At Grade Intersection Design

At Grade Intersection Design

Learning objective:
• Demonstrate the concepts and importance of at grade intersection
• Demonstrate the geometric standard of at grade intersection

Learning outcome:
At the end of this lecture, successful students will be able to:
• Recognize types of at grade intersection
• Identify types of design controls
• Recognize the geometric standard of at grade intersection based on Arahan
Teknik (Jalan) 11/87

1.0 Introduction
• Intersections are an important part of the road system. Their capacity controls
the volume of traffic within the network system.
• The term intersection refers to both intersection and junction, that is, where
two or more roads cross or meet. Each of these can be further classified as
elemental or multiple.
• Elemental manoeuvre occurs when any two one-way, single lane movements
interact.
• Multiple manoeuvre occurs when more than two one-way single lane
movements take place.
• Multiple manoeuvre should be avoided as they confuse drivers, reduce safety
and often reduce capacity.

2.0 Types of At Grade Intersection

An intersection at grade occurs where roads meet or intersect at the same level.
The following are three basic types of at grade intersections:
a) Unchannelised and Unflared Intersections
• They are normally adequate where minor roads meet.
• In urban areas, many local street intersections remain unchannelised for
economic reasons.

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• Traffic can be controlled by signals or regulatory signs, such as STOP or

GIVE WAY signs on the minor roads.
• Regulatory signs are however not a substitute for channelisation.

b) Flared Intersections
• A flared intersection is a simple unchannelised intersection with additional
through lanes or auxiliary lanes, such as speed change or right turn lanes.
• Speed change lanes allow left or right turning vehicles to reduce or
increase speed when leaving or entering the through road without
adversely affecting the speed of the through traffic.
• Right turn lanes permit through vehicles to pass on the left side of another
vehicle waiting to complete a right turn of an intersection.

c) Channelised Intersections
• A channelised intersection is one where paths of travel for various
movements are separated and delineated.
• Raised traffic islands, raised markers and painted markings can be used for
channelisation.
• A roundabout is a channelised intersection where traffic moves clockwise
around a central island.

3.0 Factors Influencing Design

At grade intersections present a driver with several points of conflict with other
vehicles. The aims of intersection design are to improve traffic flow and reduce
the likelihood of accidents. The principal factors influencing the design of an
intersection are:
a) Traffic Volume and Characteristics
• An intersection should accommodate the design peak traffic volume with
comfort and safety.

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• Consideration should be given to operating speeds and turning path

requirements at the intersection, the type of traffic control, safety aspects
and the needs of pedestrians, buses and commercial vehicles.

b) Topography and Environment

• The location and design of an intersection will be affected by many factors
including the alignment and grade of the approach roads, the need to
provide drainage, the extent of interference with public utilities, proper
access and the presence of local features, both man-made and natural.
c) Economics
• Variation to existing intersections should be justified by commensurate
benefits to traffic.

d) Human Factors
• In an intersection design, driver characteristics as follows should be
considered.
i) Drivers tend to act according to habit.
ii) Drivers may become confused when surprised.
• These factors make it essential that a driver:
i) is made aware of the presence of an intersection;
ii) is aware of the vehicles within and approaching the intersection;
iii) has confidence in the course required to negotiate the intersection
correctly and safely;
iv) encounters uniformity in the application or traffic engineering devices
and procedures;
v) is allowed adequate reaction and decision time (three seconds between
decisions is a desirable minimum).

4.0 Safety
Safety is a prime consideration in any intersection design. Safe intersection design
is based on the following principles:

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a) Reduction of the number of points of conflict.

b) Minimising the area of conflict.
c) Separation of points of conflict.
d) Giving preference to major movements.
e) Control of speed.
f) Provision of refuge areas, traffic control devices and adequate capacity.
g) Definition of paths to be followed.

5.0 Location of Intersection

The efficiency of major roads, in terms of capacity, speed and safety depends
greatly upon the number, type and spacing of intersections and median openings.
Intersection shall not be located at sharp horizontal curves, steep grades or at the
top of crest vertical curves or at the bottom of sag vertical curves. Table 5.1 gives
the desirable minimum spacing of intersections for the various categories of the
major roads.

Table 5.1: Desirable Minimum Spacing of Intersections

Area Category of Major Road Spacing (m)
Expressway 3000
Highway V x 20
Rural Primary V x 10
Secondary Vx5
Minor Vx3
Expressway 1500
Arterial Vx3xn
Urban
Collector Vx2xn
Local Street V x 1.5 x n
Notes: V= Design speed in km/h
n = Number of through lane in one direction
Source: Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 11/87

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6.0 Design Controls

6.1 Priority Control
• All intersections shall be designed under the assumption that one of the
intersecting roads has priority except where the intersection is signalised.
• The priority road will normally be road of higher design standard. If the two
roads are of the same standard, then the priority road shall be the road with
highest traffic volume.
• In T junctions and staggered junctions (which may be considered as two T
junctions), the priority road shall be the through road.
• The two roads of the intersections are normally referred as the major road
(priority road) and the minor road.

