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Speed Change Lanes (Turn Lanes)

In this lecture;
--------------------A- Definition and Purposes
B- Right-Turn Lane.
C- Left-Turn Lane.
D- Iraqi HDM Specifications
The information listed in this lecture is mainly taken from the Policy on Geometric Design of
Highways and Streets (AASHTO, 2011), Iraqi Highway Design Manual (SORB, 2005) and
TxDot Highway Design Manuals (TxDot HDM, 2014).

A- Definition and purposes

Drivers leaving a highway at an intersection are usually required to reduce speed
before turning. Similarly, drivers entering a highway from a turning roadway
accelerate until the desired open-road speed is reached.
Hence, a Speed-Change Lane is an auxiliary lane, including tapered areas, primarily
for the acceleration or deceleration of vehicles entering or leaving the throughtraffic lanes at intersections or interchanges. The terms speed-change lane,
deceleration lane, or acceleration lane, usually refer to the added pavement
joining the travelled way of the highway/street with that of the turning roadway.
A speed-change lane should be of sufficient width and length to enable a driver to
manoeuvre a vehicle into it properly, and once into it, to make the necessary change
between the speed of operation on the highway/street and the lower speed on the
turning roadway.
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This lecture mainly deals with the speed change lanes at Intersections; especially the
design elements of auxiliary lanes of left-turning movements at median openings
and auxiliary lanes of right-turning movements at intersections.
Auxiliary lanes may also be added to increase capacity and improve safety at an
intersection. In many cases, an auxiliary lane may be desirable after completing a
right-turn movement to provide for acceleration, manoeuvring, and weaving.
Auxiliary lanes should be at least 3.0 m wide and desirably should equal that of the
through lanes.
The length of the auxiliary lanes for turning vehicles consists of three components:
(1) entering taper, (2) deceleration length, and (3) storage length. Desirably, the
total length of the auxiliary lane should be the sum of the length for these three
components. Common practice, however, is to accept a moderate amount of
deceleration within the through lanes and to consider the taper length as a part of
the deceleration within the through lanes. Each component of the auxiliary length is
discussed in the following section.

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B- Left-Turn Lane Design.

1) Entering taper
To develop the width needed for auxiliary lanes, a transition must be effected. This
transition, or taper, allows a driver to recognize that an exclusive lane is being
developed and also allows some deceleration to occur prior to entering the storage
lane itself. It is a common practice to consider the taper length as a part of the
deceleration lane. There are two distinct tapers commonly used in the left-turn lane
design: (1) approach taper length and (2) bay taper length.
An approach taper provides space for a left-turn lane by moving traffic laterally to
the right on a street/highway without a physical median.
The bay taper length is a reversing curve along the left edge of the travelled way
that directs traffic into the left-turn lane.
The first figure below shows the geometrical design of a left-turn lane when there is
no physical median, while the second figure is when median is exist.

Figure: Design of left-turn lanes for roads without median.

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Figure: Design of left-turn lanes when median is available.

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2) Deceleration lane length

For median left-turn lanes, a minimum median width of 4.8 m (3.6 m lane width plus
a 1.2 m separator) is recommended to accommodate a single left-turn lane.
According to the online Road Design Manual (Texas department of transportation)
(http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/rdw/urban_streets.htm#CIHJCABA)
the recommended lengths are shown in the following table.

3) Storage lane length

The auxiliary lane should be sufficiently long to store the number of vehicles likely to
accumulate during a critical period. The storage length should be sufficient to avoid
the possibility of left-turning vehicles stopping in the through lanes waiting for a
signal change or for a gap in the opposing traffic flow.
At unsignalized intersections, the storage length may be based on the number of
turning vehicles likely to arrive in an average 2-minute period within the peak hour.
Space for at least two passenger cars should be provided; with over 10% trucks, at
least one car and one truck.
The required storage can be obtained using traffic models such as those in the HCM
software (HCS) or alternatively using the following:
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L = (V/N) (2) (S)

where:
L = storage length in meters.
V = left-turn volume per hour, vph.
N = number of cycles if signalised or 30 if unsignalised.
2 = a factor that provides for storage of all left-turning vehicles on most cycles.
S = queue storage length, in meters, per vehicle. Typically 7.5m for automobiles.

C- Right-Turn Lane Design.

Figure below shows a right-turn deceleration lane. Basically, the required length for
a right-turn lane is calculated in the same manner as described for left-turn lanes.
The length and width of taper is the same as in the left-turn lane. The length of a
single right-turn deceleration lane is the same as that for a single left-turn lane (see
Table in p.82). However, the minimum queue storage is 9.0 m for right-turn lanes.

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Acceleration Lanes
Acceleration lanes for right-turning and/or left-turning vehicles may be desirable on
multi-lane rural highways. Generally, design principles of the deceleration lanes are
applicable for acceleration lanes (see Figure below). Trucks need longer speed
change lanes for acceleration.
Acceleration lanes are not always desirable at stop-controlled intersections where
entering drivers can wait for an opportunity to merge without disrupting through
traffic. Acceleration lanes are advantageous on roads without stop control and on all
high-volume roads even with stop control where openings between vehicles in the
peak-hour traffic streams are infrequent and short.

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D- Iraqi Highway Design Manual (SORB): Speed Change Lanes

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