Show us Your Interchanges!

[smf_16 1,835]

Great work on retrofitting Your highway Haljackey

Pioneer: Your parclo's are very neat ^^

 

Anyway I'm still working on my regions highway system. Followed by CLICK this particular interchange I have created a real monster...

Still working on extensions, on and off ramps to developed areas. A lot of work ahead

 

tl;dr

as always: CLICK for full size!

 

 

Well that is quite an impressive interchange you've got there! Seeing this makes me hope that one day there will be elevated smooth curves :-)

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

data7: That's epic!

MandelSoft: All hail the murderer of the grid.

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Ehm... *insert trumpet arrangement here*

[UndercoverNinja12 176]

data7: That's epic! :OMandelSoft: All hail the murderer of the grid. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ehm... *insert trumpet arrangement here*

You should've kept an earthen slope on both sides of the overpass. But beautiful job nonetheless. xD

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

Thanks, Ninja! I felt too lazy adding another earthened ramp on the other end of the overpass.

 

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Just completed this mosaic depicting an unusual trumpet interchange at night in one of my dense CBDs...

 

[Scaley McSlither 1,714]

Testing a new compact interchange that will anchor the CBD...

 

[UndercoverNinja12 176]

Thanks, Ninja! I felt too lazy adding another earthened ramp on the other end of the overpass.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just completed this mosaic depicting an unusual trumpet interchange at night in one of my dense CBDs...

 

 

That reminds me of an interchange near where I live. Are those one-way road tunnels?

[data7 98]

Just completed this mosaic depicting an unusual trumpet interchange at night in one of my dense CBDs...

 

Whoah! True beauty You've made here

 

Mike_Oxlong: In my opinion it would look better if You had use RHW4-to-FA pieces. It would be bigger (1 tile each direction), but more pleasant to look. Also that slopes could be shorter

[Pioneer 140]

Thanks, Ninja! I felt too lazy adding another earthened ramp on the other end of the overpass.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just completed this mosaic depicting an unusual trumpet interchange at night in one of my dense CBDs...

 

What is that twisty building at the top?

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

Testing a new compact interchange that will anchor the CBD...

 

https://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s265/ElPhantasmo69/CompactInterchange_zpscfca693f.jpg

 

I wonder why you never see this in real life.  It saves a lot of space, but I guess it requires two bridges rather than one, and must be more expensive.

[UndercoverNinja12 176]

Maybe because the on/off ramps involve the far left lane, which in America at least, is the high speed lane, so they probably are worried about safety issues with merging. The only issue though is if there's no enough room to get up to speed, which maybe lengthens the ramp and makes it more expensive? Although I'm not a highway engineer, this is just my amateur opinion.

[Moonraker0 192]

@UndercoverNinja12:  In mike_oxlong's image, though, there is plenty of merge space because the onramps form a new lane in each direction, so it's not really a problem in that case.  Not sure why it's not so common, maybe I just haven't looked at enough interchanges.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

Still, left hand exits are not that safe. Especially when a truck needs to exit, they have to get all across the motorway to the fastest lane, holding up traffic. This isn't good for traffic flow or safety...

[Scaley McSlither 1,714]

Still, left hand exits are not that safe. Especially when a truck needs to exit, they have to get all across the motorway to the fastest lane, holding up traffic. This isn't good for traffic flow or safety...

Problem is that in North America the vast majority of truckers could care less and will cut you off without a second thought. I like the law in Germany much better; if there's a faster car coming up behind you, get your @$$ out of the fast lane.

[Lost Realist 762]

 

Still, left hand exits are not that safe. Especially when a truck needs to exit, they have to get all across the motorway to the fastest lane, holding up traffic. This isn't good for traffic flow or safety...

Problem is that in North America the vast majority of truckers could care less and will cut you off without a second thought. I like the law in Germany much better; if there's a faster car coming up behind you, get your @$$ out of the fast lane.

 

 

... which in turn contributes to the fact that left exits are undesirable and more trouble than they're worth. You're pretty much turning the entire lane hierarchy around. I happen to know that there are a few (like two or three I believe) left exits on the german Autobahn actually, but most if not all of them were initially intended to be part of a more complicated interchange that was scrapped.

I've used RHW left exits before as they really are beneficial to the compactness of the interchange, but I'll demand enough signage to warrant a relatively safe and smooth merging.

[ausa07 66]

Still, left hand exits are not that safe. Especially when a truck needs to exit, they have to get all across the motorway to the fastest lane, holding up traffic. This isn't good for traffic flow or safety...

 

There are instances where inside exits can be relatively safe and improve traffic flow granted these conditions are met at a minimum:

 

a) The inside exit only serves a restricted lane (ie carpool/bus lane) and does not allow general purpose lanes to access it (having a buffer zone between the carpool lanes and general purpose lanes is ideal)

b) The inside exit has adequate signage stating it is a restricted exit along with its restrictions

c) The inside exit has adequate signage indicating the ramp speed limit and the presence of any traffic signal or stop sign at its terminus

Inside entrances/exits can significantly improve traffic flow and safety because they allow high occupancy vehicles to enter and exit the motorway's carpool lane(s) without having to cross over the general purpose lanes.

