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no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

Millstone posted:

A related video was one about this project
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/169/

That's one hell of an interchange redesign

And they seem to be cheaping out on a EB to NB movement.

There's US 212 about 2 miles to the west that people use for EB to NB movement.

That interchange was redesigned about 10 years ago and it was better, but still sucked. It used to be a diamond w/ lights on 169, then it was a 3/4 cloverleaf (no EB to NB "leaf") with stoplights for the residential areas, which was still bad because the 3 lights stalled traffic a lot. Its finally being designed to be something that: has no stoplights, and gives access to the residential streets.

nm posted:

Example: The merge on I-94 WB from I-35E NB:

I-35W NB

I go through that about one a week, and yes I do cross the double lines on occasion. It's kinda hard to stay on I-94 without going onto I-394 otherwise.

no go on Quiznos fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Aug 15, 2011

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no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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nm posted:

I lived on Hennepin there for years. It is very easy to not get on 394 doing it right, there is plenty of merge space. It really messes up traffic when people merge before the double white as they're moving far too slow. If you ever watch how it is supposed to work, you'll get it. The entire backup in that area is due to people screwing up that merge by merging too early.
For the record, State Patrol's position is you get to change lanes in the tunnel, but no crossing the double white line.

(Yes, that is W though)

Thanks, I'll have to remember that.

Last year they changed the striping after the tunnel a bit, so now I have to merge left 2 lanes to stay on 94.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
Has anybody heard of an Offset Single Point Interchange? It's basically a diamond/SPUI jammed onto one side of the freeway. Minnesota's getting its first, but I've never seen one anywhere else.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Vanagoon posted:

This poo poo must happen an awful lot.

Stop if you want to, maybe, if you feel like it.

(from imgur)

Another one; though this one may have been done on purpose. It still looks weird though.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

FISHMANPET posted:

That looks pretty sweet, where is it going to be? Is that 36 that goes through Roseville and such? What's the cross street?
(Twin Cities resident checking in)

It's MN36 and Rice St.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
A very crude drawing.



Southbound would be a merge/split, but northbound wouldn't be because the traffic is too high for the length of road.

SB has off-ramps on both the left and right for each highway, so no major weaving to off-ramps is necessary.

I-91 NB has 4 lanes; CT 15/US 5 NB has 3; SB merge has 7 (4 from I-91, 3 from CT 15/US 5)

I-91 NB to CT 15/US 5 SB would have to use Brainard/Airport road.

Each freeway to freeway ramp has 2 lanes. Airport road SB on-ramp has 2 lanes.

Some ramps I think could be done better (CT 15/US 5 NB to I-91 NB, Brainard to I-91 NB) and I am worried about the weaving necessary in the merge/split.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
A good part of the city of Duluth, MN is one big hill. Really fun in the wintertime when it gets covered in snow/ice.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Chaos Motor posted:

I-49 signs are up all along US 71 from KC to Harrisonville, at least. If only Rep. Cleaver would stop blocking attempts to remove the traffic signals & replace with over/underpasses, we could have I-49 all the way up, which would mean that we'd have I-49, I-29, I-35, and I-70 all running through KC.

What drives me nuts in KC Metro is that we have a sign on I-35 S for the exit to Metcalf Avenue & US-69 S. Problem is, US-69 S continues along I-35 until it separates at about 87th St, so the sign SHOULD read US-169 S, as it is the continuation of US-169 S where it joins I-35 at Rainbow (or is it Roeland).

drat thing has improperly read US-69 S for more than 15 years, sending countless drivers down loving Metcalf Avenue, adding 45m to their trip (depending on traffic) when they could have just stayed on I-35(/US-69) which links back up to US-169 at 119th St.

gently caress! Just change the sign, guys!

If Google Maps is correct, US 69 does split off at Metcalf Ave… only to rejoin I-35 three miles later. Technically the sign is correct. Though that's bizarre and stupid to have US 69 do that. US 69 should be realigned to be concurrent with I-35 for that three mile stretch.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

Chaos Motor posted:

Well in general despite the stereotypes, "hackers" are only going to bother if there's some way they can turn a profit. I don't see much of a business case or financial incentive for taking the effort to both learn the traffic light system, and then build an exploit. Just what are you going to get from it? A spectacular wreck or two? Same reason Apple was insulated from viruses for years, there just wasn't a user-base enough so that you could exploit for profit.

