KATHIPARA CLOVERLEAF INTERSECTION, CHENNAI

TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

SIDDHARTH AGARWAL
32/11
NEERAJ BANSAL
14/11

CLOVERLEAF INTERCHANGE
It is a two-levelinterchangein which left turns (reverse directions in left-driving regions), are handled by ramp
roads . To go left (in right-hand traffic), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the other, then exit
right onto a one-way three-fourths loop ramp (270) and merge onto the intersecting road.
When a freeway intersects a street or another freeway then a clover-leaf interchange has to be used. What it does
exactly is that it allows a full non-stop access between any two busy roads so that the traffic can merge weave
without actually having to cross at grade. So ,unless the interchange is too congested no stopping is required.
The objective of a cloverleaf is to allow two highways to cross
without the
need for any traffic to be stopped by red lights, even for left and
right turns.
The limiting factor in the capacity of a cloverleaf interchange
istraffic weaving.

THE COLLOQUIAL OR PARTIAL CLOVERLEAF

It is almost same as the full cloverleaf except here the ramps
are omitted.
Also a partial cloverleaf is preferred over a full one. In fact, in
many places the cloverleaf's has been replaced with either
signalized
interchanges
or
High-capacity
directional
interchanges with flyovers.

Kathipara Junctionis an important road junction inChennai,India. Kathipara flyover is the largest cloverleaf flyover
in the whole of Asia.
The junction used to be aroundaboutand was the site of the statue of India's first prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru. A
cloverleafgrade separatorhas been constructed as part of theNHDPto ease traffic congestion at the junction. The
structure was built at an estimated project cost of4,860 million with an initial deadline of March 2007. It is the first of
three grade separators being built on the InnerRing Roadto improve connectivity between the variousNational
Highwaysradiating from the city, the other two being the one onKoyambedu junction(NH 4) near theChennai Mofussil
Bus Terminusand the one atPadi Junction(NH 205).

The intersection consists of four roads

meeting at a roundabout.
The four roads are

Anna Salai leading to Guindy

NH-45 leading to airport
Poonamallee road
the Inner Ring Road (IRR)

The IRR and NH-45 carry substantial heavy

traffic as this section acts as a
thoroughfare and bypass for Chennai city.
Anna Salai leads to Guindy and is an
important corridor in the road network of
the city.
The Airport IRR link has three lanes in
each direction.
Anna Salai Road Poonamallee corridor
was raised to give headroom clearance.
There are four cloverleaf loops to handle
right turning traffic and the left turning
traffic will be undertaken at ground level.

TRAFFIC MOVEMENT DIRECTIONS

CHENNAI AIRPORT
Airport to Guindy

1 11 4 9 13

Airport to Vadapalani

1 11 14

Airport to Porur

1 2 12

PORUR :
Porur to Guindy

8 9 13

Porur to Vadapalani

8 14 (side road)

Porur to Airport

8 5 11 1

VADAPALANI :
Vadapalani to Airport-

14 11 1

Now if you want to go round and round and take a complete

Vadapalani to Porur

14 -11 7 12

circle :

Vadapalani to Guindy

6 13

One full cycle 11 4 5 11 7 3 11

U - Turns at Kathipara Flyover :

GUINDY
Guindy to Vadapalani

13 9 3 11 14

11 4 5 11

Airport side U Turn

Guindy to Porur

13 9 12

11 7 3 11

Vadapalani side U turn

Guindy to Airport

13 10 1

8 5 11 7 12

Porur side u turn

13 9 3 11 4 9 13 Guindy side U turn

DESIGN ANALYSIS
The photo diagrams at right show close up
views of the interchange, and the circled
areas indicate entry or exit points.
At entries, to accommodate vehicles joining
into the main road, the number of lanes
should be increased for some distance to
allow the traffic to merge in easily:
Number of lanes before entry + Number
of entry lanes should = Number of lanes
after entry.
For circled area 1, when 3 entry lanes join
into 3 lanes, provision should be made for
3+3 = 6 lanes.
But we see only 4 after the entry.
Conclusion:
Traffic from 3 entry lanes is being squeezed
into a single lane, leading to a bottleneck.
Fast-moving traffic along the 3 running
lanes raises the risk of a serious accident.
In reality, this design allows for only 1 entry
lane.

When exiting a road circled area 2 lanes have to be

dedicated for vehicles that are slowing to exit:
Number of exit lanes + Number of lanes after the
exit should = Number of lanes before exit
For circled area 2, the number of lanes before the exit
should be 3+2=5.
But there are only 3 lanes before the exit.
Conclusion
This indicates that traffic in only 1 lane (the lane towards
the divider) would be able to move through without
being hindered by exiting (slowing) traffic in the other 2
lanes.
Circled area 4, conversely, has an extra exit
lane.
Closer inspection will reveal numerous other flaws
in lane markings and increasing/decreasing
number of lanes in a short span of roadway.

PROPOSED MULTI MODAL INTEGRATION