6.2 Design Speed

• The design speed on the major road through the intersection should be similar
to that on the open section. However, all at grade intersections are not
considered safe at design speed exceeding 90 km/h.
• For design speed exceeding 90 km/h, preference should be made to upgrade
the at grade intersection to an interchange or alternatively, speed limit at the
intersection should be introduced.

6.3 Design Vehicles

• The design of the various intersection layouts should be made for the design
vehicles P, SU or WB-50. Table 6.1 shows a general scheme to select the
design vehicle according to the category of road.
i) P design
This design is used at intersection where absolute minimum turns are
stipulated such as at local street intersections, intersections of two minor
roads carrying low volumes or on major roads where turns are made only
occasionally.

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ii) SU design
This design is the recommended minimum for all roads. For major
highways with important turning movements, which involve a large
percentage of trucks, speed change lanes should be considered.
iii) WB-50 design
This design should be used where truck combinations will make turning
movements repeatedly. Where designs for such vehicle are warranted, the
simpler symmetrical arrangements of three-centred compound curves are
preferred if smaller vehicles make up a sizable percentage of the turning
volume. It is also desirable to provide for channelisation to reduce the
paved area.

Table 6.1: Design Vehicles for Intersection Design

Area Category of Road Design Vehicles
Expressway
Highway WB-50
Rural Primary
Secondary SU
Minor SU / P
Expressway
WB-50
Arterial
Urban
Collector SU
Local Street SU / P
Source: Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 11/87

6.4 Selection of Intersection Type

The fundamental factor which decides the type of intersection is traffic volume.
Other factors such as class of road, lane configuration should also be taken into
account, especially when the traffic volume falls near the boundary of the
applicable range. Factors other than traffic volume, such as heavy pedestrian
volume, frequent accident occurrence may demand signalisation.

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The controlled priority of an at grade intersection will normally provide adequate

capacity for the traffic flows expected in most intersections. When the predicted
traffic flows exceed the capacity, other types of intersection have to be
introduced. These are:

a) Roundabouts
Roundabouts may be applicable for total traffic volume (sum of all directions)
of up to 6000 vehicles/hour and may if the layout can be freely chosen, be
designed to cater for any distribution of turning traffic. The major
disadvantage of roundabouts is that the speed through the roundabout is
reduced because of the obstruction caused by the central island. Moreover,
they require larger land space and capacity according to the demand of each
approach cannot be reliably assigned. When the traffic is exceeded, they also
tend to “lock up” traffic. As such, roundabouts cater well only for situation
where the approaches have similar level of traffic flow. In general,
roundabouts are not encouraged and should only be provided where there is
problem in power supply to traffic signals.

b) Signal Controlled Intersections

Signal controlled intersections are applicable to very high traffic volume of
8000 vehicles/hour or more provided that the necessary numbers of approach
lanes are present and that there is no interference from other nearby
intersections. Traffic signals require reliable electricity supply for their
operation. Hence, traffic signals are limited only to the developed areas. The
most economic solution may often be the selection of a priority controlled
intersection initially, which is prepared for traffic control and to add in the
traffic signals at a later stage. Signal controlled intersections can handle heavy
traffic with adequate numbers of approach lanes. However, this requires
longer clearance time for vehicles to cross the wide road, leading to less
effectiveness in the handling of traffic.

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c) Grade Separated Intersections (Interchanges)

Interchanges serve very high traffic volume with very little interference to the
through traffic. They must be provided for all full access controlled roads and
should be considered for road with design speed exceeding 90 km/hr. Grade
separation is also recommended if each of the road crossing has four through
lanes or more.

7.0 Geometric Standards

7.1 General
Geometric standards are required to provide an acceptable level of traffic
operations and should be applied to new junctions and where possible, to
junctions being improved upon. It is recognised, however, that site limitations
may sometimes make it impossible to improve existing junctions to the standards
recommended. In such cases, the best possible sight distances and proper traffic
control devices should be provided.

7.2 Horizontal Alignment

The desirable intersection angle between two roads is between 70o and 90o.

7.3 Staggered T Junctions

A four-way intersection has considerably more traffic conflict points than two
three-way junctions and allows higher operating speed on the minor road.
Signalised four-way intersections especially in rural areas should generally be
avoided or eliminated. Two staggered T junctions can take place of one four-way
intersection. However, where large volume or crossing traffic occurs, a four-way
signalised intersection may be better than staggered T junctions.