They could charge to make a certain route have all green lights for a time, for those people who would like to get somewhere faster.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
I just found out they're putting a Diverging Diamond here in the cities. Its even on my route to work. yay? :v: I have a feeling there's going to be some confused people when this thing opens up. So, how do you prevent people driving on the wrong side of the road and crashing into each other? How would the light rail tracks running in the middle affect the intersection? Nothing can cross over when a train's going through the intersection after all.

Intersection now Final Layout

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
The UK seems to do left exits/entrances just fine. :v:

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

Mandalay posted:

Here's a recent example, built in the last twenty odd years (I circled the freeway merge meter, and you can see the actual backlog being caused by freeway-freeway traffic):


If you're talking about ramp meters on freeway-freeway interchanges, Minnesota has a whole bunch of them. It might have something to do with our abundant cloverleafs though.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

Cichlidae posted:

I think the Green Book calls them high-type intersections. They're great for minimizing conflicts and maximizing speed - not always the best combination for safety, which is why we're steadily replacing them with normal signals here.

One of those was just built here (hwys 13/101), but with an overpass. It works alot better than the signal it replaced. (I wonder if it has a special name?)

quote:

Cloverleafs

Eh, you learn and you get used to them, especially if they're used for every freeway-freeway interchange.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Groda posted:

I drive from the NE, turning south, at this intersection pretty regularly, and I always seem to manage to forget how to do it correctly. You're supposed to yield (I think; I've never noticed a yield sign) at the red X, and continue over across heavy, high-speed traffic coming from the SW.

Making a left takes an eternity, and it's always backed up. How would you guys improve it?



Put in an overpass for the EB traffic and signalize the left turns underneath. That was done here (it's still under construction on the map) and it works pretty well.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

Cichlidae posted:

Looks like I'll be designing a diverging diamond interchange or two for Hartford. And to anyone who thinks DDIs are a bold new thing in the US, keep in mind that Rhode Island has been rocking one for decades.

First one in Minnesota. 8 months in and I'm surprised; no wrong way or light rail accidents.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Kakairo posted:

Are there any explanatory signs at these intersections? It seems intuitive to me, but I'm sure plenty of people will be confused the first time they pull up.

Minnesota has been putting in flashing yellows as well. All of the older ones and most of the newer (last 1/2 year) ones have signs. Maybe they're hoping people have it figured out by now.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Golbez posted:

To get from Ikea at the Mall of America to Minneapolis, you must:
* Turn right onto Lindau Lane
* Get into the left lane of Lindau Lane
* This flies over to another lane, where you must now merge right, while the people in that lane are trying to merge into yours.

For the first two bullet points. The right onto Lindau is a double protected right. To get into Lindau's left lane you get into the outside right lane and wait for the green arrow.

Third bullet point: Yeah the merge is pretty short. In its defense the only traffic that uses those ramps is Lindau Ln/Killebrew Dr (The MOA exits) to West 494/North 77. The 494 <---> 77 movements have their own ramps. So there not a lot of traffic using the merge.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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Varance posted:

Let me introduce you to the horrors of South Florida failed developments:

Placidia, FL: https://www.google.com/maps/@26.8559315,-82.2230436,4044m/data=!3m1!1e3

I like how Streetview took pictures of every single empty road. Someone must have had a quota.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMHAc6ziM5A

Can anyone tell me the point of this setup? It seems to do the exact same function as the vertical-doghouse signal it replaced.

no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


Pork Pro

nimper posted:

I think the geometry is such that it will present like a normal roundabout and nobody should get confused (other than your typical Midwesterner roundabout confusion!)



They should've done something like this instead.

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no go on Quiznos
May 16, 2007


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unknown posted:

For autos, plates issued a few years ago are peeling, so you can't even see the numbers any more. No cover needed!

In Minnesota we're required to get new plates every five years to combat that.

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