Circulating Flow

Flow, Qc (veh/h)

Flow in pcu/h (x1.1)

Factored Flow (x1.125)

Vc,E = V1+V2+V3+V4

1859

2045

2301

Vc,W = V5+V6+V7+V8

1535

1689

1900

Vc,N = V9+V10+V11+V12

1770

1947

2190

Vc,S = V13+V14+V15+V16

1971

2168

2439

Vc,SE = V17+V18+V19+V20

2077

2285

2570

Source: From Study

bypass (Vc,W) having the lowest circulation flow


of 1535 veh/h. Similarly, in terms of flow in pcu,
Krofrom approach gave the highest flow of 2285
pcu/h and the Western bypass approach gave
the least flow of 1689 pcu/h.

capacities for each approach at Suame


roundabout is shown in Table 11.
From Table 11, it was realized that the
Krofrom approach had the highest circulatory
flow of 2570 pcu/h at Suame roundabout. This
meant that 2570 of the flow in the circulatory

Entry capacity, circulating flow and reserve

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

flow to capacity ratios revealed that Suame


roundabout was operating at a level of service
F. Level of service F described a forced-flow
operation at low speeds, where volumes were
below capacity. These conditions usually
resulted from queues of vehicles backing up a
restriction downstream at the roundabout.
Speeds were reduced substantially and
stoppages occurred for short or long periods
of time because of the downstream
congestion. It represented worst conditions.

are was in conflict with the entry flow of 787.


Western bypass had the lowest circulatory flow
of 1900 pcu/hr. This again meant that 1900 of
the flow in the circulatory area was in conflict
with the entry flow of 1140.
The flow to capacity ratios of each approach
at Suame Roundabout is shown in Table 12.
It was realized again from the capacity
analysis that Suame roundabout was at full
capacity based on the overall volume to
capacity ratio as shown in Table 12. The above

Table 11: Entry Capacity, Circulating Flow And Reserve Capacity


for the Approaches at Suame Roundabout
Parameters

Mampong

Western bypass

Offinso

Kejetia

Krofrom

Entry width, e

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

Approach Half width, v

Average Effective Flare Length, l

15

15

15

15

15

0.07467

0.07467

0.07467

0.07467

0.07467

Inscribed Circle Diameter, D

78

78

78

78

78

Entry Angle,

60

60

60

60

60

Entry Radius, r

60

60

60

60

60

6.04965

6.04965

6.04965

6.04965

6.04965

X2

7.60905

7.60905

7.60905

7.60905

7.60905

tD

1.07093

1.07093

1.07093

1.07093

1.07093

fc

0.56714

0.56714

0.56714

0.56714

0.56714

2305.5418

2305.5418

2305.5418

2305.5418

2305.5418

0.9285

0.9285

0.9285

0.9285

0.9285

Qc

2301

1900

2190

2439

2570

Qe

929

1140

987

856

787

Sharpness of Flare, S

Source: From Study

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Table 12: Flow to Capacity Ratios at Suame Roundabout


Approaches

Circulating

Entry Capacity

Entry Flow

Reserve Capacity

Flow To

Flow, Qc

(pcu/h)

(pcu/h)

(%)

Capacity Ratio

Mampong

2301

929

800

14

0.86

W estern bypass

1900

1140

1457

-28

1.28

Offinso

2190

987

1615

-64

1.64

Kejetia

2439

856

1484

-73

1.73

Krofrom

2570

787

985

-25

1.25

Source: From Study

Table 13: Peak Hour Factors at Intersections on Mampong Road


Intersections

Peak Hour Volume (PHV)

Peak Hour Factor (PHF)

2542

0.93

2405

0.88

New Suame Junction (NSJ)

Kotoko Road (KR)


Average PHF

0.91
Source: From Study

Table 14: Volume to Capacity Ratios on Mampong Road


Road

Demand

Peak 15-min

Ideal

Section

Volume

Flow Rate

Capacity, C

(veh/h)

(pc/h)

(pc/h)

(a)

(b)

(c = b/(exfxg))

KR to SR

1863

SR to NSJ

2177

PHF

fg

fHV

v/c ratio

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h = c/d)

2047

2000

0.91

1.00

1.00

1.02

2392

2000

0.91

1.00

1.00

1.20

Source: From Study

Tables 13 and 14 show the peak hour factor


and volume to capacity ratios on Mampong road.

