INTRODUCTION

 Raised areas constructed within the roadway to establish

physical channels through which the vehicular traffic may be
guided.

 Within an intersection area, a median or an outer separation is

considered to be an island.

 Traffic islands include all areas created for separating and

directing vehicular traffic.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF ISLANDS

Based on function ,islands are classified as

 Channelizing Islands

 Divisional Islands

 Pedestrian Loading Islands

 Rotary Islands
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 CHANNELIZING ISLANDS
 For guiding traffic into proper channel at intersection.
 Designed to control and direct traffic movement, usually

turning.

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 CHANNELIZING ISLANDS
 Installed in areas to bring about an orderly flow of traffic.
 Serve as location for other traffic control devices, refuge islands
for pedestrians.
 Channelization is particularly helpful at streets intersecting at
oblique angles, at 3-leg junctions, and at multileg intersections.
 Traffic channelizing islands may be provided for separation
(and special control) of turning movements.
 Size & shape of island depends upon layout and dimensions of
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intersection.
 DIVISIONAL ISLANDS
 Designed to separate opposing flow of traffic streams.
 Eliminate head-on collision.

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 DIVISIONAL ISLANDS
 Divisional islands are used to guide traffic around an
obstruction within the roadway in advance of an intersection
to separate opposing traffic .

 Located to prevent overtaking and passing at hazardous points,

such as sharp curves or narrow underpasses.

 Width of islands should be large to prevent headlight glare.

 It should be high to prevent vehicles from entering into

islands. 6
 DIVISIONAL ISLANDS
 Where divisional islands are continuous, they are called
medians; the more important functions are as follows:

1. Medians provide an insulating area between opposing

streams of moving traffic.
2. Medians provide protection and control of cross and
turning traffic.
3. Medians provide a refuge for pedestrians.

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 PEDESTRIAN LOADING ISLANDS ..
 Pedestrian islands are provided to serve as safety zones for the
aid and protection of persons on foot.
 If a divisional island is located in an urban area where

pedestrians are present, portions of each island can be

considered a refuge island.

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 REFUGE ISLANDS
 Pedestrian islands are provided to serve as safety zones for
the aid and protection of persons on foot.
 Refuge islands are particularly useful at intersections in urban

areas where
 There is a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic
 Where heavy volumes of vehicular traffic make it difficult
and dangerous for pedestrians to cross

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 ROTARY ISLAND
 Large central island of a rotary intersection
 Much larger than the central island of channelized intersection

 Crossing manoeuvre is converted to weaving by providing

sufficient weaving length

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 GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF
ISLAND TYPE
 Traffic characteristics at the intersection

 Cost considerations, and

 Maintenance needs

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 INTERSECTIONS
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 TYPES OF INTERSECTIONS

 INTERSECTION-General area where two or more

highways join or cross
 Intersection Leg- roadway radiating from an intersection

 Two types

Intersection at grade
Grade seperated intersection

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 INTERSECTION AT
GRADE

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 INTERSECTION AT GRADE

 An intersection where all roadways join or cross at the

same level.
 Allowing traffic manoeuvres like merging, crossing, and

weaving
 Classified as:
 UNCHANNELIZED
 CHANNELIZED
 ROTARY INTERSECTIONS

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 FORMS OF INTERSECTIONS ..
 T intersection

 Cross

 Staggered

 Skewed

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 FORMS OF INTERSECTIONS
 Skewed cross
 Skewed staggered

 Wye

 Multiple

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 CHANNELIZATION

 Channelized intersection is achieved by introducing islands

into intersection area thus reducing total conflict area .
 Direction of traffic flow at intersections to definite paths by
means of traffic markings, islands or other means
 Islands helps to channelize turning traffic, control speed and
angle of approach and to decrease conflict area at intersection.

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 PURPOSE
 Separation of conflicts
 Control of angle of conflict

 Control of speed

 Protection of traffic for vehicles leaving or crossing the

main traffic stream

 Protection of pedestrians

 Elimination of excessive intersectional areas

 Blockage of prohibited movements

 Location of traffic control devices

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 FEATURES

 Many different shapes and sizes guided by geometry of

intersection
 Sufficiently large to command attention
 5 m2 or preferably 7 m2 – minimum
 Elongated or divisional islands – Introduced on undivided
highways to alert drivers and regulate traffic through the
intersections should be atleast 1.2 m wide and 3.5 to 6 m long
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 ROTARY INTERSECTIONS OR
ROUND ABOUTS
 Specialised form of at-grade intersection laid out for movement
of traffic in one direction round a central island
 Major conflicts at an intersection - collision between through and

right-turn movements
 Vehicles from converging area are forced to move around central

island in clockwise direction in an orderly manner and weave out

of the rotary into their desired directions.

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ROTARY INTERSECTION

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 ADVANTAGES ..
 Orderly traffic flow
 Traffic proceeds simultaneously and continuously at fairly
uniform, though low speed
 Frequent stopping and starting are avoided
 Weaving movements replace the usual angular crossing of
typical at-grade intersection
 Direct conflict is eliminated, all traffic streams merging off
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leaving at small angles

 ADVANTAGES ..
 Traffic flow is regulated to only one direction of movement,
thus eliminating severe conflicts between crossing
movements.
 All the vehicles entering the rotary are gently forced to

reduce the speed and continue to move at slower speed.

