A pretty simple fix to make this intersection safer

[@fikatrouvaille3670]

Never thought I'd be fascinated by traffic design but here we are

[@3toplay67]

Wait until you see what NotJustBikes has to say about urban traffic design. It gets way more interesting because there you have to accomodate many modes of transport.

[@ozymandiastheiii9176]

Right here with you 🤝🏿

[@SupraRadz]

Fr 😂

[@xjcrossx]

I love watching KZbin for this reason

[@jp4431]

Same. I didn't think I'd say holy shit that's clever

[@dragonmateX]

The more i look at the first design the more i realise "holy shit thats unsafe"

[@Mirolp7]

THE. CARS. HAVE . TO. ROLL. dont let your mind be corrupted by logic!

[@cloudwatcher608]

Guarantee it’s in the South. I’m from the PNW but have spent a good amount of time in the Carolinas and the road design there flabbergasts me

[@cameronsmall2166]

Look up the meaning to stop cafe in Forrest Hill, Queensland. The interchange right next to it is this, except that the side road runs all the way through. The Warrego Highway has about 10 interchanges like that between Ipswich and Toowoomba

[@timatao2525]

Similar to a Michigan left. Much more safer and no lights required

[@lilydiring4295]

I was gonna say this seems like the perfect use case for a jersey left or a michigan left

[@timatao2525]

@@STUDIOHUSKY1996 Thats why i said its SIMILAR. ....

[@sgt_yeet]

@@STUDIOHUSKY1996 A Michigan left wouldn't work here anyway since it's only a three-way intersection. Also a Michigan left would definitely be safer than the current set up because most cars wouldn't have to cross any traffic, just turn right onto the highway, change lanes, and then make the U-turn. The only difference between the proposed idea and a Michigan left is that a Michigan left is a 4-way intersection, with traffic that has to go across the entire highway, hence the use of a stop light.

[@IM2MERS]

a mini texas turn around

[@yes-hm4gk]

As a michigander, I would consider this a low capacity form of a Michigan left. If you look at the Michigan cities of Wells and Marquette you can see plenty of examples very similar to this with median u turns, and occasionally this exact set up with a left turn straight off the divided highway, and a u turn to get back on it.

[@HardxCorpsxKali]

My town just shut down this exact setup. They completely closed it off after the fatal car crash. It’s so hard to make a left from that side road. You have to wait for so many things to be right. lol

[@eboyce24]

I was thinking that turning right into the left hand lane to try to get to the u-turn would be nervewracking

[@KyVisuals]

​@@eboyce24exactly my thought to. Would be too many people weaving from right to left just to get rear-ended 🙄

[@KyVisuals]

Doesn't seem like this intersection has much traffic so a light will do the trick.

[@eboyce24]

​Looking at it again i think what's missing is a dedicated right hand turn lane from the right and a dedicated right-to-lefthand-u-turn lane much closer to the intersection. That would make it easier for trucks to merge and easier for cars to cross over into a protected left turn/u-turn lane. Basically add 2 lanes for whatever distance to let people get into the lane they need to be in, in addition to the proposal in the video. @@KyVisuals

[@lincolnlog727]

@@eboyce24solid beneficial additions

[@nascarisawesome5018]

I've seen many of these in Brazil, especially in hilly sections where visibility is limited. Definitely a better system than most others, coming from someone who has used it while traveling.

[@bossfire001]

Verdade

[@PerishingForLackOfKnowledge]

In America. The wealthy nation is world history. We can afford the best of best yet most of our country looks third world.

[@YahgohOG]

Sim, eles aparecem muito em avenidas cheias de carros e em algumas BRs

[@rebecasally]

me parece tão óbvio essa solução pq realmente é mto comum no Brasil, apenas dois retornos normais

[@Henry.25]

Yes. I was about to make the same comment lol

[@MacElMasMancoDeTodos]

No civil engineer is safe from this guy finding their lazy works with Google Maps!

[@OceanAce]

I live near an intersection like the dangerous one. When traffic gets too bad, I turn right and u-turn at the next median. I didn't realize just how much safer doing that was until this video.

[@SerunaXI]

It can save a lot of time to turn right and find a place to turn around vs. trying to turn left, even when there's a turn lane area to use as a mid point before joining your intended lane to complete the left turn. One issue of using the turn lane in the middle is that other traffic might need that turn lane to stage leaving the road.

