Evaluating traffic operations performance of directional interchange with semi-direct ramp connections with loops

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance of the directional interchange with semi-direct ramp connections with loops (DI-SDRL) in terms of traffic operations under a wide range of traffic demand conditions. Towards this end, the performance of this interchange has been compared with that of a conventional one, i.e., directional with loops interchange (DLI). Thirty different traffic scenarios were developed to test their performance using a state-of-the-art traffic microsimulation tool PTV-VISSIM. The results showed that the DI-SDRL interchange design outperforms the conventional DLI interchange in terms of vehicle hours traveled and mean speed. Nevertheless, the DI-SDRL underperforms the DLI in terms of vehicle kilometres traveled. There was no significant difference in terms of mean delay. At the individual-segment level, the analysis showed that the DI-SDRL interchange outperforms the DLI at diverging segments; in contrast, the DLI interchange outperforms the DI-SDRL at merging segments.