7.4 Vertical Alignment

It is desirable to avoid substantial grade changes at intersections. At all
intersections where there are GIVE WAY signs, STOP signs or traffic signals, the
gradients of the intersecting roads should be as flat as practicable so that these

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sections can be used as storage space for vehicles stopping at the intersection.
Grades in excess of 3% should be avoided on intersecting highways.

7.5 Sight Distance

The operator of a vehicle approaching an intersection at grade should have an
unobstructed view of the whole intersection and a length of the intersecting road
sufficient to permit control of the vehicle to avoid collision. All intersections must
be either stop or signalled controlled.

7.6 Pavement Tapers

7.6.1 General
Pavement tapers are used at the following places:
a) the ends of acceleration and deceleration lanes provided for left and right turn
manoeuvres.
b) the ends of widened carriageway or dual carriageways to assist the merging
and diverging of through traffic manoeuvres.

7.6.2 Design Principles

The following are the general design principles on pavement tapers:
a) Pavement tapers for diverging movements should provide for a rate of lateral
movement of 0.9 meter per second.
b) For merging movements, they should provide for a rate of lateral movement
of 0.6 meter per second.
c) Care must be exercised in designing diverging tapers to ensure that through
traffic is not led into an auxiliary lane in error.
d) Care must be exercised with the location design of all merging tapers to
ensure that there is sufficient sight distance for the approaching driver to
realise the existence and geometry of the merge.
e) Diverging and merging tapers should be designed to encourage low relative
speed manoeuvres.

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7.6.3 Taper Length

The minimum lengths of pavement taper for diverging and merging movements
can be computed by the formula
V Yd
Td = ×
3.6 0.9
V Ym
Tm = ×
3.6 0.6
where Td = Minimum length of pavement taper for diverging movements (m)
Tm = Minimum length of pavement taper for merging movements (m)
Yd = Lateral deflection of diverging traffic (m)
Ym = Lateral deflection of merging traffic (m)

7.6.4 Auxiliary Lanes

a) Deceleration Lanes
Length of deceleration lanes are as shown in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1: Length of Deceleration Lanes

Design Length of Deceleration Lane (m)
Speed of (including length of taper approach)
Approach where design speed of exit curve (km/h) is
Road
0* 20 30 40 50 60 80
(km/h)
40 45 40 32 - - - -
50 60 54 46 32 - - -
60 80 74 64 50 28 - -
80 120 112 104 94 82 64 -
100 170 162 154 144 132 118 80
Source: Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 11/87

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In urban areas, it is desirable that traffic using the left-turn should flow
continuously, if calculation indicates that a queue would form at the STOP
line, a length of parallel lane long enough for the left-turn should be provided.

b) Acceleration Lanes
In urban areas where the through and left-turn movements are expected to
flow concurrently, there should be an area which enables the two streams of
traffic to merge at a small angle. When the volume of merging traffic is low or
where traffic signals are installed, this may be provided by a merging taper of
length Tm at the exit of the left-turn.

Where the volume of merging traffic is high and signals are not provided, a
driver reaching the exit to the left-turn lane may not find any gap immediately
available in the through traffic stream to permit merging. He/she should
therefore be able to continue on a route parallel to the through traffic until a
merging opportunity occurs or until he/she adjusts his speed to create any
opportunity to merge. Length of acceleration lanes are shown in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2: Length of Acceleration Lanes

Design Length of Acceleration Lane (m)
Speed of (including length of pavement taper)
Road where design speed of exit curve (km/h) is
Being
Entered 0* 20 30 40 50 60 80
(km/h)
40 65 45 35 - - - -
50 95 75 60 40 - - -
60 135 120 100 75 40 - -
80 230 215 200 180 145 100 -
100 330 315 295 275 250 205 100
Source: Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 11/87

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7.7 Island
7.7.1 General
There are two types of islands – pedestrian and traffic.
Pedestrian islands provide refuge for people waiting for public transport or
crossing wide streets. Traffic islands are divisional or channelisation islands.

7.7.2 Traffic Islands

Traffic islands may be defined by pavement markings, kerbs or a combination of
these. Traffic islands are used to:
• Separate opposing streams of traffic.
• Guide traffic away from and past fixed obstructions and other hazardous
points.
• Reduce the area of conflicts and control the angles at which conflicts occur.
• Provide shelter for turning or crossing vehicles.
• Prohibit undesirable or unnecessary traffic movements.
• Control speed.
• Separate through and turning movements as well as define respective
alignments.
• Provide for and protect traffic control devices.

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