INDIRECT LEFT TURNS - THE MICHIGAN EXPERIENCE

Left turns at intersections have been a recurring problem, especially at suburban intersections. To simplify conflicts, indirect left/U-turns in advance or beyond intersections have been increasingly utilized. The Michigan Department of Transportation has provided U-turn channels on highways with wide-medians and prohibited all left-turns at signalized intersections for many decades. More recently Oakland County, Michigan has installed "U" turns on some of its arterials. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the Michigan "U". It describes the origin, features and application of the concept, with a focus on the Detroit metropolitan area - including the more recent applications in Oakland County. It presents the reported safety and operational benefits, and community response. It compares capacities and service levels with those for more conventional facilities. The paper also gives a case study of Telegraph Road (US-24), a six-to-eight lane roadway carrying up to 100,000 vehicles per day. It describes the signal coordination, traffic flow, and travel times/speeds as well as safety. It also describes the Livernois Road Experience in Oakland County. Finally, the paper describes the access management implications, and the opportunities for application elsewhere.

• Record URL:
  http://www.teachamerica.com/accessmanagement.info/pdf/AM00PAPR.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Levinson, H S
  • Koepke, F J
  • Geiger, D
  • Allyn, D
  • Palumbo, C
• Conference:
  • Fourth National Access Management Conference
  • Location: Portland, Oregon
  • Date: 2000-8-13 to 2000-8-16
• Publication Date: 2000

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 14p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Access control (Transportation); Benefits; Highways; Intersections; Left turns; Medians; Metropolitan areas; Public opinion; Signalized intersections; Suburbs; Traffic flow; Traffic safety; Traffic signal control systems; Traffic speed; Travel time; U turns
• Uncontrolled Terms: Indirect left turns
• Geographic Terms: Detroit (Michigan); Michigan
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Society; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00935935
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 27 2003 12:00AM