Median U–Turn Intersection Informational Guide
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MEDIAN U-TURN INTERSECTION Informational Guide August 2014 Median U-Turn Informational Guide FOREWORD The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative is designed to identify and deploy innovation aimed at reducing project delivery time, enhancing safety and protecting the environment. In 2012, FHWA chose Intersection & Interchange Geometrics (IIG) to feature as one of the innovative technologies in EDC-2. Specifically, IIG consists of a family of alternative intersection designs that improve intersection safety while also reducing delay, and at lower cost and with fewer impacts than comparable traditional solutions. As part of the effort to mainstream these intersections, FHWA has produced a series of guides to help transportation professionals routinely consider and implement these designs. Concurrent with this Median U-turn (MUT) Informational Guide, FHWA developed and published guides for three other designs: Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT), Displaced Left Turn (DLT), and Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI). These guides represent summaries of the current state of knowledge and practice, and are intended to inform project planning, scoping, design and implementation decisions. An electronic version of this document is available on the Office of Safety website at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/. Additionally, limited quantities of hard copies are available from the Report Center; inquiries may be directed to [email protected] or 814-239-1160. Michael S. Griffith Director Office of Safety Technologies Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. Quality Assurance Statement The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement. Median U-Turn Informational Guide Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-SA-14-069 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Median U-Turn Informational Guide August 2014 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jonathan Reid, Larry Sutherland, Parsons-Brinckerhoff; Brian Ray, Andy Daleiden, Pete Jenior, Julia Knudsen, Kittelson & Associates, Inc. Project 13517 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Kittelson & Associates, Inc. 610 SW Alder Street, Suite 700 11. Contract or Grant No. Portland, OR 97205 TO DTFH61-00023-T-13002 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Technical Report U.S. Department of Transportation Informational Report Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety September 2013 to August 2014 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code FHWA 15. Supplementary Notes Jeffrey Shaw ([email protected]), Office of Safety Technologies (http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/), served as the Technical Manager for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The following FHWA staff contributed as technical working group members, reviewers and/or provided input or feedback to the project at various stages: Joe Bared, Mark Doctor, Brian Fouch, Elizabeth Hilton, Jim McCarthy, George Merritt, Will Stein, Jim Sturrock and Wei Zhang. 16. Abstract This document provides information and guidance on Median U-Turn (MUT) intersections, resulting in designs suitable for a variety of typical conditions commonly found in the United States. To the extent possible, the guide provides information on the wide array of potential users as it relates to the intersection form. This guide provides general information, planning techniques, evaluation procedures for assessing safety and operational performance, design guidelines, and principles to be considered for selecting and designing MUT intersections. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement MUT, Median U-Turn, Indirect Left, Michigan Left, Alternative intersections, No restrictions. Alternative interchanges, Innovative Intersections 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 148 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed pages authorized i Median U-Turn Informational Guide Sl* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO Sl UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 (!' square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME floz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters ml gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft' cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m' yd' cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m' NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m' MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 Ib) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg(or"r') TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) OF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius oc or (F-32)/1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM Sl UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME ml millilrters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L lrters 0.264 gallons gal m' cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft' m' cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd' MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or''f') megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 shorttons(20001b) T TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oc Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit OF ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.1 45 poundforce per square inch lbffln2 ·s 1is the symbol for the International System of U n~s. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply w~ Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003) ii Median U-Turn Informational Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1— INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 OVERVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE INTERSECTIONS AND INTERCHANGES ................... 1 INTERSECTION CONTROL EVALUATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS ......................... 1 ORGANIZATION OF THE GUIDELINES .............................................................................. 2 SCOPE OF THE GUIDE ............................................................................................................ 3 MUT INTERSECTION OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 3 APPLICATION .......................................................................................................................... 7 RESOURCE DOCUMENTS .................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2— POLICY AND PLANNING ........................................................................... 15 PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE INTERSECTIONS AND INTERCHANGES .................................................................................................................... 15 STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH ............................................................................................... 18 POLICY CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................ 21 PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................................................... 21 PLANNING CHALLENGES ................................................................................................... 22 PROJECT PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................... 23 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ................................................................................. 24 SUMMARY OF MUT ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ..................................... 26 CHAPTER 3— MULTIMODAL CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................... 28 DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND APPROACH ............................................................................ 29 PEDESTRIANS ........................................................................................................................ 29 BICYCLISTS ............................................................................................................................ 34 TRANSIT