Chapter 26: Junction Design

The purpose of road junctions is to transfer road users from one traffic stream to another safely and efficiently. Despite this appearing to be a simple statement, junction design is complex. A junction is a component of a road network. It is not unusual for junctions to be the major source of delay and conflict within a network (Institution of Highways and Transportation, 1997). Conflict between road users at junctions can lead to accidents and is detrimental. Delay is also seen as detrimental as it leads to network inefficiency and driver frustration. Therefore junctions should be designed as an integral part of the network. This will affect the location, configuration, and detailed design of junctions.