[@ScootyPuffSr7]

I agree 100%. It doesn't always work out but it works out more than it doesn't if you live in an area with a lot of traffic and it significantly reduces your stress levels.

[@WOKEchair]

That's what most people do where I live

[@bbqchicken8681]

That's pretty much how things work where I live. You pretty much can't make a left turn and have to turn around

[@MaticTheProto]

as a German, the unsafe and downright mental US road designs sure are.... something

[@Matt-q9g]

Yeah, some of our road designs here in the US scare me.

[@BlackStormMC]

We have one of those right here in the netherlands

[@sal-the-man]

We built our roads as if they will be added to the interstate system but actually didn’t.

[@cxffaine]

I feel like the main problem is the fact that people don’t want to think this hard to implement better roads, because to them what works = what’s best, and especially in this case, that sort of thinking puts SO many people in danger. Love your content, man!

[@knightwolf3511]

or why waste extra money to change it slightly

[@cxffaine]

@@knightwolf3511 this too, trying to lower cost will almost always have a negative impact on driver safety. if they’re going to use our taxes to pay for these roads, then they better be made carefully, not just as a project to clock in and clock out on.

[@woodhousii2445]

I mean that would make sense if the people building roads were random fn people, but the government petitions and approves the ability to build/plan a road and then the people WITH DEGREES in building and planning roads make a plan which the government either denies or approves. A LOT of thought goes into it on top of the person already having a 4-8 year degree in building roads. The only reason things like these get approved is 1. The city planners degree is outdated, and they don't know what the best practices are 2. The government denies everything besides the cheapest plan 3. Some egotistical city planner doesn't want to accept that his plan is unsafe, or straight stupid

[@cxffaine]

@@woodhousii2445 honestly they kinda are just random fn people anyways. a degree just means they did the proper schooling and that they’re qualified to do the work, but it doesn’t exactly mean that they’re any good at it, lol i agree with what you said though!! not hating, just thought i’d say my own opinion ^^;;

[@woodhousii2445]

@@cxffaine yeah, that's just number 3.

[@modderfox]

You sir just gave me a very damn good idea for Cities Skylines

[@MrMatavelhas]

Europeans: Big Roundabout!

[@jonno336]

I mean its the best solution.

[@daometh]

there's place for it

[@pitecusH]

@@daometh it's also cheaper than building whatever they already built or what the video suggests. It also has the benefit of passively regulating speed, so it's automatically safer for everyone involed. ...but the american mind cannot comprehend it, so it shan't be.

[@daometh]

@@pitecusH true

[@kentagent6343]

A roundabout is absolutely not ideal for a highway, and I say this as a European.

[@emrysm5501]

This is particularly useful for large trucks. We can't make the left turn in two stages like smaller vehicles and would hold up traffic waiting for a large enough gap in both directions.

[@eeriestare48]

North Carolina has these everywhere. Look at US 401 around Rolesville NC is the best example i can think of

[@04LightningFan]

I saw a lot of these traveling on US17 & US29 in North Carolina.

[@eeriestare48]

​@04LightningFan 17 has a ton as well. Especially in brunswick county. I never travel 29 but i wouldn't be surprised

[@theosiris4179]

The Bypass 55 Corridor in Holly Springs also has them

[@robbiehughes3991]

They just added two on 64 in Lexington. I find them very annoying. When you uturn, you're still pulling out across two lanes of high speed traffic. Not to mention the right turner also has to go across 2 lanes of traffic almost immediately. I don't see this as any safer.

[@eeriestare48]

Yeah NC is placing them everywhere.

[@raghudurina2354]

I’m from Michigan, we have Michigan lefts here, pretty much the same thing. And there everywhere, I have a hard time imagining anything else in these types of situations.

[@kamrynsikes]

Only thing I would say is make the road coming from the right turn right with two dedicated lanes with a sign designating, “Left Turn by U-Turn Through Left Lane,” so that people new to the turn know how you’d turn left. Edit: It is nice to see that my idea was so good people are arguing the best way to implement it. Edit: reading isn’t hard, especially at a stop sign. Stay off your phone.

[@caramelldansen2204]

Yankees love their wordy signs... USE SYMBOLISM!!! 😭😭😭

[@JakobHill]

@@caramelldansen2204 I read somewhere that they considered introducing symbolism in the 70s, but too many drivers were confused by what the symbols meant.