 None of the vehicles need to be stopped, unlike in a

signalized intersection.
 Rotaries are self governing and do not need practically any

control by police or traffic signals.

 Ideally suited for moderate traffic, especially with irregular

geometry, or intersections with more than three or four 25

approaches.
 DISADVANTAGES
 On high speed roads, rotaries require extremely large size
 When provided at close intervals, they make travel

troublesome
 Traffic turning right has to travel a little extra distance

 As the flow increases and reaches the capacity, weaving

generally gives way to a stop and go motion as vehicles force

their way into the rotary, being followed by vehicle waiting in
the queue behind them.
 High traffic and pedestrians makes rotary operation complex.

 When pedestrian traffic is large, a rotary by itself is not

sufficient to control traffic and has to be supplemented by 26

traffic police
TRAFFIC OPERATIONS IN A ROTARY

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ROTARY DESIGN
ELEMENTS
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 DESIGN SPEED

 All the vehicles are required to reduce their speed at a rotary.

 Therefore, the design speed of a rotary will be much lower
than the roads leading to it.
 Although it is possible to design roundabout without much
speed reduction, the geometry may lead to very large size
incurring huge cost of construction.
 Design speed n rural area is 40 kmph and in urban area is 30
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kmph.
 SHAPE OF CENTRAL ISLAND

 Shape depends on number and layout of intersecting roads.

 Various shapes are
 Circular-when two equally important roads cross at right
angles
 Elongated- accommodate four or more intersecting roads
and to allow greater traffic flow.
 Turbine- forces reduction of speeds of vehicles entering
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and speeding up of vehicles going out.
 ENTRY RADIUS

 Radius at the entry depends on various factors like design

speed, super-elevation, and coefficient of friction.
 Entry to the rotary is not straight, but a small curvature is
introduced.
 This will force the driver to reduce the speed (design speed of
rotary)
 Entry radius of about 15-20m for urban area and 20-35m for
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rural design.
 EXIT RADIUS

 Exit radius should be higher than the entry radius and the
radius of the rotary island so that the vehicles will discharge
from the rotary at a higher speed.
 A general practice is to keep the exit radius as 1.5 to 2 times the
entry radius.
 However, if pedestrian movement is higher at the exit approach,
then the exit radius could be set as same as that of the entry
radius. 32
 RADIUS OF CENTRAL ISLAND

 Governed by the design speed, and the radius of the entry

curve.
 Radius of the central island, is slightly higher than that of
entry radius
 Radius of the central island is about 1.33 times that of the
entry curve

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 WIDTH OF THE ROTARY

 Entry width and exit width of the rotary is governed by the

traffic entering and leaving the intersection and the width of the
approaching road.
 Width of the carriageway at entry and exit will be lower than the
width of the carriageway at the approaches to enable reduction
of speed.
 Minimum width at entry & exit should be 5m.
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 WEAVING LENGTH

 Determines how smoothly the traffic can merge and diverge.

 Decided based on many factors such as
 Weaving width,
 Average width of entry
 Traffic.

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 ENTRANCE AND EXIT CURVES

 Vehicles leaving rotary should accelerate the speed. Hence exit

radius should be of large radius.
 Normal pavement width at entrance and exit should be
equivalent to two lanes.
 Extra -widening is provided at both entry and exit curve

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 CHANNELIZING ISLANDS

 Channelizing Islands are provided at both entrance & exit

 Size and shape of islands depends upon radius of rotary and

radius of entry and exit curves

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 SIGHT DISTANCE

 Sight distance in the rotary should be as large as possible.

 Minimum sight distance should be 45 m for design speed of

40kmph and 30m for 30 kmph.

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 GRADE SEPERATED
INTERSECTION
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 GRADE SEPERATED INTERSECTION

 Highest form of intersection treatment

 Causes least delay and hazard to the crossing traffic

 Grade seperation may be either by an overbridge or

under pass

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 OVERPASS
 When major highway is taken above by raising its profile
above general ground by embankment and an over bridge
across another highway.

ADVANTAGES
 Reduce drainage problems
 Aesthetic preference to main traffic
 Less feeling of restriction compared to underpass
 Future construction or expansion of separate bridge structure41
for divided highway is possible.
 OVERPASS

DISADVANTAGES
 In rolling terrain if major road is taken above the vertical
profile also changes.
 Increased grade resistance may cause speed reduction on
heavy vehicles
 Restrictions to sight distance may occur.

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 UNDERPASS

 Highway is taken by depressing it below ground level .

 Choice of an overpass or underpass depends on
topography, vertical alignment, drainage, economy,
aesthetics etc.

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 UNDERPASS

ADVANTAGES
 Provide warning to traffic in advance due to presence of

underpass which can be seen from distance.

 When major highway is taken below ,advantage to turning

traffic because traffic from cross road can accelerate while

descending the ramp to major highway.
 Traffic from major highway can decelerate while ascending the

ramp to cross roads.

 Main advantage , when main highway is along existing grade

without alteration of vertical alignment and cross road is

depressed.
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 UNDERPASS

DISADVANTAGES
 Drainage problems during rainy season when underpass is
depressed upto 5-7m below ground level.
 Necessary to pump water continuously.
 Overhead structure may restrict sight distance
 Feeling of restriction to traffic .

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