Collaborative optimization of geometric design and signal timing at continuous flow intersection

doi:10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.020

Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science)

2026, Vol. 60

Issue (7): 1586-1598 DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.020

Collaborative optimization of geometric design and signal timing at continuous flow intersection

Lang SONG1,2(

),Xiaowei HU1,*(

),Shanchuan YU2,Shi AN1

1. School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
2. Digital Transportation and Smart City Research Institute, National Engineering and Research Center for Mountainous Highways, Chongqing 400067, China

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Abstract

In order to ensure that the application of continuous flow intersections meets practical needs through selecting the shift left-turn design in 1 to 4 directions at the intersection, combined with whether to adopt right-turn lanes, conventional right-turn exit lanes, conventional exit lanes and other micro-improvement styles, this work proposed the coordinated optimization of geometric design and signal timing at continuous flow intersections based on the extended 2401 design schemes. Considering constraints of lane division, main signal control, pre-signal control, main and pre-signal coordination, and flow distribution, a mixed integer linear programming model was constructed. The results showed that the capacity of single-lane, asymmetric two-lane, symmetrical two-lane, three-lane and four-way shifted left turn settings increased by about 5%, 10%, 25%, 35% and 50% compared with that of conventional intersections. The capacity of continuous intersections increased significantly with the increase of sections with shifted left turn lanes. The optimal application scenario of four-way setting is the intersection where the road flow of each section is not very different. The application scenario of three-way setting is closely related to the traffic composition. The symmetrical two-way setting is suitable for the symmetrical traffic scenario and the shifted left turn lane is generally set on the main road with large traffic volume. The asymmetrical two-way setting performs better in the asymmetrical two-way traffic scenario, and the single-way setting is not recommended.

Key words： traffic engineering continuous flow intersection mixed integer linear programming lane based control layout design displaced left-turn

Received: 27 June 2025 Published: 23 May 2026

CLC:

U 491

Fund: 国家自然科学基金资助项目（52272332）；重庆市自然科学基金资助项目（CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0387）；重庆市教委科学技术研究资助项目（KJQN202404301）；重庆市建设科技计划资助项目（城科字2024第6-8号）.

Corresponding Authors: Xiaowei HU E-mail: lang_song@qq.com;xiaowei_hu@hit.edu.cn

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Cite this article:

Lang SONG,Xiaowei HU,Shanchuan YU,Shi AN. Collaborative optimization of geometric design and signal timing at continuous flow intersection. Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science), 2026, 60(7): 1586-1598.

URL:

https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.020 OR https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/Y2026/V60/I7/1586

连续流交叉口几何设计与信号配时协同优化

为确保连续流交叉口应用更符合实际需要，将在十字交叉口中选择1~4个方向设置移位左转设计，与是否采用右转专用道、常规右转驶出车道、常规驶出车道等微改进样式相组合，扩展到2 401种设计方案，提出连续流交叉口几何设计与信号配时协同优化方法. 考虑车道划分、主信号控制、预信号控制、主预信号协调、流量分配等约束条件，构建混合整数线性规划模型. 结果表明，与常规交叉口相比，单路、非对称2路、对称2路、3路、4路移位左转设置增加了5%、10%、25%、35%、50%通行能力；移位左转车道设置路段越多，通行能力提升越明显. 4路设置适用于各个路段流量相差不大的交叉口，3路设置适用场景与交通组成密切相关，对称2路设置适用于对称流量场景中且移位左转车道一般设置在大流量主路上，非对称2路设置在非对称2路流量场景中表现更好，不建议采用单路设置.

关键词： 交通工程, 连续流交叉口, 混合整数线性规划, 车道控制, 几何设计, 移位左转

Fig.1 Schematic diagrams of conventional design and six traffic flow

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of different design styles for displaced left-turn

Fig.3 Construction of index parameter interpretation for continuous flow intersections optimization model

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of green wave transmission at continuous flow intersections

Fig.5 Ranking variation of common flow coefficient in descending order

Tab.1 Comparison of evaluation indexes in numerical experiments

Fig.6 Geometric design scheme of actual case

Tab.2 Traffic flow in all directions and directions of Caitian Road-Fuhua Road, Shenzhen

Tab.3 Comparison of evaluation indicators of actual cases

Tab.4 Comparative experimental design for sensitivity analysis

Fig.7 Proportional relationship between traffic composition and capacity relative error

Fig.8 Proportional relationship between the multiple of three-way flow and the relative error of traffic capacity

Fig.9 Proportional relationship between the multiple of symmetric two-way flow and the relative error of traffic capacity

Fig.10 Proportional relationship between the multiple of asymmetric two-way flow and the relative error of traffic capacity

Fig.11 Proportional relationship between the multiple of one-way flow and the relative error of traffic capacity


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