 

EDIT:  I had to think about that for a second considering left hand exits are the outer exits where I live.

Inside exit would be the more encompassing term for both LHD and RHD 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

They could work on local/express freeways?

Alternatively, if EVERY exit was fast lane exit, this could possibly reverse the hierarchy with the outside lanes being the fast lane and the inner being slower lanes.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

True, left hand exits can be beneficial in some cases like with HOV lanes, but in general these solutions should be avoided due to the hierarchy of the lanes and traffic.

I happen to know that there are a few (like two or three I believe) left exits on the german Autobahn actually, but most if not all of them were initially intended to be part of a more complicated interchange that was scrapped.

I photographed the exit sign of one of them:

... which looks to be indeed part of a bigger plan:

https://maps.google.nl/?ll=48.631547,8.91548&spn=0.005864,0.009645&t=h&z=17

In the Netherlands, there are two left hand exits. This one here and this one, so new that it's not on the aerial view yet. The second one is a more temporal solution and it gives more problems.

Best,

Maarten

[Lost Realist 762]

They could work on local/express freeways?

Alternatively, if EVERY exit was fast lane exit, this could possibly reverse the hierarchy with the outside lanes being the fast lane and the inner being slower lanes.

 

Frontage roads are kiiiiinda playing with the inside exits, since you do have to merge to the left to enter the express lanes.

I still don't know about the reversed hierarchy though in a system where the hierarchy is consistent and basic for every stretch of highway. In Germany, for safety reasons it's prohibited to drive faster on the right lanes than on the left, i.e. passing someone on the right (on highways at least), so the inside exits are already a very special case because technically, they're in conflict with the law.

And cool shot MandelSoft Gärtringen is really interesting yet reasonably constructed if you look at it for long enough. I actually might just try my hand at that interchange in the game.

[ausa07 66]

True, left hand exits can be beneficial in some cases like with HOV lanes, but in general these solutions should be avoided due to the hierarchy of the lanes and traffic.

 

Well yes, in general they should be avoided if they are not to only serve a restricted lane.  Inside exits, like you mentioned, would disrupt traffic flow and hierarchy if they were to serve all traffic on the motorway.

 

 

They could work on local/express freeways?

Alternatively, if EVERY exit was fast lane exit, this could possibly reverse the hierarchy with the outside lanes being the fast lane and the inner being slower lanes.

 

On a local/express freeway system?  Sure they could work.  Would they be ideal?  Not always.  Then again you could just as well have a outside entrance/exit servicing the express lanes too.  Though having an inside entrance/exit servicing general purpose traffic on the express lanes would be no different than having an inside entrance/exit servicing general purpose traffic on a typical freeway as it would disrupt the hierarchy in the same way.  I can see a inside entrance/exit being built for a local/express system for the following reasons though:

1) To maximise space or consolidate the ramps to one intersection at their terminus (if a SPUI was not able to be built) however this should not be the preferred option

2) Like I mentioned before if the express lanes had a restricted lane and would like to only give access to the restricted lane

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

 

They could work on local/express freeways?

Alternatively, if EVERY exit was fast lane exit, this could possibly reverse the hierarchy with the outside lanes being the fast lane and the inner being slower lanes.

 

I still don't know about the reversed hierarchy though in a system where the hierarchy is consistent and basic for every stretch of highway. In Germany, for safety reasons it's prohibited to drive faster on the right lanes than on the left, i.e. passing someone on the right (on highways at least), so the inside exits are already a very special case because technically, they're in conflict with the law.

Fair enough, but ignore law and real life for a moment. If a particular highway had every exit like that, traffic would stay like that. Is the speed rule only due to merging traffic (and a need to separate different speed flows, which wouldn't be affected?)

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

[ausa07 66]

 

 

They could work on local/express freeways?

Alternatively, if EVERY exit was fast lane exit, this could possibly reverse the hierarchy with the outside lanes being the fast lane and the inner being slower lanes.

 

I still don't know about the reversed hierarchy though in a system where the hierarchy is consistent and basic for every stretch of highway. In Germany, for safety reasons it's prohibited to drive faster on the right lanes than on the left, i.e. passing someone on the right (on highways at least), so the inside exits are already a very special case because technically, they're in conflict with the law.

Fair enough, but ignore law and real life for a moment. If a particular highway had every exit like that, traffic would stay like that. Is the speed rule only due to merging traffic (and a need to separate different speed flows, which wouldn't be affected?)

