Show us Your Interchanges!

[Simelonius 24]

[Patricius Maximus 236]

yeah.. that not too circual shape was little bit irritating for me too, so i was try some other versions too:

http://img6.imageban...v7mmgtqz/12.jpg

not sure but maybe it looks better that way. i dont like idea of streetlight on top very mutch but probably its more realistic version than previous

Eh, I think you'd be better off to expand the size of the roundabout. This new version is more realistic in appearance, but having the left lanes, which are usually the fast/express track on a freeway, go directly into a traffic light, doesn't strike me as a good idea, even if you can veer right and avoid the traffic lights.

This new interchange is like a left-exit SPUI, and with that in mind you'd be better off constructing a conventional SPUI using the FLEX-SPUI puzzle pieces. It wouldn't take up any more space.

Of course, I don't know your circumstances. In some situations, particularly short expressway routes, unconventional exits and interchanges may be a good thing. I've done it before myself. Could you provide more context?

its kinda edge of my city and i theres allso hill and finished buildingzone.. so, i cant/want make it bigger.

at the very first version of my roadmap there was just a regular roundaboat.

now i was create version with stright middle lanes and lifted intersection in the edge

notably i was unable to find owr to avenue to owr again puzzle piece so i was used owr to road to road to owr and it seems to work that way too,

and without signal lamps.. maybe its good thing.

http://img6.imageban.../msv5buml/1.jpg

pic

http://img6.imageban.../3p1fmzda/2.jpg

some routes over

With the kind of traffic flow you have, all of them turning around like that, I think the interchange in the current configuration is the best that can be done. Nice work.

[zimmie 521]

I was trying to create something somewhat compact and tight for a dense suburban type setting. I think I might have got it a little too 'tight', the lamp posts on top of the signal lights are jutting up through the shoulder lanes on the overpass.

[AIX 270]

@Zimmie: That looks like virtually every freeway/arterial interchange in Vancouver, Washington!

[Patricius Maximus 236]

I'd like to show this madness of an interchange that I had to create in one of my cities. This is what you have to do when you have a SPUI and a Turbine in close proximity and you want to have full access from every angle with no weaving. Below is the turbine end of things...

....and here is the SPUI end of things:

And a zoomed-out view of the entire combined interchange:

It's amazing what we can do with the RHW nowadays. I can't wait for it to have traffic on it, and I greatly anticipate the upcoming RHW Multi-Height system, because there are many points in this stretch (among others) where some taller flyover ramps would have been really handy.

I'd like to draw attention to the incomplete elevated avenue on the left of the last picture. I intend to construct a junction with it and the nearest freeway (the one that's currently a stub). However, any interchange would have weaving issues, so I'm thinking of constructing another parallel branch freeway that will interface with the avenue, and then link up with the main freeway later on to enable full access from all the roads. Below is a diagram of this complex idea:

I'm not sure if I'll do this, but it's something I'm considering, along with a spur route that originates further down the line and connects to the avenue.

[Lach77 2]

Here is something compact Zimmie:

[Haljackey 17,355]

Nice work guys!

New one from me. Simple, but gets the job done.

Click for full size.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Haljackey's Partial Y is simple, but elegant.

As for myself I've decided to go with the spur option for the connection:

And a close-up of the intersection connection:

On a side note, I discovered that for some bizarre reason I never downloaded Version 2.0 of the Network Widening Mod, which is the reason why some of the networks didn't work for me. I downloaded it yesterday and I have finally incorporated the wider networks into my cities, such as this six-lane avenue. These triple-tile surface networks are really something, and there is a huge demand in my region for such heavy-duty surface streets.

[nathanthemayor 1,262]

A new interchange from me: It's similar to one posted by Blue Lightning a whillleee back. Note I did not put accerlation/deaccerlation lanes since this interchange is in a forested area and is far(2 miles in every direction) from the next/previous exit.

[kj3400 178]

Airport Expwy ending its freeway segment at the Clearyville Bypass.

[jaris 5]

Nice work guys!

New one from me. Simple, but gets the job done.

Click for full size.

It's a nice interchange, but might I suggest, that you use the splitter on the right side of the pic the other way round. That way you wouldn't have two s-curves following each other on the south-side.

  Edited August 18, 2012 by jaris  

[Haljackey 17,355]

Good work guys!

Patricius: really surprised you didn't have the latest NWM installed. Wide roads ahoy!

Nathan: good take on the double trumpet!

Kj: what a maze! I would recommend some smooth curves wherever you can fit them.

It's a nice interchange, but might I suggest, that you use the splitter on the right side of the pic the other way round. That way you wouldn't have two s-curves following each other on the south-side.

