DESIGN OF TRAFFIC FACILITIES

Functions of the junction, traffic lights and interchange

Junctions:

 Connection of Roads: Junctions serve as points where different roads intersect or meet,
providing connectivity between various routes in a transportation network.
 Access to Properties: Junctions allow access to adjacent properties, including residential,
commercial, and industrial areas, ensuring that properties are connected to the road
network.
 Traffic Control: Junctions incorporate traffic control devices such as stop signs, yield
signs, or traffic signals to regulate the movement of vehicles and pedestrians,
minimizing conflicts.
 Facilitation of Turns: Junctions include provisions for turning movements, such as left
turns, right turns, and U-turns, enabling vehicles to change direction and navigate the
road network.
 Pedestrian Crossings: Junctions often feature pedestrian crosswalks, crossings, and
signalized pedestrian phases to facilitate the safe movement of pedestrians across
roadways.
 Integration of Public Transportation: Junctions may serve as transfer points for
different modes of transportation, including buses, trams, and other public transit
services.
 Traffic Management and Signage: Traffic signage and road markings at junctions
provide guidance to drivers, informing them of the rules and regulations governing the
use of the intersection.
 Land Use Integration: Junctions are designed to integrate with surrounding land uses,
accommodating the transportation needs of nearby residential, commercial, and
industrial areas.

Traffic Lights:

 Control of Traffic Flow: Traffic lights regulate the flow of traffic at intersections by
assigning right of way to different movements, reducing conflicts and improving overall
efficiency.
 Phasing: Traffic lights operate in phases, allowing specific movements to proceed while
others are stopped. Phasing includes green, yellow, and red intervals for different
directions.
 Coordination: Traffic lights can be coordinated to create green waves, optimizing signal
timings along a corridor to facilitate the smooth movement of vehicles without
unnecessary stops.
 Pedestrian Safety: Traffic lights include pedestrian signal phases and crosswalks to
ensure the safe movement of pedestrians across intersections.
  Emergency Vehicle Priority: Some traffic signal systems incorporate features that
provide priority to emergency vehicles, allowing them to pass through intersections
more quickly.
 Adaptive Control: Advanced traffic signal systems may use adaptive control algorithms
that adjust signal timings in real-time based on traffic demand, reducing delays and
improving efficiency.
 Intersection Capacity Improvement: By controlling the flow of traffic, traffic lights
contribute to the optimal use of intersection capacity, minimizing congestion and delays.

Interchanges:

 Grade Separation: Interchanges provide grade separation by allowing different traffic

movements to flow over or under each other, reducing the likelihood of conflicts and
improving safety.
 Facilitation of High-Speed Traffic: Interchanges are designed to accommodate high-
speed traffic, allowing vehicles to smoothly transition between different roads, including
highways and major arterials.
 Directional Changes: Interchanges facilitate directional changes by providing ramps
and connections that allow vehicles to transition between different roads and travel in
various directions.
 Merge and Diverge: Interchanges include merge and diverge areas where vehicles
entering or exiting the highway can smoothly integrate with the flow of traffic.

Signalized intersection
Intersections are the cause of a large proportion of traffic delays. Junction improvements
therefore will usually aid the general movement of traffic. They will also reduce the number of
accidents.
The points of conflicts at an intersection can be further reduced by the use of traffic signals.
Traffic is thus separated in time rather than in space. A policeman may control traffic by hand
signal but this is uneconomical in terms of manpower. The control of traffic can best be done by
machine. The world’s first traffic signals were installed in London in 1968.

Before presenting the different methods of signal timing design, it is necessary to define a
number of terms commonly used in the design of signal times.
i) Controller
This is a device in traffic signal installation that changes the colours indicated by the signal
lamps according to a fixed or variable plan.
ii) Cycle (Cycle length)
It is the time in seconds required for one complete colour sequence of signal indication. (i.e. is
the time that elapses from the start of the green indication to the end of the red indication)
iii) Phase/signal phase
This is that part of a cycle allocated to a stream of traffic
iv) Interval/clearance interval
This is any part of the cycle length during which signal indications do not change
v) All-red interval
The display time of a red indication for all approaches. It is sometimes used as a phase
exclusively for pedestrian crossing or to allow vehicles and pedestrians to clear very large
intersection before opposing approaches are given the green indication.
vi) Peak hour factor (PHF)
This is a measure of the variability of demand during the peak hour. It is the ratio of the volume
during the peak hour to the maximum rate of flow during a given time period within the peak
hour. For intersections, the time period used is 15 minutes and the PHF is the given as:

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

Peak Hour Factor =
4 ∗ 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ∗ 15 min 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
vii) Accompanying the peak hour factor is the Design Hourly Volume (DHV) given as:
𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
DHV =
𝑃𝐻𝐹
viii) Lane group
A lane group consists of one or more lanes on an intersection approach.
ix) Critical lane group
This is the lane group that requires the longest green time in a phase
x) Saturation flow rate
This is the flow rate in vehicles/hour that the lane group can carry if it has the green indication
continuously.

