DIRECT EVALUATION OF GEOMETRIC HIGHWAY DESIGN
THIS PAPER IS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EVALUATING GEOMETRIC HIGHWAY DESIGN CONDUCTED BY THE JOINT HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROJECT AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. THE NATURE OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN, AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON THE DRIVER AND TRAFFIC BEHAVIOR, ARE OUTLINED AND IT IS SHOWN HOW DRIVER BEHAVIOR CAN BE USED FOR EVALUATION. "DIRECT EVALUATION" WAS FOUND TO BE A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE METHOD FOR EVALUATING GEOMETRIC HIGHWAY DESIGN FEATURES. AN EXPERIENCED DESIGNER COMPARES ACTUAL TRAFFIC PATTERNS WITH THOSE DESIRED AND EXPECTED BY THE DESIGNER OF THE ROAD. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIRED AND ACTUAL TRAFFIC PATTERNS SERVES AS A VERY VALID BASIS FOR EVALUATION. UNIFORMITY FOR SEVERAL OBSERVERS AND LOCATIONS IS ASSURED THROUGH STANDARD PROCEDURES AND EVALUATION FORMS FOR EACH SITE. THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS METHOD OF EVALUATION IS DEMONSTRATED. DIRECT EVALUATION AND CONVENTIONAL METHODS FOR EVALUATION ARE APPLIED TO A SERIES OF ACCELERATION LANES OF SEVERAL DESIGN PERIODS. THE RESULTS ARE COMPARED FIRST FOR EACH ACCELERATION LANE, SHOWING THE VARIATIONS BETWEEN EVALUATION METHODS; THEN FOR THE DIFFERENT ACCELERATION LANES, DEMONSTRATING THE NEED FOR DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS AND COORDINATING EVALUATION RESULTS WITH ACTUAL CHANGES IN TRAFFIC PATTERNS. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 37, pp 358-368, 6 FIG. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Breuning, S M
- BONE, A J
- Publication Date: 1958
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 6-10, 1958
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 37
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Evaluation; Field studies; Geometric design; Highway design; Traffic flow; Travel patterns
- Uncontrolled Terms: Traffic patterns
- Old TRIS Terms: Field observation
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00203570
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Sep 27 1971 12:00AM