[@happily_blue]

​@@caramelldansen2204Please describe the symbol

[@knightwolf3511]

@@JakobHill it's worse when symbols gets changed over the years or they will just slightly modify it every few years, Tesla for example reverted back there symbols even though they where slightly changed

[@geniferteal4178]

​@caramelldansen2204 It's like New Jersey. There's no left. Turns from the left lane. If you want to turn left, you go to the right lane. Turn right and loop around. It's a nice design somewhat similar to this. They call it a jug handle. You never expected if you're new to it. But once you learn it, you don't really need a sign. But I think they do have signage, All turns from right lane. Ultimately it makes perfect sense not to have the left lane of traffic slowing down to turn left

[@eruseayt9244]

have one of these intersections by my house, makes turning left a lot less stressful too

[@TheAurelianProject]

The problem is that you will have to switch over 2 lanes very quickly to get to the left turning left if you want to go left on the highway

[@ThePapaja1996]

Yeah i think that the whould be better whit a spanish curve

[@TheJuanjo234]

​​@@ThePapaja1996 wtf is a Spanish curve? I am from Spain BTW 😂

[@andrewwestcott9172]

thats only a problem if the traffic volumes on the highway are very high. This is for lower volume rurual highways where the cost of an interchange is not justified. The volumes on the higway will be low enough that traffic entering the highway can judge a suitable gap to enter directly into the left lane with time to reach the u-turn deceleration lane. The only added risk is if there was some reason why the highway's through traffic might also want to use the uturn deceleration lane for some reason.

[@TheAurelianProject]

@@andrewwestcott9172 The standard for risk assessment in traffic management are “conflict points.” You can’t really trust people even when there’s low traffic.

[@ack7956]

Bro has NEVER been in a busy city Stuff like that is not that hard at all, just be patient.

[@ianholloway3778]

My UK driving instructor used to call the original design a 'suicide gap'

[@triptheroad]

Need more of these on rural highways with crossings and on stroads

[@Chillin4030]

There is still the issue of having to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get to the u turn lane though

[@goosefraba2385]

Yep, totally unsafe. Firstly you're not making a U-turn to South and back to the East road you came from. You'll end up crossing 2 lanes 3 times. Also, the new design takes away the U-turn ability from South to North. and U-turn from North to South is unsafe because you have to cross the two lanes, and then merge into a fast lane without a merge lane. Keep the old design and 1: Make a merge lane for right hand turns. and U-turns. 2: Install flashers that turn on when there's traffic on/approaching the intersection. (those sensors under the road) 3: I can suggest lower speed limit at the intersection but I know no one's gonna like that lol

[@nelsongranzow1197]

​southbound to northbound has plenty of room for a uturn, just use the left turn lane​@@goosefraba2385

[@kyle333halfevil]

​@@goosefraba2385This appears to be a main route but not a congested route. In a congested route perhaps a roundabout or traffic signals would be better. But the problem with the original setup is not that you are crossing two lanes to merge into a third it's that you have to cross multiple lanes while simultaneously trying to judge distance and speed of vehicles going in opposite directions. The North and South directions aren't the danger part of the intersection, It is the east direction. That being said the U-turn in the proposed plan is for the west bound traffic to still be able to make a left, but now they could do so only having to judge other vehicles from one direction at a time. You could sit and wait in the center median but this backs up traffic from the east direction because any traffic waiting to turn left has to wait for the car in the median to make their turn before proceeding into the median themselves. The congestion is a far bigger factor in accidents then then simply crossing multiple lanes that aren't congested.

[@brandonn6099]

No, you are not crossing two lanes to get to the U-turn lane. You are merging and lane changing. Both of these are safer than crossing lanes. Plus, you only have to deal with traffic from one direction at a time. Much safer.

[@D3nn1s]

​@@goosefraba2385 no it doesnt, it takes away the uturn capability from north to north and you could easily add this by having an opposing u turn further north than the south-south one would be. Also if the interection in the north is properly done you wouldnt even need to enable u turns in the first place.

[@JMNTN]

Only in America you’ll find such fine road design. Literally any other developed country this would either have traffic lights or be a roundabout.

[@nicolasgainous5936]

But this is a highway. A traffic light or roundabout doesn't make sense. It slows traffic down. Watch the vid

[@termitori]

@@nicolasgainous5936 roundabout doesn't make traffic slows down. it is safer

[@SickInk]

These are really only build on rural highways usually outside small towns. Building roundabouts would slow down highway traffic which isn’t ideal especially in vast open rural areas. Look at US61 in Wabasha, MN, for an example of one.

