Evaluation of various control schemes for at-grade intersection by field observation with UAV

Abstract

At-grade intersections in highway network generally hold issues on safety and efficiency when traffic volume on those intersections increase. “Alternative Intersections” that is recently introduced especially in the US is one of the solutions for these issues to increase intersection capacity and to improve safety. It avoids conflicts between left-turn (right-turn in Japan) and oncoming through traffic, then realizes safer and more efficient situations in low cost compared with grade separation. It is important to estimate the capacity accurately when we design at-grade intersections, however, its actual value is not investigated sufficiently. This study evaluated the capacity of major three types of Alternative Intersections (MUT, RCUT and CFI) based on field observations. As a result, even intersections in the same control type showed different performance according to the geometrical characteristics and signal phase pattern. Also, comparison of different control types revealed different applicability of each type in conjunction with the demand conditions.