Actually there areactually no s-curves in that picture. The first is a short FARMIS section, followed by a lane shift included in the RHW-4+MIS to RHW-6C piece. In addition, a mirrored piece would not line up everything correctly and would cause that overpass to be an extra tile to the south, making the junction larger.

---

Tight exit modified to work on a widened highway:

[Zodicus 34]

Hal, you do know you and Maarten are the gods of transportation right? I couldn't say which of you is the better one as you are both insanely skilled. I'll be getting back to putting some cool things up in here soon. Poor pc finally crapped out and forced me to build another one (I7 3930k with EVGA 690 ) Got my last region for my CJ saved going to finish the terraforming this weekend hopefully post the interchanges around the future CBD Monday or Tuesday. I think even you will be impressed on what I've learned

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Hmmm...When I started out we had "kings" and now we have "gods". Not that I'm complaining - some of the stuff we can do now with the RHW is so far beyond what we were able to do even 2 years ago (let alone 5 years ago) that a "promotion" may be justified.

Speaking of that, I have constructed a primary arterial route in a newly-constructed urban area. Intended to be a high-grade avenue or some such it has morphed into a full expressway across much of its length, which is completely in character for my creations. It's designated Route 26, and it is signed as E26 ("Expressway 26") across the bulk of the route (the remainder is A26, an arterial road standard; get the numbering system?). Satellite Boulevard is its name across the entire length, named after the microwave power plant which was the primary landmark on the road when it was first constructed.

Below is a map of the present route:

The biggest interchange along the route, and one of my biggest achievements thus far in functionality, is this cloverstack interchange towards the eastern end:

This interchange was originally a cloverleaf interchange designed to service an arterial road with only a fair amount of traffic, but the huge growth of the urban area to the north meant that this route, the only major access road into the area, was flooded with traffic. I converted the cloverleaf into a cloverstack, with two-lane ramps for the heaviest-trafficked sections. The cloverstack conversion required absolutely no demolition.

For some context the northern spur route feeds traffic into the urban area first by an RHW-6C, then it transforms into an 6-lane avenue, one of the heaviest-duty networks included with the NWM:

To the west is a more typical stretch of E26, featuring my first interchange with a RHW-3, and a single-point urban interchange:

For reference, the California definition of an expressway is used, which is a limited-access roadway that has a mixture of interchanges and at-grade intersections, usually of a quality and speed limit in-between freeways and arterial roads. Route numbers are unique in my region, and denote the same stretch of roadway (e.g. Route 26). The prefix letters designate the class of road the route is on a particular stretch. When an expressway route continues on as an arterial route, it turns from for example E26 into A26. The three letters used to designate major roads in my region are F for freeways, E for expressways, A for arterials or intercity non-freeway highways, and B, C, D, et cetera for lesser routes.

[Haljackey 17,355]

Just built what will be my last Maxis Highway interchange. A half-diamond using the NAM ground highway to raised road piece.

It took a long time to build this mountain road, and it also involved crossing a Maxis highway, so why not try to make an interchange?

Click images for full size.

The mountain road:

The interchange

Zoom out for context

And with that I'll say goodbye to the Maxis Highways. It's 100% RHW for me for the rest of my SC4 career.

  Edited August 19, 2012 by Haljackey  

[Patricius Maximus 236]

And with that I'll say goodbye to the Maxis Highways. It's 100% RHW for me for the rest of my SC4 career.

That's quite a milestone. Even with that, I imagine minor tinkering may still take place with your existing MHWs. I myself haven't reached that point, but now I almost exclusively use the RHW network. I have no qualms about MHWs if they are more useful in a certain situation than the RHW, it's just only very rarely do I have any situations like that . RHW is now so robust it can even be used in dense urban settings. I'm currently constructing a city where the ring road will be purely RHW, and it's comparable to another city I made 4 years ago where the ring road used the avenue network. It could now be completely redone with RHW with negligible gain in the area taken up by the roads.

[Zodicus 34]

Here is my latest. Right now it is hot off the drawing board and 'In Progess' at the present time. Probably going to take me a few days to build it.

Where did you get those walls at Hal? Is that public or a personal creation? Would look awesome in my city

  Edited August 21, 2012 by Zodicus  

[Haljackey 17,355]

Patricius: Actually I haven't built any Maxis highways since 2010, and I think that was the final tweak.

Zodicus: Cool! I've made a couple interchanges similar to that design. Let me dig them up and see if they help:

Click for full size:

Rural example made with RHW 4.0:

Urban example made with RHW 5.0:

They're kinda big, but I was aiming for realism at the expense of the RHW's functionality.

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

That urban one has a ridiculous amount of lights looks good though!