Objectives of signal timing

 Maximize Traffic Flow Efficiency:
Signal timing aims to maximize the efficient movement of vehicles through
intersections by minimizing delays, stops, and congestion. This helps improve overall
traffic flow and reduce travel times for motorists.

 Minimize Vehicle Delays:

The primary goal is to minimize delays for vehicles at intersections. This is achieved by
allocating appropriate green time to different phases, considering the volume of traffic
on each approach.

 Provide Adequate Green Time:

Signal timing ensures that each approach to an intersection receives an appropriate
amount of green time to accommodate the demand. Adequate green time is critical for
preventing excessive delays and queue lengths.

 Accommodate Pedestrian Movements:

Signal timing includes phases for pedestrian movements, including "walk" intervals
and adequate crossing times. This helps ensure the safe and efficient movement of
pedestrians through intersections.

 Optimize Coordination:
In coordinated signal systems, the timing of adjacent signals along a corridor is
synchronized to create green waves, allowing platoons of vehicles to move efficiently
through multiple intersections without unnecessary stops.

 Minimize Conflicts:
Signal timing aims to minimize conflicts between different movements at intersections.
Proper sequencing of phases and clearance intervals helps reduce the likelihood of
collisions.

 Consider Transit Priority:

In areas with public transit, signal timing may include features that prioritize buses or
other transit vehicles. This can involve giving extended green time or minimizing red
time to improve transit efficiency.

 Adapt to Traffic Demand:

Signal timing should be adaptable to varying traffic demand throughout the day. This
adaptability can be achieved through the use of traffic-responsive or adaptive signal
control systems that adjust signal timings based on real-time conditions.

 Balance Conflicting Demands:

Traffic signal timing must strike a balance between competing demands, such as
accommodating heavy traffic flows on major roads while ensuring access to side streets
and pedestrian crossings.

 Improve Safety:
Signal timing is designed to enhance safety by minimizing conflicts and providing
sufficient time for pedestrians to cross safely. Well-timed signals contribute to the
overall safety of road users.

 Mitigate Environmental Impact:

Efficient signal timing can contribute to reduced fuel consumption and emissions by
minimizing the time vehicles spend idling at intersections. This supports environmental
sustainability goals.

Signal timing at isolated intersection

An isolated intersection is one in which the signal time is not coordinated with that of any other
intersection and therefore operates independently. The cycle length for an intersection of this
type should be short preferably between 35 – 60 seconds. Several methods have been developed
to determine the optimal cycle length at an intersection and in most cases the yellow interval is
considered as a component of a green time.

The main purpose of the yellow indication after the green is to alert motorists to the fact that the
green light is about to change to red and to allow vehicles along the intersection to cross it.

Cycle lengths of fixed or predetermined signals

The signals at isolated intersections can be pre-timed, semi-actuated or fully-actuated.
 Pre-timed signals: Assign the right of way to different traffic streams in accordance with a
pre-set timing program. Each signal has a pre-set cycle length that remain fixed for a specific
period of time of the day or for the entire day.
 Semi-actuated: (major road – high volumes. Minor roads – low volumes) Minor roads are
allocated minimum green time interval while on major roads it extends indefinitely.
Detectors on minor approaches gets served upon actuation. (and major roadway change
interval after time out)
 Fully actuated signal
Varying traffic demand, not homogenous or predictable. Detectors on all approaches.
Several Design methods have been developed to determine this optimal cycle length, two of
which are:
o Webster method
o Highway capacity method

i) Webster method
Webster has shown that for a wide range of practical conditions minimum intersection delay is
obtained when the cycle length is obtained by the equation.
1.5L + 5
Co =
1−Y
Where: L = total lost time per cycle (sec)
Co = optimal cycle length (sec)
Y = maximum value of the ratios of approach flows to saturation flows for all lanes group
using phase i (i.e. qi/Si) qi = flow on lane groups having the right of way during phase i.
Si = saturation flow on lane group i.
NB: cycle length is usually given in multiples of 5 or 10 seconds.
Saturation flow and lost time