[@termitori]

@@SickInk ... you make no sens

[@htimsid]

@@nicolasgainous5936 If it is a highway then the intersection should be multi-level.

[@danielkarlsson9326]

Every Swedish Airforce pilot: Jesus christ look how long those reserve landingstrips are.

[@karal_the_crazy]

American ones too

[@JXßT3R]

Just drove past this today, I have to be being watched

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

Oh no doubt

[@MikeysPsyche]

When I moved to North Carolina, I noticed a lot of these, except they have traffic lights for the u-turn. It makes navigating the intersections so much easier.

[@melody3741]

In holly springs they build these except don’t add the u turn and specifically block it at the next 3 intersections so you just have to go down a side road and make a turn backing out of some random driveway Cant have traffic at left turns if nobody can go left Genuinely believe they ran a model, saw it reduced traffic, and then built it, not realizing that its better because it destroyed the part of the system causing the problem

[@vikingnusantara]

Streetcraft, please keep making more videos because we all be watching this for cities skylines 2 reference

[@augustotrenta2650]

How is it possible to have such an intersection? This is madness

[@titaniumvideos1039]

They're pretty common on 4 lane bypasses yes they are nerve-wracking but I've used one alot and never even came close to a wreck.

[@patchet315]

We have these ALL OVER in Michigan. Can attest, they are lovely 🤌

[@tenchimuyo69]

Did you just make a roundabout with extra steps?

[@bearcubdaycare]

A roundabout is certainly how this typically would be solved in the UK, where I lived several years. Plenty of these on 60 mph highways all over. With the amount of traffic shown here, they were just fine.

[@williamstrachan]

Nearly, but only one direction of traffic can u-turn on this.

[@t8kabr8km85]

​​@@williamstrachan You arent supposed to turn round on a roundabout... miss your exit?... keep going its round...

[@roaringlegend456]

@tenchimuyo69 rcuts allow cars to travel at faster speeds while providing the same benefits as roundabouts. Roundabouts are used in city like settings while rcuts or jturns are used in highway like settings. Also, rcut's can have roads coming in all four directions and not just one like the video shows

[@B1gRedOutdoor]

compared to a roundabout this is better roundabouts restrict the flow on the main road

[@casper7594]

I feel like this guy has studied European road designs

[@AudiDevv]

A problem with this is that people who want to change over to the other highway have to cut through a lane in such a short time

[@infernodotdash2203]

my city has two of these on the same stretch of highway with different distances between the right turn and the u turn. I also got to test both of them with different kinds of cars. in a slow car the short distance is necessary because you'd require a bigger gap in traffic than the original intersection just to get up to highway speed, but in a Tesla, the farther distance one was much better cause when you get up to highway speed you had more time to make it to the left lane. I think one where there's no distance to the u turn is ideal because then it's just like crossing a one way street.

[@AlexMercadoGo]

U-turns are so underrated

[@greygoose8803]

my partner got in 2 wrecks this month. it's been terrifying and stressful and really made me realize how much the system tries to put the blame on the drivers involved, despite how much influence the roads have on the circumstances of the accident. i hate cars and how this country forces everyone to use them.

[@theominouspigeon]

damn, hope they're ok

[@titaniumvideos1039]

Well it's not just this country that's what they want you to think but do hope you're partner's ok

[@Lego4KilIer]

What also would help is lowering the speed limit around the crossing. In Germany there is usually a limit of 100 km/h on a countryside road. Around these kinds of crossings, speed is limited to 70 km/h.

[@LordMaryland]

The main entrance to my college campus had one of these intersections. It worked rather well.

[@princessjellyfish98]

That art studio downstairs is one of my favorite rooms Simsie's done in a while! The colors are so fun in this house!

[@jakethemoss240]

First time in my life I hear “u turn lane”

[@miwhcyvybaksjd]

After using these in several other countries, I’ve been trying for 10 years or more to seem this idea to friends, family, anyone who will listen. Your illustration and explanation are top notch.

[@blahblahgdp]

Like you said, its not whether or not they can, its if they want money there.

[@higurashikai09]

Your videos are so cool and I love the visuals

[@rightwingsafetysquad9872]

We have a few of these around Cincinnati. But they all have traffic lights too. So it is really just turning a single bad intersection into 3 less bad intersections.

