Highway Intersections

Chapter 7

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 Lecture Outline
• Grade-Separated Interchanges
• At-Grade Intersections
– Three-Leg
– Four-Leg
– Roundabouts
• Design Considerations
• Intersection Sight Distance
– ISD Cases
– Calculating ISD
• Railroad Crossing Sight Distance

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Grade-Separated Interchanges

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Grade-Separated Interchanges

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 Interchange Configuration Selection
• Highway Classification
• Number of Intersection Legs
• Expected through and turning volumes
• Composition of truck traffic
• Topography
• Culture
• Design controls

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Interchange Configuration Selection

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At-Grade Intersections

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Roundabouts

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 Roundabouts
• What is the key advantage of the roundabout intersection?
– Compare the “conflict points” between conventional (left) and roundabout (right)!

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 At-Grade Intersection Design Considerations
• Traffic Volumes: Turning and Through
• Heavy Vehicle Movements
• Functional Classification/Design Controls
– “Major” Road is higher classification or higher speed if equal classification
• Design Issues:
– Intersection Alignment Should be Right Angle or Close
– Profile: Approach grades less than 3 percent desired
– Minimum Curb Radius for Design Vehicle
– Channelization could be used for directing the paths of vehicles, controlling
merge/diverge/weave movements, providing refuge for pedestrians, or speed control.

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Channelized Islands

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 Intersection Sight Distance: Introduction
• At-grade intersections represent an inherent safety concern
• It is essential that intersection designs provide adequate intersection sight
distance → What does this mean?
– Recall that “stopping sight distance” used in CE 3110 is the length required for a vehicle
traveling at a certain speed to stop → including the distance necessary for the driver to
perceive and react to the situation presented, also while traveling at that speed.
– Intersection sight distance extends this concept to the design of highway intersections
that allow drivers to have an unobstructed view of the entire intersection at a distance
great enough to permit good decision-making and proper vehicle control.

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Sight Triangles at Intersections

Approach Sight Triangles:

Allow drivers on both major and minor
roads to see approaching intersecting
vehicles with sufficient time to stop or
avoid collision by slowing down.

Departure Sight Triangles:

Allows for driver of a stopped vehicle on
the minor road to enter or cross the
major road without conflicting with an
approaching vehicle from either direction
on the major road.

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 Intersection Design: Sight Distance
• Case A: Uncontrolled
• Case B: Stop Control on Minor Road
– Case B1: Left Turn on Major Road from Stop
– Case B2: Right Turn on Major Road from Stop
– Case B3: Crossing Major Road from Stop
• Case C: Yield Control on Minor Road
• Case D: Traffic Signal Control
• Case E: All-Way Stop Control
• Case F: Left Turns from Major Road

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 Sight Triangles: Case A and Case C
• Figure 7.20 of textbook shown below.
Dimensions “a” and “b” represent the distance
from the centerline of the adjacent roadway to
the corner of the obstruction.

Dimensions “da” and “db” are the distances along

each leg of the intersection required for vehicle to
safely stop assuming travel at the design speed.

Thus a relationship can be established using

similar triangles that are present in this diagram:

𝐶𝐵 𝐸𝐷 𝑑𝑏 𝑎
= → =
𝐴𝐵 𝐴𝐷 𝑑𝑎 𝑑𝑎 − 𝑏

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 Sight Triangles: Case A and Case C
• How to determine the lengths “da” and “db”?
– Table 7.7 of your textbook (page 342)
– Please take note of the instructions provided below part (b) of this table!

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 Example 1: ISD for Case A
• A tall building is located 45 feet from the centerline of the right lane of a local
road and 65 feet from the centerline of the right lane of an intersecting road.
If the maximum speed limit on the intersecting road is 35 mph, what should
be the speed limit on the local road such that the minimum sight distance is
provided? Approach grades are 2 percent.
– Let’s analyze this problem for a moment.
– This type of problem is ideal for a long narrative-style question where you are required
to “filter” through the given information to determine what is needed and what isn’t.

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 Example 1: ISD for Case A
• Consider again Figure 7.20 of textbook: What information are we given?
Dimension “b” = 45 feet
Dimension “a” = 65 feet
Maximum Speed Limit on Major Road = 35 mph

Therefore “da” is equal to what?

From Table 7.7(a) we see that the length is 165 feet

What about the approach grade? No adjustment!

What are we trying to solve for? Speed limit on
minor road → therefore we must solve for “db” then
determine an appropriate safe speed.

