A METHOD OF DETERMINING INTERSECTION TYPES USING ECONOMIC ANALYSIS PRINCIPLES

TO OBTAIN THE GREATEST USE OF HIGHWAY FUNDS, SOME METHOD OF DETERMINING PRIORITIES MUST BE ESTABLISHED. WHILE 'HUNCH' DECISIONS MAY BE DEFENDED ON HISTORICAL GROUNDS, SOME METHOD OF COMPARING ALTERNATE USES OF HIGHWAY DOLLARS SHOULD BE DEVISED. THE MOST LIKELY METHOD IS THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, A METHOD THAT ENSURES THAT INVESTMENTS ARE NO GREATER THAN THE BENEFITS OF THE INVESTMENT. IN HIGHWAY WORK, BENEFITS ARE USUALLY SAVINGS IN VEHICLE OPERATION. THE INVESTMENT (OR COST) IS THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING ADDITIONAL HIGHWAY FACILITIES, SO THAT SOME VEHICLE OPERATION SAVINGS CAN BE MADE. THE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ARE APPLICABLE TO A VARIETY OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERING PROBLEMS SUCH AS LOCATIONS, TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, ACCIDENT REDUCTION, TYPE OF GEOMETRICS AND SURFACE TYPES. THE APPLICATION OF ECONOMIC TOOLS IN INTERSECTION TREATMENTS IS DISCUSSED. THE REFERENCES CONTAIN EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF ECONOMICS IN INTERSECTION CHOICE. SOME HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN USING THE ECONOMIC METHOD FOR SOME TIME. THE MAIN PROBLEM IS OBTAINING A REASONABLY SIMPLE METHOD TO EASE THE CALCULATION TIME. A METHOD WILL BE DEVELOPED WITH THIS OBJECTIVE. WHILE THIS METHOD WILL SHORTEN CALCULATION, ADDITIONAL TIME SAVINGS SHOULD BE POSSIBLE WITH FURTHER REFINEMENTS. /CGRA/