Some highway facilities may be designed with the greatest concern to fit into their surrounding environments, but if the details are not carefully thought out, they can still leave the impression of an unappealing roadway.
Solution
The design of all elements of the highway cross section adds greatly to its appearance. Design details include the design and width of the median and traffic barriers and the selection of plant material. All these elements contribute to the theme of the roadway and should be considered as a unit. The best method for achieving a unified look is to work with a multidisciplinary design team from the beginning of the project development process through the last detail of the design.
Details are some of the first elements users of a facility will notice. For example, designers may go through a lot of trouble to preserve vegetation along the roadway because of its importance to the community and its scenic qualities, but if designers use concrete barriers as shields in front of this vegetation, that one element may catch the user’s attention.
Another option that aids designers in the details of cross-section elements is the use of computer-imaging technology. The series of figures on the following page illustrates the application of various combinations of basic design elements to define a number of widening options for a portion of State Highway 23 in Rockville, MN. These options include the use of different median types and widths and incorporate different levels of right-of-way acquisition.
The Minnesota DOT has found the use of such computer-imaging techniques to be particularly useful in illustrating the impact of alternative design concepts on existing facilities for project area residents and businesses. Minnesota DOT has made this approach a standard element in all major project planning and preliminary engineering assignments.
With the increasing need to ensure meaningful and continuous public involvement on all such projects, the use of computer imaging to illustrate design alternatives to communities will help to alleviate potential conflicts and misunderstandings and lead to the best design decisions.
Source: Flexibility in Highway Design pp. 98-99
Published: 1997
