Abstract

Appropriate access management techniques can improve the safety and efficiency of arterial roads. In order to determine which roads can most benefit by the implementation of access management techniques, a prioritization process was developed to recommend various access management treatments such as limiting access points, installing raised medians, and ensuring adequate signal spacing along corridors. To serve as the basis for the performance index, a database was created including identifying features, characteristics, and crash history for 175 arterial road segments on Utah state routes. Stepwise linear regression was applied to the data collected to determine which characteristics of the roads were correlated with crash rate, crash severity, and specific collision types. Signal spacing, access density, and median type were all determined to be correlated with crash rates and crash severity. Specifically, signals per mile, access density, and two-way left-turn lanes were all positively correlated with crashes. Other characteristics such as adjacent land use and volume were also analyzed. Finally, recommendations for access management treatments were given in the form of a decision tree. The decision tree may be used to classify existing or future road segments into subcategories based on volume, signal spacing, land use, and other criteria, with recommendations provided for each subcategory.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Civil and Environmental Engineering

Rights

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