Road Junction Throughput Testing in Transport Logistics—Slovak Case Study

Abstract

The development of motoring and the ever-increasing traffic load on roads results in congestion and the collapse of traffic in weak places, which, due to their existing construction solution and traffic organization, cannot cover the current and forecasted requirements of carriers. The aim of this article is to present a proposal for a procedure of adjusting the organization of transport, based on our own research and scientific methods of traffic forecasting. The authors work with the hypothesis that there are possibilities of rebuilding weak points in the existing network of overland roads into transport hubs with a higher transport capacity that will cover the requirements of transporters. In this article, the authors emphasize that the basis of the search for an optimal solution to the change in traffic remains the development of calculation methods and consideration of the specific traffic conditions occurring in the given country. Using the example of a case study within the Slovak Republic, we present a proposal for calculation methods based on European standards, which can be used practically without changes in every EU member country. This case study deals with the proposal to transform an uncontrolled four-way intersection into a roundabout. The authors carried out extensive transport research, and on the basis of data analysis, proposed construction and traffic-operational modifications of the existing junction in order to fulfil customer requirements in transport logistics. The proposed solution was verified alternatively with regard to the planned construction of a motorway section near the assessed intersection. When designing the calculation methods, we used our own experimental measurements directly in the area and also included in the calculation methods calculations regarding the capacity of turbo intersections, which are not yet addressed by the technical regulations in the SR environment.