Evaluating the Operational Efficiency of Two Versions of Super Diverging Diamond Interchange Design: A Case Study in Denver, Colorado

Abstract

This paper aims to advance the current research on the new super diverging diamond interchange (super DDI) design by evaluating the operational efficiency using real-world locations. As part of a comprehensive research effort on improving the performance of failing service interchanges in the mountain-plains region, the study identified three interchanges (Interstate 225 and Mississippi Avenue, Interstate 25 and 120th Avenue, and Interstate 25 and Hampden Avenue) at Denver, Colorado as the potential candidates to model for future retrofit. Four interchange designs (i.e., existing CDI [conventional diamond interchange], DDI, super DDI-1, and super DDI-2) were tested in this study. The operational analysis was conducted using VISSIM and Synchro. Several microsimulation models (120 scenarios with 600 runs in total) were created with three peak hours (a.m., noon, and p.m.) for existing (the year 2020) and projected (the year 2030) traffic volumes. The study considered two simulation networks: (1) when no adjacent traffic signal exists, to determine how the four interchange designs would perform if there were no adjacent signals or they were far away from the interchange; and (2) when there are two adjacent traffic signals, to evaluate the performance of the four interchanges in a bigger corridor with signal coordination needed. An important finding is that super DDI designs outperformed DDI with adjacent signals and higher traffic demand, while DDI performed similarly to or sometimes insignificantly better than super DDI if no adjacent intersections were located in the vicinity and if the demand was lower than the DDI’s capacity.