Theses and Dissertations Collection

During certain "high-travel" days, rural main highways experience a surge in traffic flow and vehicles begin forming large platoons or groups. Then, when those platoons pass through rural intersections, minor approach vehicles attempting to turn onto the major highway are subjected to excessive delays. This research presents alternative intersection treatments to alleviate congestion at rural intersections during increased traffic volume on high-travel days. Also, a list of considerations for treatment suitability is provided. Finally, to exemplify how each consideration can be adapted to a specific intersection, a case study with the intersection of Idaho State Highway 55 (SH-55) and Banks-Lowman Road was used. The results of the case study showed that signalization of the intersection along with some geometry alternations are the recommended treatments to alleviate the congestion and provide safe, efficient movement for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the intersection.