DEVELOPMENT OF AN ECONOMIC WARRANT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANES

AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO DEVELOP AN ECONOMIC WARRANT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANES. TO ACHIEVE THIS, DELAYS AND ACCIDENTS TO THROUGH VEHICLES CAUSED BY RIGHT-TURNING VEHICLES WERE STUDIED AT THREE FIELD SITES WITH RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANES AND AT SEVEN FIELD SITES WITHOUT SUCH DECELERATION LANES. DELAYS WERE STUDIED FOR THE DAYLIGHT-WEEKDAY HOURS, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 6 A.M. TO 6 P.M. IT WAS FOUND THAT DELAYS TO THROUGH VEHICLES CAUSED BY RIGH-TURNING VEHICLES WERE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED AT THE SITES WITH RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANES. ACCIDENTS CONSIDERED PREVENTABLE WITH A RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANE DID NOT OCCUR AT THE THREE SITES WITH SUCH DECELERATION LANES; HOWEVER, A FEW SUCH ACCIDENTS DID OCCUR AT ALMOST EVERY SITE WITHOUT RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANES. A REGRESSION EQUATION WAS DEVELOPED THAT CAN BE USED TO PREDICT THE SECONDS OF DELAY PER HOUR TO THE APPROACH THROUGH TRAFFIC CAUSED BY RIGHT-TURNING VEHICLES. A SIMILAR EQUATION TO PREDICT ACCIDENTS RELIABLY COULD NOT BE DEVELOPED BECAUSE OF DATA LIMITATIONS. THIS RESEARCH PROPOSES THAT AN ECONOMIC WARRANT BE USED FOR DETERMINING WHEN A RIGHT-TURN DECELERATION LANE SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTED. SUCH CONSTRUCTION BECOMES FEASIBLE WHEN THE ANNUAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS RESULTING FROM DECREASED DAYTIME DELAYS ARE EQUAL TO OR EXCEED THE ANNUAL COSTS OF CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING AND MAINTAINING SUCH A LANE. IN MARGINAL SITUATIONS, OTHER BENEFITS SUCH AS REDUCED NIGHT TIME DELAYS AND FEWER ACCIDENTS SHOULD ALSO BE CONSIDERED. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 12, 74 PP, 19 FIG, 16 TAB, 12 REF, 1 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  Purdue University/Indiana Department of Transportation JHRP

  Purdue University, School of Civil Engineering
  West Lafayette, IN  United States  47907-1284
• Authors:
  • Alexander, M H
• Publication Date: 1970-5

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Deceleration lanes; Economic benefits; Regression analysis; Right turn lanes; Traffic delays; Warrants (Traffic control devices)
• Old TRIS Terms: Traffic warrants
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225851
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 3 1970 12:00AM