Sustainable Design of Diverging Diamond Interchange: Development of Warrants for Improving Operational Performance

Meshal Almoshaogeh, Hatem Abou-Senna, Essam Radwan and Husnain Haider
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Meshal Almoshaogeh: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, Buraydah, Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia
Hatem Abou-Senna: Department of Civil Environmental Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816-2450, USA
Essam Radwan: Department of Civil Environmental Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816-2450, USA
Husnain Haider: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, Buraydah, Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: Conventional diamond interchanges are facing ever-growing challenges related to traffic operations and safety risks due to increasing traffic volumes and worsening congestions. The agencies are well aware of the high socioeconomic (e.g., user delay cost, fuel cost, and high accident rates) and environmental losses (traffic emissions due to vehicles queuing) associated with the conventional interchange design. This paper provides insight into the different factors that affect the sustainability performance (operational and safety) of a conventional interchange through its redesign into the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) with the increased left-turn demand. It also assesses the need to redesign an interchange to improve the efficiency. Two interchanges that have DDI designs were selected for investigations, and the required data were collected from the relevant agency. The average delay and the capacity were used as the Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for data analysis. Numerous factors, that affected these MOEs, were used to design an experiment. This experiment included different levels of volumes, geometric designs, and signal plans. The micro-simulation software (VISSIM 8.0) was employed to calibrate and validate the existing conditions through several steps, including signal optimization and driving behavior parameter optimization. The analysis of the results detected the key thresholds of switching from the conventional design to the innovative design under 90 different scenarios. Finally, the sustainability evaluation of DDI and Conventional Design Interchange was conducted based on their operation and safety performance comparison. The results and findings of this research will act as a guideline for decision-makers regarding when they should consider switching from the conventional interchange design to an innovative design.

Keywords: traffic operation; traffic safety; sustainable interchange design; traffic micro-simulation; innovative design; diverging diamond interchange (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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