[@montegomadness]

You're talking about bypass 4 in Butler County I'm sure. Stupidest intersections around. When I'm going across to Fairfield or Hamilton, I avoid going across Hamilton-Mason, Tylersville, or Union Center/Semmes just to miss those intersections. I use Rt 129 to the north or Poat Union to the south. So, I guess it does reduce traffic there... but depending on where I'm going it can be a substantial diversion of several miles.

[@YouTubestopsharingmyrealname]

have some of these in my part of NC. they're pretty nice because at any conflict point you only need to check for oncoming in one direction and it's always in your immediate line of sight.

[@PaulAthanasiou]

What CAD program do you use?

[@6z0]

Its just adobe bro. ps, ae, and pr. no cad

[@OleBrouer]

@@6z0 You could (and I want to stress this as I do not actually subscribe to this statement fully) argue that Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. are also CAD programs as CAD simply means ComputerAidedDesign. There's nothing in there saying that it needs to be 3d and the origins of CAD also were only 2d. But that was due to processing power limitations

[@CHMichael]

Or you could build it in city skyline

[@trainzguy2472]

They built one of these at a 4-way in the middle of nowhere Indiana where I used to live, and while it was confusing AF to navigate, it made the intersection so much safer.

[@MATTierial]

I feel like this works in theory... But will only confuse every driver trying to turn left for eternity.

[@elsa_g]

Maybe a sign indicating directions for the upcoming lanes as you merge would be useful. Though of course some people will still be confused 😆

[@P7777-u7r]

What about this then: For 600m through traffic is reduced to 1 lane in each direction. A left lane is for passing and intersections like this are too dangerous to pass in anyway. Then the right lane of the roadbed closest to the side road becomes a dedicated on and off lane and the left lane of the other side becomes the same. Traffic turning left both to and from the side road now only has to cross 1 lane of traffic going in 1 direction and this could even be set up very no brainer with a traffic light hooked up to a detection system that turns red when it's not safe to turn. Bonus this will also reinforce the idea that left lanes are only for passing as they'll disappear whenever it's unsafe to pass. No more sitting in the left lane for 30 minutes because you're turning left anyway.

[@redmanish]

Eh, this is a modified Michigan left and they aren’t confusing at all in practice. Usually there’s signage in front of the turning cars saying that you need to turn right and make a u-turn for leftbound traffic. And once you do it a few times, it becomes second nature.

[@dsarmy1]

We have these where I live and they are confusing if you’ve never seen them. I absolutely hate them.

[@DetrimentalDarlings]

If you’re confused by this, you shouldn’t be driving.

[@wyldhowl2821]

The on and off lanes are also far too short in general. Just the right turn into the highway traffic is way too short, much less the prospect of crossing all the way over to the fast lane and beyond to get to the U-turn lane... and THEN you have to make the u-turn. Imagine that in a moving truck, or pulling a trailer, or in an under-powered car.

[@_UpVector_]

In New Zealand they just put traffic lights and call it a day. Speed must be under 100k/h in most of the country anyways. We are not in a hurry.

[@Secretlyanothername]

NZ has about twice the rate of road deaths of safe countries. (Still about half the US)

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

When we have traffic lights on divided highways (not freeways, which are truly “free” from stops and driveways) there are ideally amber lights about 1/4 mile back which flash when the green light is about to change to yellow and red. A big yellow signs says “be prepared to stop when flashing.” They work great because it takes the guesswork and sudden decision making out of the equation.

[@titaniumvideos1039]

​@@Secretlyanothernameyou also gotta consider that NZ is smaller than most US states so they don't have room for nearly as many of the roads we do.

[@robinbutler7530]

Near where I lived in college put one of these in and now I get why! Nice explanation!

[@yp2bcn]

Still unsafe. You either build a motorway or you don't.

[@caramelldansen2204]

TRUE

[@thechikage1091]

Can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We need every inch we can get on transitioning from car-centric infrastructure we can get. The amount of lobbying money from auto manufacturers that our politicians gets is absolutely nuts. Also, this road may not be in an area that's populous enough to justify the cost of a regular interchange. The current setup is probably *fine-ish* simply because there might not enough volume for a ton of accidents to occur despite the dangerous nature of the intersection. No matter how bad an interchange is, if you're the only one going through it, you're not going to get in an accident unless you off-road.

[@yp2bcn]

​@@thechikage1091 that's no good, that's just bad practice being normalised. This half baked design will lead to RTCs at high speed and deaths.