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

 

 

Yes, faster traffic is encouraged to drive on the inner lanes due to merging traffic in the outer lanes.  In your hypothetical example, faster traffic would be encouraged to drive in the outer lanes due to merging traffic in the inner lanes.  But in the real world, the general rule of thumb is passing traffic on the inside, general traffic in the centre to outer lanes with the farthest outer lane for entering and exiting traffic.

Also, faster traffic is usually encouraged to drive on the inner lanes since cars that are damaged or broken down (in theory) move to the wider shoulders on the outside edge of the freeway.

 

Though due to the "human factor" traffic doesn't necessarily "stay" where they should.  So people drive fast or change lanes wherever and whenever they please.

 

And as far as the Boulevard Peripherique is concerned, it is the outermost lane that must give way to ramp traffic.  My guess for this would be so that ramp traffic does not spill over onto arterial roads, since this motorway is one of the busiest in Paris.  Also since the outermost lane is generally for cars entering and cars preparing to exit only, giving way to incoming traffic would only be done by those needing to exit the highway, theoretically allowing through traffic to continue on its way for the most part uninterrupted.

[APSMS 1,892]

America is rife with contradictions of this. California usually prevents trucks (18-wheelers) from using left exits except in cases of highway ramps (as opposed to exits) due to strict slow lane laws (for trucks only) and concrete freeways (which I guess have to be designed to handle the excess weight; the outer lanes are thicker and stronger than the inside ones).

 

LA is particularly bad at this, since one will come up only every so often, when you least expect it. Left exits make no sense on the autobahn, given the potential driving speeds there in the leftmost lanes. Are the existing left exits only in speed regulated zones?

[Lost Realist 762]

 

Left exits make no sense on the autobahn, given the potential driving speeds there in the leftmost lanes. Are the existing left exits only in speed regulated zones?

 

Never been to one but I'd presume that speed gets "funelled" to a reasonable level before those things.

[timmie 988]

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

 

Oh no no no, the Périphérique is not a motorway, it doesn't meet the standards to be a motorway at all. I don't think it has a number (in Belgium, ring roads have numbers like R0), but it seems to be classified as a limited-access dual carriageway.

 

Trivia: average speed on the 'BP' is 38 kmph.

[Lost Realist 762]

 

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

 

Trivia: average speed on the 'BP' is 38 kmph.

 

 

That's really slow, I could probably get a notably higher average speed driving through the main roads in my tiny hometown

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

Trivia: average speed on the 'BP' is 38 kmph.

That's really slow, I could probably get a notably higher average speed driving through the main roads in my tiny hometown

Wikipedia says 43. But that's still crazy.

[timmie 988]

 

 

 

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

Trivia: average speed on the 'BP' is 38 kmph.

That's really slow, I could probably get a notably higher average speed driving through the main roads in my tiny hometown

Wikipedia says 43. But that's still crazy.

 

French Wikipedia said 38 Well, it's the substandard ring road of Paris (a city with a metro population of 10 million), with 250.000 vehicles using it every day, so it's no surprise traffic is so slow.

[Scaley McSlither 1,714]

Lol! I never expected to generate such a debate with such a simple setup. Obviously the issues are much more complex due to the unconventional nature of this compact interchange. The main reason I tried this was because the compact diamond I normally build irritates me to no end in real life since there are traffic lights at each side and they're never, ever synchronized. I wanted to come up with something a bit different; small and contributing to fuel efficiency and traffic flow. This particular interchange will not see any transport truck traffic and I conceived it with the idea that it would be restricted traffic in that regard.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Lol! I never expected to generate such a debate with such a simple setup. Obviously the issues are much more complex due to the unconventional nature of this compact interchange. The main reason I tried this was because the compact diamond I normally build irritates me to no end in real life since there are traffic lights at each side and they're never, ever synchronized. I wanted to come up with something a bit different; small and contributing to fuel efficiency and traffic flow. This particular interchange will not see any transport truck traffic and I conceived it with the idea that it would be restricted traffic in that regard.

I think a SPUI might solve that traffic light issue

And Timmie, it's a conspiracy!

[burwellian 16]

 

 

 

 

Also some real world highways have unusual examples. The Boulevard Peripherique in Paris is a motorway, yet motorway traffic must give way to entry traffic.

Trivia: average speed on the 'BP' is 38 kmph.

That's really slow, I could probably get a notably higher average speed driving through the main roads in my tiny hometown

Wikipedia says 43. But that's still crazy.

 

French Wikipedia said 38 Well, it's the substandard ring road of Paris (a city with a metro population of 10 million), with 250.000 vehicles using it every day, so it's no surprise traffic is so slow.

 

 

Substandard ring road? London's equivalent to the BP are the A406 and A205 North & South Circulars. I'll let you look up the A205... Paris's A86 seems to be equivalent to London's M25.

 

And to try and nudge us back on topic, I'm fairly new to RHW so still dabbling and learning. An early attempt at a trumpet for an avenue terminating at a highway.