Operational Impacts of Median Width on Larger Vehicles

Book excerpt: This synthesis report will be of interest to officials and staff of municipal, regional, and statewide transportation agencies responsible for roadway design and traffic control. It will be of special interest to those concerned with intersections and driveways on divided highways where larger vehicles encounter narrow medians. It will also be of interest to other professionals who interact with these agencies to mitigate such problems. This report presents state-of-the-practice information about current median design policies and practices, describes the traffic operational and safety problems encountered in designing for larger vehicles at divided highway intersections, and identifies alternative improvement techniques that can be used in new construction or reconstruction projects to avoid introducing traffic operational and safety problems. This TRB report focuses on 10 alternative cross sections widely used on arterial highways in urban, suburban, and rural environment.