Making the Most of an Existing System through Access Management at Major Arterial Intersections

Abstract

The intersections of major arterials are designed to facilitate the conflicting movements of numerous vehicles in a manner that is both safe and efficient. Accesses located within the functional area of major arterial intersections complicate intersection activity because additional conflicts arise from ingressing and egressing movements at the accesses. This research analyzed the impact of accesses on crashes within the functional area of major arterials. The effects of access spacing within functional areas and access setback from intersections were addressed. The functional areas of 144 signalized major arterial intersections across the state of Utah were examined. A database was developed and contained the frequency, type, and severity of functional area crashes as well as the intersection and roadway characteristics within the functional area. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the influence of accesses on crashes within the functional area of intersections. The statistical analyses showed that the existence of accesses within the functional area was correlated with increased crashes and crash severity costs. In particular, an increase in commercial access density was associated with increases in crash totals, crash rates, and rear-end crashes in intersection functional areas. The analyses also showed that study intersections meeting Utah Department of Transportation corner clearance standards exhibited fewer right-angle crashes and lower crash severity costs. Adherence to such standards improves safety and increases efficiency of the transportation network and thus aids jurisdictions throughout the nation in making the most of the existing infrastructure.

Examining corridor-level crash rates in consideration of access point density and spacing

“…An increase in commercial access density was associated with an increase in total crashes, crash rates, and rear-end crashes within intersection functional areas. Intersections that adhered to Utah DOT corner clearance standards exhibited fewer crashes and lower crash severity costs (Schultz, et al 2010).…”

An examination of the safety of signalized intersections in consideration of nearby access points

“…The majority of these studies used count models when estimating the number of crashes (Vogt & Bared, 1998, Oh, et al, 2004, Xu, et al 2011, Xu, et al 2014 whilst Shultz, et al (2010), used multiple linear regression to predict the crash. There were two types of approaches shown from these studies when analyzing the effect of access points on crashes near intersections: (1) they used a specific distance from the center of intersection and analyzed effect of all crashes on access points within the distance (Vogt & Bared, 1998, Oh, et al 2004, Schultz, et al, 2010, (2) they used the distance between the first access point to the intersection (i.e., corner clearance) and analyzed the number of crashes (Xu, et al 2011, Xu, et al 2014, Le, et al 2018. The two types of intersection controls being analyzed from the previous studies were signalized intersection and stop-controlled intersection.…”

“…The results related to access points on different dependent variables(Schultz, et al 2010) .....................................................................................…”

“…In addition,Schultz et al (2010) used different method from the previous literatures on determining the effects of access points on crashes within the functional area of signalized intersections. Instead of using count models, they used multiple linear regression model to predict the number of crashes occurred within the intersection functional area.…”

“…The results related to access points on different dependent variables(Schultz, et al 2010) Furthermore, Vogt and Bared (1998) examined the safety effect of rural intersections in Minnesota using databases from Highway Safety Information System (HSIS). Two types of intersections were examined in this study; three-and four-legged intersections with stop sign control on minor road.…”