Favorite Interchange Type?

[Plutonic Panda]

What is your favorite type of road interchange or intersection? It can be anything but it does need to exist though it doesn't necessarily have to be more functional than another, just something you have a preference for. If you pick one based on efficiency, then disclose it.

Mine would have to be an Oval Rotary because I think they look badass. I don't have a specific location in mind. I also like elevated traffic circles because they look cool.

[pumpkineater2]

I generally like anything that looks symmetrical, whether it be a cloverleaf, a stack or anything in between. I really like trumpet interchanges too for some reason. I find them to be very visually satisfying.

From a functional/driver's perspective, I prefer a modern stack interchange, simply because they allow for high speeds and are easy to navigate, and probably because that's pretty much all we have around here; its what I'm used to.

[RG407]

I like turbine interchanges, such as I-4 and I-75 near Tampa and I-295 and Butler Blvd in Jacksonville.  Very symmetric and no weaving.  Granted the left turn movements are long, but that's part of the appeal to me for some reason.

[7/8]

For freeway and arterial road interchanges, I like SPUI's. They look so cool with how big the required intersection is, though I was talking to my aunt and uncle-in-law this weekend and they said how it can be intimidating since it can be hard to see where you're going on left turns. But I think this is simply due to how uncommon they are in Ontario.

It's hard to beat the stack interchanges for freeway to freeway connections. I'd like to see one of the five-level stacks in Texas one day

[jakeroot]

Partial cloverleaf B4 if between freeway and arterial (more green time for arterial) (B4 style has freeway exit using loop, rather than entrance):

SPUI if land is limited.



I-5 @ South 38 Street, Tacoma, WA



Between two freeways, stacked parclos...in keeping with the idea that there's always two dominant movements through a junction, this type of interchange is lower in cost compared to a stack, is not as unsightly, and there's no weaving ... also very compact:



I-880 @ CA-92, Hayward, CA

[sparker]

For rural freeway-to-freeway interchanges, I tend to prefer a full cloverleaf configuration -- if & only if CD lanes are deployed for each route.  Urban -- I've come to like turbine-types; stacks generally require too much adjacent property acquisition. 

Rural freeway to arterial:  wide-spaced diamond that can be reconfigured as a parclo/cloverleaf if future development demands.
Urban: prefer SPUI; with DDI as viable alternative for heavily-trafficked crossing roads.

Generally, I'd just be happy if planners would not paint themselves -- and the driving public -- into a corner with designs difficult if not impossible to upgrade in the future. 

[Plutonic Panda]

I really like the I-880/CA 82 interchange.

I too enjoy five stack interchanges. What is the reasoning behind choosing a turbine interchange over a stack? Is a turbine cheaper to construct?

[mariethefoxy]

I like the CT 15/ I-91/ I-691 interchange. Its interesting looking.

I also like the I-84/I-291/I-384 megachange,

[coatimundi]

I really like the I-880/CA 82 interchange.

I too enjoy five stack interchanges. What is the reasoning behind choosing a turbine interchange over a stack? Is a turbine cheaper to construct?

Turbine doesn't require the extra levels of the ramps going over each other.
I've never quite understood why California was so keen on parclos, even in far-flung suburban areas, like on 99 south of Bakersfield and 101 in Gilroy. But they always seem to have the loop for the entrance ramp instead of the exit, requiring a traffic signal still.

[cappicard]

I'm starting to like DDIs.  While initially confusing, I like how quickly one drives through them.

The 95th St/I-35 interchange in Lenexa, Kansas is being rebuilt as one.


iPhone

[tradephoric]

Don't know the official name, but I call it the yin-yang or "69"  interchange.  It's a free-flowing interchange but most suitable for freeway-to-arterial interchanges since there are left-turn entrance ramps along one of the roadways:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.74109,-78.95196,1454m/data=!3m1!1e3

Here is a theoretical interchange design known as the folded interchange.  It's basically a Parclo B4 but with "diverging" on-ramps.  The benefit is left-turning traffic entering onto the freeway only has to travel through one traffic light as opposed to two.  The downside is you need a lot of ROW along the arterial to fit the "diverging" on-ramps, but some places already have extremely wide medians (ie. Detroit).  This interchange wouldn't be practical everywhere though:

This interchange in Florida looks like a standard Parclo A4 interchange but traffic entering the freeway bypasses the traffic signals.  It's still not great for coordination along the arterial but at least traffic entering the freeway isn't inconvenienced waiting at a red light.     
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.8092339,-80.3211698,331m/data=!3m1!1e3

[mvak36]

I'm starting to like DDIs.  While initially confusing, I like how quickly one drives through them.

The 95th St/I-35 interchange in Lenexa, Kansas is being rebuilt as one.


iPhone

I like the DDi's. They are great for making left turns. Btw, that interchange should hopefully be completely open sometime by the end of this month.

For freeway interchanges, I like both the turbine and the stack.

[cappicard]

I'm starting to like DDIs.  While initially confusing, I like how quickly one drives through them.

The 95th St/I-35 interchange in Lenexa, Kansas is being rebuilt as one.


iPhone

I like the DDi's. They are great for making left turns. Btw, that interchange should hopefully be completely open sometime by the end of this month.

For freeway interchanges, I like both the turbine and the stack.

