Authors: Xianfeng Yang, Gang-Len Chang, Yang Lu, and Saed Rahwanji
Conference: 92th TRB Annual Meeting in 2013
Unconventional Design: CFI
Abstract:
Despite the increasing use of continuous flow intersections (CFI) to contend with the congestion caused by heavy through and left-turn traffic flows, a reliable and convenient tool for the traffic community to identify potential deficiencies for CFI’s geometry design are not available yet. This is due to the unique geometric feature of CFI which comprises one primary intersection and several crossover intersections. The interdependent relation between the traffic delays and queues at a CFI’s five closely-spaced intersections cannot be fully captured with the existing analysis models developed for conventional intersections. In response to such a need, this study presents a comprehensive analysis for the overall CFI delay, identifies the potential queue spillback locations, and develops a planning framework for CFI’s geometry designs. To facilitate the application of our proposed models, this paper also includes a case study of a CFI at intersection MD 4 and MD 235 conducted by Maryland State Highway Administration.
