New interchange Design

[morriswalters 16]

Interesting concept don't you think.

dailyreporter.com/blog/2009/12/31/interchange-design-blurs-center-line/

[pepsi38 45]

With the right signage, I think this is pretty sweet. It does not look like it will remove the need for traffic lights but it does eliminate turn lanes at the lights and turning through and across traffic. I have seen more confusing and disorienting interchanges so I feel like people should be able to handle this.

[asd195 1]

you guys are late to the party, this is old stuff, it is actully called a diverging diamond (DDI), read the wiki page they explian why the no turn lights and new light sync is better

[Duke87 1,070]

Ah yes, the Diverging Diamond. Funky stuff.

[morriswalters 16]

Originally posted by: asd195

you guys are late to the party, this is old stuff, it is actully called a diverging diamond (DDI), read the wiki page they explian why the no turn lights and new light sync is betterquote>

This has often been the story of my life.

[mltsandwich 0]

Originally posted by: pepsi38
With the right signage, I think this is pretty sweet. It does not look like it will remove the need for traffic lights but it does eliminate turn lanes at the lights and turning through and across traffic. I have seen more confusing and disorienting interchanges so I feel like people should be able to handle this.quote>

If you check some of the videos, you'll see that the use of blinders makes it so that you can barely tell that you're driving on the left side of the road.  You won't see traffic flowing in the opposite direction to your right.

[SC4 meister 7]

Wow, weird, and awesome, I can think of about 5 dozen places down here where it'd make a world of difference.

[atilla5 6]

This past October I experienced my first ride over this fairly new interchange, while on "vacation" to a sporting event at Missouri State Univesity. At first I didn't even notice what was going on until we were crossing the bridge in the opposite side of normal traffic side inside the charter bus. For a moment I was wondering what the hell was going on when we were going across the bridge. It wasn't until I got to the hotel room, where they were showing off their new interchange in the city's little informational booklet. This is a promising new design that we could see more of in the future.

[newyorkrunaway1 110]

there a few similar interchanges in nashville tn too.... not to this extent however.... there are two that put you on what seems the opposite side of the road to deter speeding and create better traffic flow.... although i constantly see people hesitating and going the wrong direction once its all said and done.... for some reason (and im american) people in america dont seem to understand how to properly drive through interchanges and are very hesitant to change in roadway design.... i wish this were different

[TJ1 22]

I love this interchange

[Xyloxadoria 1,099]

I went to Branson for spring break and went through this interchange on the way there. It was somewhat counfusing, but they do have a wall in the middle so i didn't even notice the traffic on the other side. I was using the ramp to go east bound on the freeway and overall it is much faster than a traditional interchange as it only had one light.

Upon arrving in branson, the hotel i stayed at was on a exit that used a SPUI. On the way back, i had to use the SPUI and comparing the SPUI to the DDI i would have to say i liked the DDI alot more. It was more staightfoward to use, as there was no wide turn like the SPUI has, i found the wide turn and lane markings on the SPUI to be more confusing than the left merge that the DDI had.

Here are google map links to both interchanges

DDI (In Springfield)

SPUI (Near Branson)

[Slashback 136]

I think i'll try this in SimCity...

[ForceInfinity 0]

I think they're working on that right now in the southern Salt Lake Metro area. It does look rather funky. One thing that struck me with the Salt Lake area is that they've gone crazy with the SPUI's interchanges with the surface streets.

[Tarkus 6,931]

Originally posted by ForceInfinity

I think they're working on that right now in the southern Salt Lake Metro area. It does look rather funky. One thing that struck me with the Salt Lake area is that they've gone crazy with the SPUI's interchanges with the surface streets.

quote>

Yes, the Pioneer Crossing project up near American Fork, UT.  That's a big DDI, too, looking over the design specs--4 lanes in each direction.  There's an animation of it and more info and pics here.  The Oregon Department of Transportation is going to be building a DDI in Phoenix, OR (near Medford) in the next couple of years as well along I-5 . . . it's just down the road from the state's second SPUI, which just opened within the past few months.

And for those of you wanting to implement DDIs in SC4, I've made a special DDI puzzle piece based on MODOT's specs of the first DDI in Springfield, MO.  It will be included in the upcoming RealHighway (RHW) Version 4.0 release.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

High 5 for Tarkuks's epic skillz!

[XV infinity VX 18]

check this interchange out.

http://www.xponex.com/images/spui-sawmill.jpg

[SC4 meister 7]

We have one of those not to far from where I live:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Moreno+Valley+Mall,+Moreno+Valley,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.223579,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=Moreno+Valley+Mall,&hnear=Moreno+Valley,+CA&ll=33.931165,-117.288639&spn=0.003173,0.004823&t=k&z=18

Seriously the smoothest interchange I've ever been through. Handles waaaay, more traffic than your normal onramp/offramp deal.

[McDuell 301]

I found an older DDI laying around in my SC folder (which I might have shown before somewhere; I don't remember atm.). This has been done with RHW 3.x.

Hope you like it.

[Tarkus 6,931]

Here's a look at what the RHW Version 4.0 DDI piece looks like.  I had just gotten done T21ing it in this pic:

Essentially, it is modular, and allows connections in/out from the highway and flips the surface street traffic over.  The connections to highway can be provided by RHW-4, while on the surface street end, one end takes in Avenue.  The other end actually is a flipped and split Avenue which you can easily just connect into OWRs.  It is not just for show, either, as the configuration will actually increase the capacity of a conventional diamond interchange. 

Eventually, as the TuLEPs system and the Network Widening Mod (NWM) get expanded, additional DDI pieces to interface with those are planned, such that, perhaps sometime down the line, you'll actually be able to build something quite close to the massive Utah DDI.

ryanb_sc4 has also made some additional signage for the DDI piece based on the MODOT scheme, which will T21ed on as part of a future cosmetic mod.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[tkuelker 2]

I don't get it, why not just have an average intersection with merge points. This is just one on an angle. It's cool looking though, and I'm glad we have it is SC4.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: tkuelker@gmail.com

I don't get it, why not just have an average intersection with merge points. quote>

The DDI design is (in theory) safer and better for traffic flow.

Wikipedia explains in more depth, although there is some technical jargon in there.

[x493x 446]

It's a cool idea, makes it so everybody can merge no matter what. Good idea.