In the course of a Preliminary Design Study for the upgrade of an existing two-lane, two-way highway on the edge of a local mid-size community in Southern Ontario, the ultimate plan evolved into a fully controlled-access highway. Under the proposed scheme, existing intersections with arterial roadways were to be eliminated and all access to and from the facility was to be provided through interchanges. Roads crossing the facility that did not provide access were to be either grade-separated or terminated on either side of the highway. At one such location, the local community asked that consideration be given to providing a full interchange instead of the proposed flyover. In reviewing this request, concerns were raised with respect to the safety and operations of the proposed controlled access facility if an interchange were to be inserted in the requested location because of the close proximity of the adjacent upstream and downstream interchanges. This paper provides an overview of an innovative and practical approach to the explicit evaluation of the likely road safety performance impact of the requested interchange. For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD number E211395.
Abstract