The figure above shows rate of discharge of vehicles at various times during a green phase of a
signal cycle at an intersection.
Initially, some time is lost before the rate of discharge increases to a maximum. This maximum
rate of discharge is the saturation flow
If there are sufficient vehicles in the queue to use the available green time, the maximum rate of
discharge will be sustained until the yellow phase occurs. The rate of discharge will then fall to
zero when the yellow signal changes to red. The number of vehicles that go through the
intersection is represented by the area under the curve. Dividing the number of vehicles that go
through the intersection is represented by the number of vehicles that go through intersection by
the saturation flow will give the effective green time which is less than the sum of the green time
and yellow times. This difference is considered lost time since it is not used by any other phase
for the discharge of vehicles. It is expressed as:
L = 2n + R
Where: L = total lost time per cycle
n = the number of phases
 R = all-red or red-amber time

Y = y1 + y2 (for 2 phases)
Therefore,
𝑞1 𝑞1
y1 = , y2 = ,
𝑠1 𝑠1

Allocation of green time

In general, the total effective green time available per cycle is given by:
Gte = Co – L
Where Co = actual cycle length used (usually obtained by rounding off Co to the nearest 5)
To obtain minimum average delay, the total effective green time should be distributed among the
different phases in proportion to the Y values to obtain the effective green time for each phase
𝑌𝑖
G= (𝐶 − 𝐿)
𝑦1 +𝑦2 +⋯𝑦𝑛

example
the average normal flow of traffic on cross roads A and B during design period are 400 and 250
pcu per hour; the saturation flow values on these roads are estimated as 1250 and 1000 pcu per
hour respectively. The all-red time required for pedestrian crossing is 12 sec. design two phase
traffic signal with pedestrian crossing by Webster method.

Solution
Given:
 normal flow on roads A & B: qa = 400pcu/hr and qb = 250pcu/hr
 Saturation flow, Sa = 1250 and Sb = 1000pcu/hr
 All-red time, R = 12sec
 Number of phase, n = 2
𝑞𝑎 400 𝑞𝑏 250
ya = = = 0.32 yb = = = 0.25
𝑠𝑎 2250 𝑠𝑏 1000

Y = ya + yb
= 0.32+0.25
= 0.57
Total lost time, L = 2n + R
= (2x2) + 12 = 16sec
1.5L + 5
Optimum Cycle time, Co =
1−Y
1.5x16 + 5
= = 67.4 say 67.5sec
1−0.57
𝑌𝑎
Green time, Ga = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿)
𝑌
 0.3
= 0.57 (67.5 − 16) = 29sec

𝑌𝑏
Gb = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿)
𝑌
0.25
= 0.57 (67.5 − 16) = 22.5sec
Provide an all-red time, R for pedestrian crossing = 12 sec
Provide Amber times of 2.0 sec for clearance
Total cycle time, = 29 + 22.5 + 12 + 2 + 2 = 67.5sec

performance and asset management of signal facility

Agencies face the challenge of providing outstanding customer service with limited
resources. Performance measures allow practitioners to assess the effectiveness of a
signalized intersection or corridor. These measures can help agencies more effectively
allocate resources. Travel performance criteria include: stopped delay, travel speed,
arrivals on red, and excessive queuing. Safety performance criteria include crash
frequency, crash types, and severity. Traffic signal maintenance data could be
categorized according to time of day or types of repair. Over time, practitioners and
agencies can refine or adjust these measures.

The practitioner should review this data to assess problem areas to correct. Other
information that may be needed includes comments from the practitioner’s annual
signal timing reviews and annual preventive maintenance program. Examples of
questions that may arise from such a review:

 What intersections require monthly visits to fix?

 What types of repetitive repairs are being conducted over a wide number of
intersections?
 Are phasing (or other) changes necessary to reduce the number of crashes?
Practitioners should create queries that identify problematic intersections. These
queries can also identify global intersection treatments that reduce systematic
problems. For example, an agency could choose to install uninterrupted power
supply (UPS) units for frequent power outages. The following information can be
utilized to monitor performance:
 Detection failures by type of device.
 Outages due to power surges and outages.
 Customer complaints and complements.
 Emergency personnel comments.
 Frequent equipment hits by errant vehicles.
 Damage by weather events.
 Intermittent issues.
 Number of red failures.
Reviews of these measures should involve traffic engineers, technicians, and operations
personnel to create a culture of continuous improvement.