Superstreets are a growing trend as Ohio roadways expand

Posted By on September 28, 2010

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So far I’m not convinced drivers are big fans of the new complex intersections being constructed on many of today roads and highways – referred to as Superstreets. The handful of completed projects that I’ve traveled on recently seem overly complex and tailored to create accidents. A couple of examples that come to mind would be the new intersection at Monroe Ohio’s I-75/Route 63 and new junction at Austin Pike and Route 741 near Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport (MGY) in Springboro. If you’ve driven on them, imagine navigating for the first time on a dark, rainy night with headlights glaring in every direction – and an out of date GPS to mix things up even more.

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Today while in Fairfield Ohio the Route 4 Bypass was under full construction. The  clearing for all phase of the widening project have added significant width to the highway. When checking as to why so large, the comment I heard was that it was going to be a ‘Superstreet’ project requiring added width. Is it really going to make traffic better?

Try following the illustrations, maps and video clips on the City of Fairfield’s website, or just look at a video for one of the junctions below – Tylersville/Rt4 Bypass junction video.

 

Comments

  • http://amileofrunway.blogspot.com Steve

    I saw this for myself last weekend – flying overon Saturday and then driving down the OH-4 Bypass on Sunday (Jungle Jim’s visit).

    I must say that it seems a bit overly-complex. However, I am a fan of the new Continuous Flow intersection at Austin Blvd / OH-741. That one is sometimes frustrating now when there’s not much traffic but I do think we’ll be glad they built it once those office buildings and the I’m-sure-they’ll-built-it retail pop up.

  • http://amileofrunway.blogspot.com Steve

    I saw this for myself last weekend – flying overon Saturday and then driving down the OH-4 Bypass on Sunday (Jungle Jim’s visit).

    I must say that it seems a bit overly-complex. However, I am a fan of the new Continuous Flow intersection at Austin Blvd / OH-741. That one is sometimes frustrating now when there’s not much traffic but I do think we’ll be glad they built it once those office buildings and the I’m-sure-they’ll-built-it retail pop up.

  • http://richcorbett.us RichC

    I suspect that as time goes on and we get use to the oddball intersections, they will become more efficient for traffic.

    That said, having spent some time with “traffic circles” where we once lived, I’m just not sure they are that much better than well timed traffic lights … and I’m not really sure how much flow will improve with these superstreets since traffic still comes to a stop at several places? (although I’m sure engineers have done all the times studies)

  • http://richcorbett.us RichC

    I suspect that as time goes on and we get use to the oddball intersections, they will become more efficient for traffic.

    That said, having spent some time with “traffic circles” where we once lived, I’m just not sure they are that much better than well timed traffic lights … and I’m not really sure how much flow will improve with these superstreets since traffic still comes to a stop at several places? (although I’m sure engineers have done all the times studies)

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