Mampong road have reached their capacities


and also. The congestion on the road could be
attributed to poor intersection performance and
abuse by drivers.

The results of the capacity analysis in Table


14 above showed that the sections on the

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

Intersection Capacity

Link Capacity

The intersection capacity analysis was


performed using Synchro 6 traffic software. An
initial analysis was performed for the existing
rotary intersections to determine their
performance. The results are shown in Table
15.

The existing v/c ratio on the Mampong road


has reached capacity and these calls for at
least a 2-lane dual carriageway to be able to
handle both current and future traffic effectively.
The implementation of this proposal will also
facilitate the proposed congestion-based
strategy for public transport. Low cost traffic
management measures have been proposed
at Mampong Road/Kotoko Road intersection
and Mampong Road/Suame New Road
intersection. The measures constitute
minimum requirements needed to improve
traffic flow and safety at the selected
intersections.

Level of service F described a forced-flow


operation at low speeds, where volumes were
below capacity as in Table 15. These
conditions usually resulted from queues of
vehicles backing up a restriction downstream
at the roundabout. Speeds were reduced
substantially and stoppages occurred for short
or long periods of time because of the
downstream congestion. It represented worst
conditions.

Signalization and Improvement of


Mampong Road/Kotoko Road
Intersection

However, since the LOS for all 3


intersections was F, it was decided to signalize
all the 4 Tee-junctions in order to reduce delay
to motorists moving through the junction
especially those turning left. This will also
improve the control of traffic flow through the
intersection by helping to reduce overall
accidents at the various intersections.

Table 16 shows the proposed geometry for


Mampong Road/Kotoko Road Intersection.
Signalized intersection with 3 approach
lanes was proposed as shown in Figure 4. By
critical and careful examination of the
conditions, signalization of the Kotoko road
was proposed to control all the movements.
The proposed geometric data in Table 16
when implemented will improve upon the
performance of the intersection.

Proposals at Suame Roundabout


and Other Intersections

Table 15: Performance of Existing Intersection and Junctions


Circulating Flow

Flow, Qc (veh/h)

Flow in pcu/h (x1.1)

Factored Flow (x1.125)

Intersection

Control Type

v/c ratio

ICU %

ICU LOS

Kotoko Road

Yield

2.18

140.6

Suame Roundabout

Roundabout

3.48

157.9

New Suame Junction

Yield

2.44

156.1

Source: From Study

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

Table 16: Proposed Geometry for Mampong Road/Kotoko Road Intersection


Intersection: Mampong Road/Kotoko Road
Movement

From
(Area)

To
(Area)

Veh/h

% of Heavy
Vehicles

N/A

N/A

EBR

N/A

WBL

Kejetia

150

25

N/A

WBR

Suame R/A

708

17

NWBL

N/N

Suame R/A

1,984

NWBR

Ashtown

SEBL

EBL
EBT

WBT

NWBT

SEBT
SEBR

N/A

Ashtown

Kejetia

Suame R/A

No. of
Lanes

Lane Width
(m)

Storage
Length (m)

3.3

100.0

3.3

24

3.3

398

4.8

100.0

Ashtown

875

10

3.3

40.0

Kejetia

1,487

13

3.3

N/A

Source: From Study

Figure 3: Geometry at Mampong Road/


Suame New Road Intersection

Figure 4: Sketch of Proposed Geometry for


Mampong Road/Kotoko Road Intersection

Source: From Study

Source: From Study

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

Figure 5: Sketch of Proposed Geometry


for Suame Roundabout

Figure 6: Sketch of Proposed Geometry


for Mampong Road/Suame New Road
Intersection

Source: From Study

Source: From Study

Signalization and Improvement of


Suame Roundabout

the number of lanes at each approach to the


roundabout. A pedestrian footbridge was thus
proposed on all legs to the roundabout.

The proposed Geometry for Suame


Roundabout is shown in Figure 5.