Yeah, I live near there. Being a galactic pain to get across 35, unless you go up to 87th St.

If only KDOT hurries up with the Johnson County Gateway to Hell...


iPhone

[vdeane]

Don't know the official name, but I call it the yin-yang or "69"  interchange.  It's a free-flowing interchange but most suitable for freeway-to-arterial interchanges since there are left-turn entrance ramps along one of the roadways:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.74109,-78.95196,1454m/data=!3m1!1e3

Here is a theoretical interchange design known as the folded interchange.  It's basically a Parclo B4 but with "diverging" on-ramps.  The benefit is left-turning traffic entering onto the freeway only has to travel through one traffic light as opposed to two.  The downside is you need a lot of ROW along the arterial to fit the "diverging" on-ramps, but some places already have extremely wide medians (ie. Detroit).  This interchange wouldn't be practical everywhere though:

This interchange in Florida looks like a standard Parclo A4 interchange but traffic entering the freeway bypasses the traffic signals.  It's still not great for coordination along the arterial but at least traffic entering the freeway isn't inconvenienced waiting at a red light.     
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.8092339,-80.3211698,331m/data=!3m1!1e3

I would have assumed the Parclo B4 was your favorite.

[TEG24601]

For standard exits, I prefer the SPUI.


However, I'm a fan of odd exits, especially utilizing left exits/entrances, especially between high-speed roadways.  The old ones along I-94 near Detroit were some of my favorite as well as the US-23/I-96 interchange.

[tradephoric]

I would have assumed the Parclo B4 was your favorite.

I do favor Parclo B4s.  One of the arguments against Parclo B4s is that they have exiting loop ramps.  A few weeks ago I was following a green Grand Prix for about 5 miles on I-69 west of Flint.  The vehicle was weaving, couldn't maintain their speed, and tailgating vehicles in front of them.  I was considering calling the cops on the driver but decided against it.  This was the end result:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dvm7-5yMMo

Now this interchange wasn't a Parclo B4 but it did have exiting loop ramps.  The ramp was signed for 25 mph but this driver tried to take it at 75 mph.  It really didn't work out so well.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

The five-way one in Shanghai involving G60, S4, S20 and Humin Gaojia Lu .

[kkt]

Freeway to freeway, stack, for speed.

Freeway to arterial, where volume is low, diamond.  They're so transparent and obvious how to do a U turn onto the freeway or how to do an off-freeway stop and then get back on the same way.

[Avalanchez71]

Standard old school diamond interchange.

[Darkchylde]

Whatever the hell the Grandview Triangle would be classified as. I'm not so much a fan of an interchange type, as I am a fan of more unique interchanges.

[cappicard]

Whatever the hell the Grandview Triangle would be classified as. I'm not so much a fan of an interchange type, as I am a fan of more unique interchanges.

It's a lot better before the reconstruction.


iPhone

[coatimundi]

The five-way one in Shanghai involving G60, S4, S20 and Humin Gaojia Lu .

I lived a few blocks from there in the late 90's, off of Lianhua Lu. Used to walk down Humin Lu all the time, and would get gas for my moped at a little station next door, that's now gone. What's now the Carrefour (IMM at the time) used to be pretty much the end of the city. It was the last stop on what was, at that time, the only subway line, and was a major bus stop for buses going to outlying areas. A couple of the Humin Lu-Hongmei/Hongxu Lu ramps had been built already. I'd have to look at the old maps I have, but I remember Humin Lu not being a freeway until a little past Hongxu Lu. The Jinjiang Park subway station had an at-grade driveway.

China has some really impressive interchanges. A lot of imagination for a country that has no reservations about leveling a few apartment buildings and displacing thousands just for a freeway. I remember them posting the sign for the Yanan Lu/Outer Ring Road interchange just before I left, and being totally impressed with it, but I don't believe they actually built it to that level (wish I had taken a picture). When they first built the Outer Ring Road, it had just a grade interchange (frontage roads) with Yanan Lu/Huqingping Highway.

[wanderer2575]

Here is a theoretical interchange design known as the folded interchange.  It's basically a Parclo B4 but with "diverging" on-ramps.  The benefit is left-turning traffic entering onto the freeway only has to travel through one traffic light as opposed to two.  The downside is you need a lot of ROW along the arterial to fit the "diverging" on-ramps, but some places already have extremely wide medians (ie. Detroit).  This interchange wouldn't be practical everywhere though:

Strikingly similar to the old I-94/US-24 interchange in Taylor, Michigan.  It's the second photo at this page:  http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/dumbroad/design.htm.  The page heading could be interpreted as an editorial observation.  (The interchange was replaced with a SPUI in 2004 and 2005.)

[tradephoric]

^Just to prevent confusion, I believe you quoted the wrong part of my post.  The old Taylor interchange is strikingly similar to the 'yin-yang' interchange, not the Folded Interchange.  But yes, i agree, they are very similar.     

[wanderer2575]

^Just to prevent confusion, I believe you quoted the wrong part of my post.  The old Taylor interchange is strikingly similar to the 'yin-yang' interchange, not the Folded Interchange.  But yes, i agree, they are very similar.     

The old left-hand exits off I-94 are what made me think it mostly resembled your Folded Interchange.  But, yes, other parts resemble the Yin-Yang.