[@thechikage1091]

@@yp2bcn I didn't deny any of that. But building roads costs literal billions of dollars, and no matter how much you care about human life (don't get me wrong, I do too) there are massive logistical challenges to doing things like that. I'm not sure if you've ever actually discussed projects that require the input of different groups, but moral people like us are at odds with the others in the room also inputting on this who care more about money than safety. No matter how you look at it, we have to take every small win we can get. The enemy is just too large. Don't bite off more than you can chew when it comes to legislating infrastructure. A lack of compromise will get you nowhere and will not enable you to gain more ground in the future. It will, in fact, do the exact opposite.

[@afrophoenix3111]

@yp2bcn Say you've never worked with city councils without saying you've never worked with city councils.

[@mxx720]

The U-turn lane would still need to quickly cut across northbound traffic. My solutions: -New merge lane on northbound right shoulder above intersection, for right turns from side street. -New merge lane in southbound median below intersection, for left turns from side street. -Eliminate northbound left turn lane in median below intersection. Very few people use this. Put a turnaround elsewhere. -Alternating yellow arrow traffic signals for two remaining left turns (side street to new southbound merge lane & existing southbound turn lane to side street), with signs to yield to freeway traffic. This way freeway traffic flows normally, traffic entering the freeway has time to merge, and the two left turns don't conflict.

[@poochyenarulez]

ohhh there is actually a road just outside the city that was converted to a very similar design 3200 US-72 Brownsboro, Alabama google street view has the updated design. Thanks for the explanation to why they made this change! I had been wondering.

[@jaytea23]

My town has almost the same setup and I think they did a good job fixing it. First off, there are no u turns on the main road. There are plenty of side roads and places to turn around so a u turn would be pointless. The side road can make a left turn, but it has a protected lane to turn into with that lane extending long enough to get up to speed and merge with the existing traffic before it ends.

[@JohnGMott]

I worked near a road with tons of these (original) intersections. Whenever I'd turn left, I prepared to sit and wait. I like this guy's design better.

[@VanillaSpooks]

There’s a massive intersection on a highway near me that has caused so many deaths, the local government has refused to build an overpass. It’s a turn right into a town, tens of deaths a year there if I’m not mistaken.

[@vladimirtalijan]

Coming from Europe, I can say that in the US there are not just strange intersections everywhere, but too many people don't know basic traffic rules.

[@beastshawnee]

Well you get to interpret them. In Atlanta-there are Big White and red signs that say - NO- ….and they hover over streets…I’ve never seen that in any state but GA is unique in many ways- like at the DMV - you can go 4 hours early and still not make it thru the line by the time to office closes! When you get in the room to take the test- there are 35 computers set up but they only let 3 people in at a time. Claimed they weren’t broken. And that was after getting past the dragon womens guarding the gate to the door- looking over your paperwork like you were some terrorist trying to sneak in! But the test was so easy! After 8 full Hours I got in, took the test and left as they were sending a long ling line if people who had waited 6 hours away so they could go home and close up! I had timed it very well cuz while I wasn’t the first in line- at least I got in and out and got my new license and only had to listen to this preacher ranting at us outside with his freedom of speech to tell us we were all going to hell- he did have the right to do this but I wasn’t terribly sad when the cops had him go away(which they should not have done!) What fun driving is in the USA! And then they timed the mph on GA 20 at 120 mph on average- 😂 I avoided that road most of the time.

[@n16161]

This is nice, would need good signage. I’ve never encountered something like this but makes sense to me. I like how little construction is involved compared to the full size interchange

[@lorinpierce7704]

Provided traffic volume doesn't back up the u-turn lane into , or across travel lanes to the right turn road. Peak volumes would have to be accurately studied. Acceleration lanes away from side road may be more suited to traffic volumes that have higher ratios of tractor trailer units.

[@atthattime768]

Right-turn + U-turn should be your first instinct when you see a chaotic intersection like this.

[@But-wait-theres-more]

When I had to be the DD for my mom and dad when they went to a country festival the updated intersection you showed was the exact intersection right outside the festival and I thought wow this is so much safer than the usual ones in our area.

