Graph Paper Cities

[Nego]

Scenario:
A highway(1) ends at another highway(2) and a 2 lane road passes under the interchange, then ends at the highway(1) that ends.

Picture:


The interchange that needs to be designed must be a full interchange for ALL routs and highways, including the 2 lane road (which can be expanded if needed).

Recommendations for a better review [from your peers(anybody)]:
•Realism
•Not too complex
•acceleration/deceleration lanes
•neatness

Good luck! 

[Kevin1a]

Sounds good to me.  I don't know if I'll be able to stay 100% faithful to the plans.  One question on the main interchange is it just the two highways that intersect, or does the road going under it connect there as well?  I hope not, because if that's the case, I'm scrapping the entire interchange and building a huge ring junction!   Drafting has already begun.  Though I just realized a much cooler way to do this.  Perhaps I'll revisit my plans tomorrow.  It just takes 10X longer when I have to break the grid to make something work.

[riiga]

Sounds very good indeed! And I'm wondering the same thing as Kevin1a, is the road under the highway interchange connected to the interchange?

[Nego]

Yes, the road under the highway interchange does connect to the interchange. Sorry, Kevin1a...

[riiga]

I finished my interchange! Result below:


(click for full resolution!)


(click for full resolution!)

The north is the paper's east, as you can see. I decided to go for the roundabout approch, since it's easy, cheap and effective.

[WC_EEND]

Looking good Riiga (and actually quite similar to a motorway exit I pass rather frequently)

[Kevin1a]

My first reaction when faced with connecting 6 roads is to build some kind of ring junction, whether it is a motorway roundabout (as Riiga did), or a peanut roundabout, or a roundabout with several satellite roundabouts (like the magic roundabout in Swindon).  However, seeing as Riiga already took that route, I decided to do something different regardless of whether or not it would operate quite as efficiently.  The image is upside down.  I didn't do the extra credit interchange because it would have been too close to the main one, or I would have had to span two pieces of paper.

I threw in some local streets and two buildings as well.  I suppose the main benefit to this junction is that none of the directions on the expressways have to stop or yield, merely merge.  I'm not sure if all my striping is correct most notably when the N/S highway splits into east and westbound mergers.  I'm not sure if I should have used short fat stripes there or long skinny ones.  For the most part my striping was influenced by Germany and GB.

[riiga]

So, to keep this going, I'll post a challenge this time.

Here's the challenge:


Rules for this challenge:

• The interchange must fit on a single A4 or letter size paper. You may use the computer for drawing.
• Keep the interchange grade-separated as much as possible.
• The motorway can have any number of lanes (up to you).
• The road it intersects with has 2+1 lanes.
• It must be a complete interchange.
• In this challenge, the safest interchange is the best, not the cheapest or coolest.

If you like, you are also free to design the bonus interchange. It's a 2+1 lane road intersecting with a 2+2 lane road. This interchange may have any design of your choice. No other rules apply, except it must be a full interchange as well.

[mightygoose]

this is my first attempt at something like this, so i apologies for the roughness.

[riiga]

Very good for a first attempt! 

Now we just need some more people drawing...

[j-dub]

@riiga: In response to the challenge, if that road just T's there, I think it is obvious that it could be turned into an intersection, and the ramps could connect to the one side.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=35ddwkm&s=7

[travismking]

j-dub, why would the ramp circle the whole way around the roundabout and create a weaving lane, rather than just go straight to the north and connect to the highway there? Its cheaper to build, and would alleviate the weaving lane issue

[Nego]

I have to agree with travismking, that interchange doesn't seem very safe...

Now for my interchange:

[click for full]

[riiga]

Nice interchange Nego! It looks a little bit confusing though, and some of the ramps look a little too tight. Aslo, inside ramps are a hate object of mine, but I know they're more common in the US than here. Overall good. 

If no-one else wants to post their drawing, I'll conclude this challenge and another person is free to post their challenge.

[Andreas]

Yeah, I know, it looks incredibly scribbly, but I did it in less than 15 minutes or so. Involves a bit of weaving, but it should be cost-effective and yet relatively safe.



EDIT: After a closer look, I noticed I missed one relation (left -> top), but that shouldn't be too hard to add..,

[riiga]

Looking good for a rough sketch Andreas! 

[Kevin1a]

Everybody is looking good.  Nego, I particularly like your road markings.  It's also good to see some new participants.  Mightygoose, good job for a first attempt.  Andreas, not bad for a quick sketch.


I started working on something really safe and efficient, and then it turned into a nightmare.  This is an example of a poorly designed interchange.  The parclo style ramp has curves that are way too tight and would requiere warning signs.  The other ramps could use a roundabout to reduce speeds and the severity of collisions.  Some crosswalks would help too.  I'm definitely not happy with the way it turned out.


Here is a new challenge.  I've created a simple intersection (actually 2 intersections in close proximity), and I've drawn colours on them to show where traffic is the worst just like in SC4.  Your job is too catapult the world 20 years into the future, and show how these roads develop into a major route from City North to the CBD.
-At grade, Grade separated, or mixed
-Some kind of pedestrian facilities
-Bonus points for anyone who includes bus facilities (pullouts or dedicated lane)
-After a few days, I will post a satellite image of the real intersection I found and used for this challenge.

You have a lot of flexibility in this challenge, I'm interested to see some diverse designs.

[mightygoose]

is this in a built up area ( thus constricting space for ramps etc) or rural.

[Kevin1a]

Let's assume there are some space restraints, but not to the point where you can't use ramps, just not 0.5km non-directional loops    The real intersection is in a somewhat suburban area several kilometers from the center of a mid-sized American city.

[adroman]

Well, there's some great plans in here...
For something a little different, I'm posting an airport redevelopment plan that was apart of my Aerospace Studies assignment...

Click for the full size!

Don't worry if you can't read my handwriting, either 

I'm watching this thread 
Adrian.