Local / Express Highway

[Matthias King 348]

I'm looking for ideas for how to begin and end a local/express style highway. What I'm mainly looking for is the best way to transition from a standard two-carriageway system into the local/express system, and then back. Anyone have any examples, either in-game or from a real-life highway system?

For those unfamiliar, it's where a highway uses four carriageways, two for each direction, instead of one for each direction. The two outside carriageways connect to on and off-ramps like normal, but the two inside carriageways are essentially uninterrupted to allow express traffic to flow through unimpeded by merging traffic.

Thanks.

[Koesj 659]

In real life there's the ubiquitous examples along Toronto's 401 of course, but closer to home, and in place I've driven myself I might add, I'd consider the A2/A12 around Utrecht as well as the A2 around Eindhoven as prime examples of local/express setups in Europe. There's a number around Madrid as well IIRC, plus in Italy where cities like Bologna have very interesting local highways alongside the through traffic ones. Also, wikipedia has a nice list  

To me, a logical transition point would be either at interchanges around both ends, at a place where there's a Y-merge of two freeways who continue along the same path afterwards, or beginning from a very heavily traveled junction which is very close to the next one (necessitating stuff like braided ramps).

Anyway, I had a ton of L/E setups going on in my first true-to-life city. But, since it doesn't seem to help very much with solving in-game traffic congestion, I've just moved on to super tight braided connectors to local streets. Here's some screenshots of my older stuff which might inspire you. Good luck in your freeway building endeavors! 

 

[Matthias King 348]

Thanks. I might have guessed you'd reply to this topic.

That stack looks like it must have taken a while to build. I don't think I'd even try on that one.

What I have envisioned is for the city I was telling you about. A stretch of probably around four miles of expressway along the main sunken highway that cuts through the center of the largest borough, including the primary downtown/business district and Civic Center. I think there would be a good interchange at both ends, so it might make sense for those to be the transition points at either end.

The interchange to the south connects to a freeway that cuts through the southern part of the borough and also leads to the port area. The interchange to the north connects to a large avenue/highway that runs east/west and spans the river, connecting that borough to the one to its east. In between could be the expressway.

The south interchange is a three-way I have pictured as a fairly standard T interchange. The north interchange is also a three-way, but I'm not sure what it would be. Possibly another T, maybe a trumpet.

Which would be easier to connect with the four carriageways?

I hope that's all clear.

[Sydney Claridge 106]

I don't have any images from Cities: Skylines available at this moment (though I have made express/local highways before), but you might look at jackskellington6's Metro Highlands series on YouTube as he has an express/local setup on one of his highways.  Example 1, Example 2, Example 3.

[Haljackey 17,271]

I've done it too. Just run your 4 highways together but keep a bit of distance for the outer carriageways. This way you can build transfer ramps between them.

 

Hope this helps!

[Propfam 2,286]

On 12/1/2021 at 11:59 AM, Haljackey said:

I've done it too. Just run your 4 highways together but keep a bit of distance for the outer carriageways. This way you can build transfer ramps between them.

 

Hope this helps!

Do you actually play C:S? I thought you "only" played SC4.

[Haljackey 17,271]

3 hours ago, chfzdn said:

Do you actually play C:S? I thought you "only" played SC4.

I have it and play from time to time. I prefer SC4 however.