[@loganschockelt]

Such a simple and elegant solution

[@cypher1o1]

I mean, it's also faster since you merge instead of cross traffic

[@dasvintage2182]

They did these where I live. Never heard of an accident before, but now it makes some sense lol

[@lawsonlebrun9375]

Super cool design I don’t think I’ve ever seen in practice

[@alexanderhope764]

there are plenty of these on route 404 in maryland. 404 used to be a 2 lane main road and the accident rate was terribly high, then they changed it to 4 lane divided highway and made it much safer

[@bbqchicken8681]

Where I live in egypt, all the big roads have a similar set up (though much simpler and more chaotic becuase driving here is crazy). Basically, there's 2-3 lanes of traffic going in each direction, seperated by a median. Side streets dump directly into this, but dont cross over. There are breaks in the median where you can make u turns. So essentially, you can only take right turns and u turns. Its a cheap setup and works pretty darn well

[@grammar_ash]

There's a highway near me, OH-4 Bypass, that has integrated a lot of these types of interchanges. They work really well, they also have put in traffic lights, but it's pretty efficient and I barely ever get stuck in traffic there

[@danielkapp9468]

I have a doozy of an interchange for you to take a look at. There's a truck stop on one side and I've seen truckers purposely cut off north and southbound traffic (because they don't realize there is a left side on entry lane for that side) forcing speeders doing upwards of 75mph to come to a complete stop. Location of the problem interchange is the George Webb restaurant/Eagle Express truckstop in Peshtigo,WI off I-41. This newer design your recommending does work and I've seen it in action but it had additional traffic lights installed. It does slow down the traffic but it is a much better solution.

[@brucetheshepard5.7x28]

As a Michiganer, Michigan lefts work really well, especially with an inner and outer turn lane as it also adds inherit space for an 18-wheeler to be able to swing around the turn and make it into the second lane. All without allowing space for a car to to try to sneak past the trailer (thus cuasing an accident)

[@OrionTaltos]

We had something like this where they did this change. A huge help for the traffic flow and accidents once folks got used to it

[@martelkapo]

US 1 in southern Rhode Island has loads of these, with a 50mph limit & sparse enough traffic most of the time they work great

[@Gretri17]

Wabasha, Minnesota has these as well. When I first saw this, I was confused. This video clears things up

[@austintehguy]

I drive through one of these every day on the way to work - gas stations are off the road on the right. Works like a charm!

[@timonix2]

We have something very similar to those here. They are among the most dangerous crossings we have. Turns out that people turning left heavily underestimate the speed at which cars are coming at. One of our local ones had a couple of really bad crashes. The solution they came up with was to take the "extra turn radius road", make it longer and add some concrete between it and the main road. Converting the left turn to a cross + onramp.

[@JJ_ExMachina]

A lot of those restricted crossing U-turns are getting implemented in Florida. They are really nice on busy roads.

[@heyits_kat]

I like the U-turn idea. I do a similar thing when I’m at a spot to turn left on W Broad in Richmond VA because you usually HAVE to turn right then make a U-turn, but in some areas you can pull out and make a left if you CAN. But I always turn right and make a U-turn cuz it’s just too much going on

[@deilusi]

any interchange where you dont have to worry about left and right at same time is much better. ONE PROBLEM AT THE TIME PLEASE. ps. make u turn big truck area a bit longer, IMHO, it makes it easier for big & heavy to get the trailers in place. I am talking about oversized ones like windmill blades.

[@Fiery154]

There is a crap intersection at Belle View Blvd and the George Washington Parkway in Alexandria Virginia that has resulted in several fatalities. They “fixed it” but now it’s more dangerous.

[@Pjazerlazer]

Man I was so bewildered when I entered Texas for the first time at 3am. I didn't see one on or off ramp just roads with solid cement dividers in the middle

[@TylerArceneaux1121]

My town, which is Larose, does the same thing back in 2019. They had a change with the intersection on LA-3235.

[@ohcaptainmycaptain9513]

Man you're giving me some good ideas for city skylines

[@booker9816]

There’s one of these on US50 near Holden, MO. I’ll admit it’s confusing if you don’t know what to do when you want to turn left, but really intuitive once you get used to it.

[@ScramJett]

There are so many of these here in California. Usually the older “legacy” highways like state or US highways in rural areas. CA99, US101, the interchange from CA46 to CA 41, just to name a few example. Though I believe Caltrans is updating the latter, but with signals rather than this example. It’s too bad, because most of the traffic is west from 41 to 46 or east from 46 to 41. Not many people would actually need the U-Turn.

