Highway Interchanges

Definition and design warrants

• Highway interchanges are transport engineering features
which create road junctions at several levels so that traffic
streams do not intersect.
• There are mainly employed to offer the SAFEST and most
effective way to accommodate traffic operations between
two INTERSECTING highways
• There are a more common sight in developed countries
and because their construction is expensive and can be
dangerous to vehicles, people and the environments,
interchanges have criteria which govern theior design an
these must be strictly followed.
 Land Use

• The proposal must address the consistency of the

interchange with local and regional development
plans and transportation system improvements.
• For possible multiple interchange additions, the
proposal must be supported by a comprehensive
highway network study which should address all
proposed and desired access within the context
of a long-term plan. This shows that the design
team is also considering the traffic volume
increases that may occur.
 Accident Reduction

•Interchanges should have good accident

reducing qualities and the design should follow
set guidelines on how to prevent or reduce the
effect of accidents as shown by the example
below. (required in the state of Michigan)
 Traffic Volumes
• The proposal must demonstrate that existing
interchanges and/or local roads and streets
within the corridor cannot satisfactorily
accommodate, nor can the existing network
be feasibly improved to accommodate, the
expected design-year traffic volumes. This is
important because of the costs involved in
construction of an interchange
 Analysis and evaluation of
Alternatives
• For planning and future convenience, the
proposal must demonstrate that all
reasonable alternatives for design options,
locations and transportation system
management type improvements (e.g., ramp
metering, mass transit, HOV facilities) have
been evaluated, provided for, and/or provision
made for future incorporation.
 Choosing the correct type
• Some criteria have to be met to make sure you’ll chose the
right type of intersection. This requires, above most
things, to have an appreciation of the external
environment and how it will develop/grow over the course
of time.
• It also needs an appreciation of the fact that the
interchange is part of network of other roads, therefore,
any adverse effect will translate to other parts of the
network.
• All things that require this appreciation are stated overleaf.
 Interchange Type Selection
General Evaluation
• 1. compatibility with the surrounding highway system
• 2. route continuity
• 3. level of service for each interchange element (e.g., freeway/ramp junction,
ramp proper) i.e. the congestion or lack thereof
• 4. operational characteristics (e.g., single versus double exits, weaving, signing)
• 5. road user impacts (e.g., travel distance and time, safety, convenience, comfort)
• 6. driver expectancy
• 7. geometric design
• 8. construction and maintenance costs
• 9. potential for stage construction
• 10. right-of-way impacts and availability
• 11. environmental impacts
• 12. potential growth of surrounding area.
 Types

• The common types of interchanges are listed

below;
 Cloverleaf – Full and partial
 Diamond
 Four Level Stack
 Directional and semi-directional
 Diamond
• General principle Advantages
• One of the most common models of •It is low cost as it
interchange and the one from which uses less land and it is
most models are derived. simple to design
• Involves the connection of a road to a • it is more convenient
motorway and is the most basic way for simple upgrades
to do this.
• Uses little land and although it has
numerous variations, in principle, it Disadvantages
involves one bridge with traffic over •Low capacity
the top and 4 slip roads. This applies •Hard to substantially
for example, to connecting old upgrade, to for example,
highways to crossing roads. a round
• Usually, they are found connecting
motorways to minor crossing roads
Basic Principle of Diamond Interchange
 Cloverleaf
General Principle
Advantages
•The classic cloverleaf, when •Free flowing
viewed from above, looks like •Doesn’t require traffic
it has the 4 leafs of a clover. signals
•It provides non-stop access
between two roads, weaving
but it does not cross at grade. Disadvantages
•The term at-grade means two •Weaving, which is the
or more transport axes cross at phenomenon whereby
the same level. This traffic enters and exists at
characteristic makes the
cloverleaf interchange the same lane, is the
imperative at highways. biggest problem.
•Having been initially •It may be difficult to
developed in the 1930s, it has design
been modified to get many
variations which relate to the
traffic problems at that
intersection. An example is
one which has ramps adjacent
roads joined into a two-way
road.
A clover-leaf interchange in Saudi Arabia
 Four Level Stack
• One of the most complex designs and the interchange type
that takes up the most flow and the highest rising, with four
levels (four levels of traffic crossing at the central point)
• Because of the complexity of the design and the costs, it is
rare. In the entire United Kingdom for example, there are
only 3 of these.
• The four right-turn slip-roads that cross in the centre form a
cross shape
• They are used at high-traffic density intersections where all
the roads are busy in both directions. They require a certain
geography for construction because of the loads involved.