13 August 2011

The double crossover diamond

Traffic designers are excited about a new traffic interchange/intersection called the diverging diamond or double crossover diamond interchange.  For a short distance of a major road, it switches the left and right sides, but then switches them back again.  It is advertised as preventing dangerous left turns that cross oncoming traffic.

This weekend one is being implemented in Lexington KY. Check out the plans for it. And here is one from Missouri that has been implemented long enough to be photographed:


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While I don't know how well these really work, they make me wonder how many other daily urban and suburban problems we encounter that deserve create spatial solutions to lesson the conflict.

1 comment:

Kat said...

I live a few minutes from the interchange. It is nearly complete, but is usable now. It's pretty neat and seems like it will help the flow of traffic through the area. It also seems like it will be a traffic calming feature (hopefully!) because of the curves one has to drive. It's pretty fun to drive through! Before, traffic inched along because of two lights that were in close proximity, due to the ramps leading to the New Circle loop. Now, one side of traffic can pass through both lights, allowing traffic to free up on each side. There are also a lot of businesses and offices around this area, and the roadway is a major road that people commute to school, work, and home.