Design of Turbo-Roundabouts Based on the Rules of Vehicle Movement Geometry on Curvilinear Approaches

Abstract

The construction of turbo-roundabouts is an increasingly frequent choice when it comes to improving flow capacity and traffic safety at road intersections. The existing design guidelines, as a rule, give parameters for turbo-roundabouts with approaches set at right angles to each other. The article presents turbo-roundabout design methods, taking into account swept path analyses of the chosen design vehicles when the approach legs are curvilinear and oriented to each other at a non-right angle. Based on the analysis of three different design vehicles, it was proven that their swept paths have a major influence on the geometrical parameters of the roundabout and, consequently, on the land take area, i.e., they can significantly impact the project’s construction costs. In the case of curvilinear approaches, which are oriented to each other at a non-right angle, it is impossible to impose on the designer specific values of the circulatory lane widths and the entry and exit curve radii as they depend primarily on the chosen design vehicle. The aim of the article was to demonstrate that in the case of the curvilinear approach on the Basic type turbo-roundabout, the design process should include the swept path analysis for the chosen design vehicle for each of the approaches. This should lead to the design of wider swept paths and higher curve lane divider entry and exit radii.