Signalization and Improvement of


Mampong Road/Suame New Road
Intersection

Signalized intersection with 5 approach


lanes was proposed as shown in Figure 5. The
Suame roundabout signalization was basically
to improve on vehicular movement. By critical
and careful examination of the conditions,
signalization of the Suame roundabout was
proposed to control all the movements. The
proposed geometric data in Table 17 when
implemented will improve upon the
performance of the intersection. The central
island would be channelized to aid motorists
to move from one approach to the other in
order to prevent conflicts and enhance safety.
Pedestrian movements would be separated
in order not to interrupt the flow by considering

Table 18 shows the proposed geometry for


Mampong Road/Suame New Road
Intersection.
Signalized intersection with 3 approach
lanes was proposed as shown in Figure 6. By
critical and careful examination of the
conditions, signalization of the Suame New
Road was proposed to control all the
movements. The proposed geometric data in
Table 18 when implemented will improve upon
the performance of the intersection.

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

Table 17: Proposed Geometric Data for Suame Roundabout


Intersection: Suame Roundabout
Movement

From
(Area)

To
(Area)

Veh/h

% of Heavy
Vehicles

No. of
Lanes

Lane Width
(m)

Storage
Length (m)

Offinso

306

4.0

180.0

Mampong

404

26

3.3

180.0

EBT

Krofrom

813

3.3

EBR

Kejetia

264

4.8

WBL

Kejetia

86

W estern bypass

738

3.3

WBR2

Mampong

396

34

4.8

250.0

WBR

Offinso

627

3.3

250.

NWBL

W estern bypass

528

15

3.3

200.0

Offinso

861

3.3

NWBR

Mampong

988

21

3.3

NWBR2

Krofrom

143

14

SEBL

Krofrom

851

10

Mampong

93

13

SEBT

Kejetia

1070

3.3

SEBR

W estern bypass

624

4.8

Krofrom

335

4.0

Kejetia

613

3.3

SWBR2

Offinso

80

SWBR

W estern bypass

356

13

EBL2
EBL

WBT

NWBT

SEBL2

W estern Bypass

Krofrom

Kejetia

Offinso

SWBL2
SWBL

Mampong

100.0
shared

shared
2

3.3

120.0
shared

120.0

shared
1

3.3

180.0

Source: From Study

It is cheaper to implement the signalized


intersection to control and alleviate vehicular
movement than implementing the interchange.
The central island should be channelized to
enable motorists move from one approach to

CONCLUSION
Suame roundabout was performing at full
capacity based on the overall volume to
capacity ratio. Suame Roundabout should be
signalized to control all the movements.

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

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Table 18: Proposed Geometry for Mampong Road/Suame New Road Intersection
Intersection: Mampong Road/Suame New Road Intersection
Movement

From
(Area)

To
(Area)

Veh/h

% of Heavy
Vehicles

No. of
Lanes

Tafo

260

18

N/A

EBR

Suame R/A

285

29

WBL

N/A

N/A

WBR

N/A

NEBL

Maakro

368

28

4.0

Tafo

700

20

3.3

NEBR

N/A

SWBL

N/A

Suame R/A

654

19

3.3

Maakro

201

18

4.8

EBL
EBT

WBT

NEBT

SWBT

Maakro

N/A

Suame R/A

Tafo

SWBR

Lane Width
(m)

Storage
Length (m)

80.0

100.0

80.0

Source: From Study

and also Department of Urban Roads (DUR),


Kumasi for giving information on Suame
roundabout in the Kumasi Metropolis. Several
supports from staff of the Civil Engineering
Department, Kumasi Polytechnic, Kumasi are
well appreciated.

the other in order to prevent conflicts and


enhance safety. A pedestrian footbridge
should be constructed on all legs to the
roundabout. The Kotoko road and Suame New
road have reached their capacities. Signalized
intersection with 3 approach lanes was
proposed at the Kotoko road and Suame New
Road on the Mampong Road to control all the
movements and improve upon the
performance of the intersections.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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(Ministry of Transportation, Ghana),

The authors would like to acknowledge the


management of Kumasi Polytechnic, Kumasi
headed by the Rector Prof. N N N NsowahNuamah, for providing financial assistance

59

Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

J K Borkloe et al., 2013

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