[Zodicus 34]

Pretty much what I was aiming for there Ryan with a couple of extra things. One, W-E highway is at ground level, N-S highway is sunken -15m. Also, each highway has it's own RHW2 in the center for hov lanes. The problem I am having with the interchange is that when I draw the upper section with RHW4 and 2 in the middle (no tile seperation) I get a lot of conflicts when drawing the lower network ( RHW6C - RHW2 no tile seperation and MIS again no seperation) Other than that I think I got it, just got to figure out what order I have to do everything to minimize conflicts.

[Zodicus 34]

I swear this thing is going to drive me insane: Day 1 done. Yep, been at this one for the last 6 hours non stop.

  Edited August 23, 2012 by Zodicus  

[AIX 270]

@Zodicus: I have easily spent 20+ combined hours on a single interchange system. Most of my interchanges between 2+ major motorways almost always involve a surface arterial or two as well. And I must always have smooth curves and no weaving. lol.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

@Zodicus: I have easily spent 20+ combined hours on a single interchange system.

I usually don't spend more than 6 hours on a single interchange, but I'm a rather talented (and fast) RHW user. However, for longer stretches and cities the time can easily run into days.

Most of my interchanges between 2+ major motorways almost always involve a surface arterial or two as well. And I must always have smooth curves and no weaving. lol.

I must always have no weaving as well, though I consider smooth curves to be optional in urban areas. I've been looking at some of my new creations, and I'm sure that from the perspective of some Sims their local freeway network is positively nightmarish. I find great beauty in spaggheti junctions, though, and I adore monster interchanges in real-life, so that's just the roadgeek in me showing itself. All of my freeways are very efficient and weaving is almost never an issue, the only exceptions being cloverleafs between freeways and rural arterials (and the freeways always have C/D roads in that instance). A congested freeway is a rare occurrance, so my minions should consider themselves lucky to have a roadgeek for a mayor .

Recently I've gotten to the point where I'm using RHW for about half of my arterial roads. As a matter of fact my arterials have recently been higher-grade, approaching expressway standards, and less development is directly on the main road. My new system that I'm drifting towards seems to serve the commuters very well, as well as the drivers. They have to come to full stops less than they used to, and aside from making driving better it also saves gasoline. This newer approach also is an approach that appears in some parts of Germany. The road hierarchy in Leipzig provides the best example. The main freeways completely bypass the city, and secondary freeways feed into downtown, gradually becoming arterial roads in the center of the city. If, for example, you get off on the exit to Leipzig on Autobahn 38, you get on Bundesstraße 2, which has free-flowing interchanges of its own for miles before you finally enter downtown. Interstate 65 and 565 in Alabama are an American example of a main freeway bypassing a main city.

It's like another level is added into the hierarchy of roads. From personal experience I can testify as to the superiority of the busy arterial >> secondary freeway/expressway >> main freeway system versus the busy arterial >> main freeway system. I'll show some pictures once that reaches full form in my own cities.

[AIX 270]

@Patricius Maximus: Most of my freeway and interchange designs are based upon what is found in the Pacific Northwest in the United States, specifically Seattle and Portland. I often use the term "Arterial" to mean both surface-level boulevards and expressways (that may or may not have occasional traffic signals). Seattle has many of these "boulevard-expressway hybrids" (for want of a better term). I have pictures through out this thread and in my CJ.

Further, I see myself spending so much time because I am obsessive-compulsive in some occasions. The grades must be smooth, all smooth curves (even in urban settings), complete lane markings and signage, etc.

  Edited August 25, 2012 by AIX  

[Zodicus 34]

Seattle and Portland/Salem are messed up like that I used to live in Southern Oregon and was a western regional trucker before I went all 48 states. Been around the country and seen some really cool and really screwed up interchanges (think St. Louis and Kansas City) The RHW is a real hobby of mine - I just havent gotten fast with it yet lol and most of my designs require p57

[estonianmanAlt 2]

Elevated cloverleaf - hey whats the timeframe on the next RHW???

  Edited August 25, 2012 by estonianmanAlt  

[Haljackey 17,355]

Elevated cloverleaf - hey whats the timeframe on the next RHW???

The next RHW will be available when it's ready. It's already gone through some alpha builds, but additional content still needs to be added and tested.

Your cloverleaf looks nice, but it has considerably bad weaving. Extending the loops a few extra tiles will create more weave room so cars have more space to get on and off the loops.

---

A tight, hillside interchange. Click for full resolution

[Zodicus 34]

Elevated cloverleaf - hey whats the timeframe on the next RHW???

I've been trying to get them to tell me since February

I did hear that September is the NAM's traditional birthday and that they might try to time the release around that. Don't qoute me on that just what I heard.

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

I did hear that September is the NAM's traditional birthday and that they might try to time the release around that.

Think again.

Since I'm directly involved, I can give you this: We're anticipating about 20 alpha builds, and we're (still) at the third right now. In other words, it definitely ain't September.

[Zeck180 18]

I really don't have the patience to do large interwoven exchanges.