[@ordinaryk]

They did this in my hometown after several fatal accidents. It also has an acceleration lane for traffic turning right onto the divided highway, so there's no stopping necessary (though a few idiots haven't figured that out)

[@paulne1514]

So, you expect trucks weighing 80,000 lbs, to be able to accelerate quickly enough after making the right turn, to get up to speed to get in the left lane, then quickly slow down to make the left hand curve, to merge back onto the highway. Would love to see you do that in real life, with real traffic.

[@titaniumvideos1039]

They put an intersection just like this on the southern bypass in my town and I think I've seen a semi try to use it but yeah it's awful for them.

[@tylerfb1]

Introduce a light, except only for traffic crossing the one side of the highway. Cars in the side road can freely turn right, but if they want to turn left, they have to wait for a light. But create a merge lane so that the highway they are turning onto doesn’t have to stop for the light. Traffic turning left from the highway into the side road can freely yield turn most of the time, but get stopped when the side road traffic turning left onto the highway have a green light.

[@goodoldcarburetors5592]

We have something similar in Michigan known as the Michigan left. I know a lot of people are already aware of what it is and are intimidated by it, but they are actually really easy, safe, and efficient

[@MusaMuhammadKhan]

This actually feels worse cuz cars would have to weave as some cars entrring from the right would have to cut across the entire highway to get to the u turn

[@BearInTheWoods931]

I’ve seen one. It worked quite well but seemed wonky at the time. Makes more sense now.

[@mikehunt-zx8tr]

Contractors who work for the city will find any way to cut corners and make it cheaper then say it cost the same amount as the budget allowed for so they can pocket the rest

[@LongPeter]

Turning the wrong way and then doing a u-turn is generally a lot easier than crossing multiple busy lanes. Works well on conventional roads. Not so much on highways where they thought it would be fine to make you drive 15 minutes out of your way for au-turn.

[@simonblackham4987]

The added U-turn has traffic crossing others at highway speed 😳 ... and the left turn from the freeway does the same 😬 The real problem is to remove the left turning traffic a) crossing the freeway leading to T-bones and b) the traffic ponding back on the 'fast' lane leading to highway speed rear enders. Two bridges would solve these problems, turn right from the slow lane over a bridge to turn left into the local road. Turn left from the local road onto a bridge over the highway and onto the highway slow lane. Right turns are done at ground level from the slow lanes with any crossing traffic at local speeds. A cloverleaf type of junction is really only necessary where both roads are to be at highway speeds ... and then you are forced to allocate space for the intersection. In the UK there are junctions where there ia a roundabout with slip roads sandwiched between crossing motorways (A1M/M18) ... the assumption is that some slowing is acceptable when changing motorways. There are also junctions (crossings) where there are two levels of bridges between the motorways to take crossing traffic at speed (M25xM23). There are also some appalling junctions involving traffic lights on roundabouts ... 🙄

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

When we have traffic lights on divided highways (not freeways, which are truly “free” from stops and driveways) there are ideally amber lights about 1/4 mile back which flash when the green light is about to change to yellow and red. A big yellow signs says “be prepared to stop when flashing.” They work great because it takes the guesswork and sudden decision making out of the equation. Speed limit of 50, 55, or 60 and it works well

[@ozboomer_au]

What often happens, though, is the left turn slot/storage is made too short... & it ultimately has to be treated again, making the intersection signal cortrolled (Seagull), probably doubling the cost within ~10 years. It's also largely dependent on vertical geometry... where drivers may not (expect to) see turning traffic close together....

[@gchris1642]

As a truck driver I actually like the second intersection better because I only have to deal with one side at a time

[@Mogen562]

Safety, Rules👍🏽. Great informative video.

[@dr.donkey9254]

Where I live this intersection is everywhere, every time an accidents happens on the highway, it’s nearly always at those intersections especially in the winter or rainy weeks, it’s extremely dangerous.

[@gregjones2847]

They built one just like this near my house and it has helped dramatically in accidents

[@aleksandrnestrato]

Add a covered lane on that right turn, so that drivers coming from the road on the right instead of sticking into the freeway right lane traffic had their acceleration lane with a merge into the freeway traffic.

[@nsuniverseandroute15]

I love how you still considered that it needed to be cost friendly in the end, and didn't just make a "safer" setup that wouldn't be achievable in this situation.

[@themysteriousknight7670]

I have one of those intersections near my work and have almost been in several accidents because people go the wrong way down the left turn rather than go down the road to the u turn