(𝑑𝑎 )(𝑎) 165∗65

𝑑𝑏 = = = 89.4 𝑓𝑡 (use 90 feet)
𝑑𝑎 −𝑏 165−45

Given “db” of 90 feet we can see from Table 7.7

this corresponds to a speed of 20 mph.

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 Sight Triangles: Case B
• Case B is a departure sight triangle for a stopped vehicle on the minor
roadway. There are three sub-cases as shown in Figure 7.21.

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 Sight Triangles: Case B
• For Case B, the length of the sight triangle leg along the major roadway is the
calculation that is needed. The following equation is used:
– DISD = 1.47 * Vmajor * Tg
– Where Vmajor is the speed limit of the major road (mph) and Tg is the time gap (Table 7.8)

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 Example 2: ISD for Case B (Case B1)
• A minor road intersects a major four-lane undivided road with a design speed
of 65 mph. The intersection is controlled with a stop sign on the minor road.
If the design vehicle is a single-unit truck, what is the required minimum sight
distance for the design vehicle to safely turn left from a stop on the minor
road if the approach grade on the minor road is 2 percent?
– Before we start let’s make sure we are on the same page with what this looks like:

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 Example 2: ISD for Case B (Case B1)
• Given:
– Four-lane undivided road with design speed (Vmajor) of 65 MPH
– Design vehicle is a single-unit truck (thus a base time gap of 9.5 seconds)
– Approach grade on minor road is 2 percent.
• Required: Calculate minimum required sight distance for Case B1
• Solution: Let’s check those table footnotes again!

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 Example 2: ISD for Case B (Case B1)
• What is our time gap value for this problem?
– Base Time Gap: 9.5 seconds (single-unit truck)
– Additional Lanes, from the left, in excess of one lane: (0.7 sec * 1 lane)
– Adjustment for grade? Not needed.
• Solution:
– DISD = 1.47 * Vmajor * Tg
– DISD = 1.47 * 65 mph * (9.5 + 0.7) = 1.47*65*10.2 = 974.61 feet
• What about the short leg of the sight triangle?
– It is assumed that the driver’s head inside the stopped vehicle on the minor road is
14.5 feet back from the edge of the roadway. Therefore the short leg is:
– 14.5 + 12 + 12 + 6 = 44.5 feet → can aid in similar triangle calculations

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 Example 3: ISD for Case B (Case B1)
• A minor road intersects a major four-lane divided road with a design speed of
65 mph and a median width of 6 feet. The intersection is controlled with a
stop sign on the minor road. If the design vehicle is a passenger car, what is
the required minimum sight distance for the design vehicle to safely turn left
from a stop on the minor road if the approach grade is 4 percent?
– Design Vehicle: Passenger Car (base time gap of 7.5 seconds)
– Four-Lane Divided Major Road (additional one lane to be crossed plus median is
assumed to be a lane with the time gap taken as the median width divided by 12)
– Approach Grade: 4% (add 0.2 seconds for each percent if above 3%)

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 Example 3: ISD for Case B (Case B1)
• Calculate Time Gap:
– Base Time Gap: 7.5 seconds (Passenger Car)
– Additional Lanes, from the left, in excess of one lane: (0.5 sec * 1 lane)
– Include the 6-foot median as equal to one-half of a lane: (0.5 * 0.5)
– Adjustment for grade? (0.2 sec * 4 percent)
– Time Gap = 7.5 + (0.5*1) + (0.5*0.5) + (0.2*4) = 9.05 seconds
• Solution:
– DISD = 1.47 * Vmajor * Tg
– DISD = 1.47 * 65 mph * 9.05 = 864.7 feet
– Short Leg = 14.5 + 12 + 12 + 6 + 6 = 50.5 feet

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 Additional Discussion
• “Lookup” tables provide valuable information on design parameters as well as
recommendations for modifications to calculations as appropriate.
• Drawing a picture of the problem is helpful. Make sure that you have the
sight triangle drawn in the proper configuration. Make sure that obstructions
are correctly located. Make sure your triangles are similar.
– Assume that lanes are 12 feet wide and that the vehicle (the driver’s head) is in the
center of the lane, if no other information is given.
– For Case B it is assumed that the vehicle (the driver’s head) is located a distance of 14.5
feet behind the edge of the intersection.
– For Case B2 the base time gap values in Table 7.8 should be decreased by 1 second and
the correction for grades greater than 3 percent is 0.1 second per percent grade.

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