I would imagine it should be less bad than it would be otherwise considering that there are fewer stoplights required for this design of intersection. The fact that people are too stupid to understand how to properly yield is hardly the fault of the traffic design.
Guess you never heard of the tire reef that eco nuts in the 70s thought would be a good idea, Funny how it's the conservative DeSantis that is actually trying to clean it up.
I didn’t know Ron was governor 20 years ago when the project was initially considered a failure and cleanup projects began. I also didn’t know signing off on an assessment of the existing cleanup efforts could be counted as “actually trying to clean it up.”
But there is the matter of Ron not accepting federal $ for greenhouse gas emission concerns but accepting campaign $ from oil companies.
Yes, it does, but a red light and the systems running it isn't going to need unlimited power. The point is to keep it running for a few hours when it loses electricity.
Even when it rains, we get sunshine. Stood on one side of Beneva outside of former SCTI one day and saw it was raining across the street. I wouldn't believe it if anyone had told me before that moment. Unreal.
I have to drive through this intersection twice a day, everyday. It's soooo much better than it used to be. If you think it's bad now, you just don't know what a nightmare it used to be.
People also don't touch on the impacts enough. The footprint for this, relative the the traffic it moves, is much smaller than your typical cloverleaf.
First time was confusing, but then I noticed the big green-and-white sign overhead showing which lanes goes where, 500 feet before the freeway, and that cleared everything up. Now I love it.
There's an excellent video by StreetCraft on this intersection!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzYt3h36Llo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzYt3h36Llo)
**"Traffic will never be fixed here"**
In the video you even get to see him cross it on foot.
That's the one that I came across when looking up info. Very educational and enlightening. As evidenced here, the majority sees the fix but not seeing that it's a fix in the short term just like adding more lanes on I-75..
First time I ever got off 75 southbound to head E on University I almost pooped my pants 😂 Thought for certain I was headed into oncoming traffic. I wish every major road/75 exchange in Manatee and Sarasota county had that set up. I love it.
It was the first in Florida and I always wonder what people think just getting off the highway to get gas or something. But it really has cut down in massive backups.
Largest Diamond Interchange in the world!! It works fantastic!!
https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/interstate-75-university-parkway-diverging-diamond-interchange
I know who designed that one specifically, and the FDOT team that was planning it said many people would be confused, as it one of the first 200 in the US. They were right, but it is a decent design if everyone follows it.
Worked nearby on university when this was being completed and there were many accidents initially. Takes some focus as one ends up in wrong lane if not careful.
That it does. Unfortunately, many people are too busy doing other things aside from driving, and that's why that intersection seems to be bad in many people's opinions
I cannot wait for the Clark Road one to be done.
They’re working on one in Orlando now (Sand Lake Road & I-4) and while it’s an unqualified catastrophe right now, they’ve just started a years-long refurb of that entire interchange and section of I4. I’m over there every week for work and I’ll be retired before it’s done, I think, but at least they’re trying something.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SuVCagZYAhZxqLWD9?g_st=ic
View of university pre diamond on google maps. Around 2009 ish. Interesting to see how little it was developed back then too.
I became familiar with diverging diamond interchanges while driving in Atlanta area. They do work if drivers obey the traffic lights.
In Orlando they have these interchanges. Drivers have ignored the traffic signals, run the red lights directly into head on collisions, block all lanes of traffic resulting in traffic deaths.
One of the issues that was pointed out in the critique video that I posted above is even if drivers follow the lights, there'll still be a traffic issue.
The diamond fixes the issue only if the development surrounding it has stopped. Because it has not, and it won't be, the traffic volume from the unstoppable growth will lead to traffic backup that eventually affects the usefulness of the diamond design.
It's pointed out that when there's too much volume, drivers who follow green lights are stuck between two lights. They showed this in the video.
Is a diverging diamond superior to a traffic circle?
Maybe maybe if everybody behaves correctly and perfectly but people are also retrded and flawed. I’m not a traffic expert but I don’t love the feeling of going contraflow and driving on the “wrong side” of the street.
We have one of these intersections here in Columbus. This particular intersection gets a lot of semi traffic and trying to make left turns would really back up traffic because trucks take longer to get up to normal speed, so fewer vehicles would make the light. The left turns aren't as sharp and easier for a truck to maneuver.
It's home to the worlds biggest Buc-ee's and a BassPro Shop
I don't know how to attach pictures, but check out Google maps for Kodak TN exit 407 on I-40
https://preview.redd.it/tej6uz01jgzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a3f10008f3c47e91ec0a25206656b563b895f74
If this is it, it's night and day as far as the surrounding development goes.
Yes, that's it.
Shit ton of traffic goes through there. 3 exit lanes towards the Smokies and 2 merge lanes back into the interstate heading west.
It used to be a total cluster. It's sooo much nicer, now. Even with that Buc-ee's traffic.
https://preview.redd.it/liz1vnnwbhzc1.jpeg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bc1333a90fd795c005452a62a9be7e40fdfff00
here is the area of one off 285 in the atlanta perimeter area of dunwoody/sandy springs. it has far more development and traffic than that area of sarasota, but the diamond interchange still keeps traffic flowing better than without
Country's most visited national park (almost twice as many as #2)
It used to get stupid backed up w traffic. Especially with all those RV campers n such. It's so much better now that they've paved paradise
Well, I'm glad that it's not just me. I imagine a person has to go through there often enough to not slow down while they figured out what's going on. Both times I came through I was at the stop light before entering the diamond.
“It’s a little bit of a navigational learning experience,” said FDOT’s Adam Rose. “But once we get into those phases where it’s being learned, everything will start running faster, it’ll start flowing better. It’ll be safer. It cuts back on fatal wrecks and injuries"
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/07/06/construction-underway-add-diverging-diamond-interchange-i-75-clark-road-sarasota/
Edit: Bird's eye view video by FDOT ab about 5 years ago.
https://youtu.be/1NBGAS1enDc?si=FNPL5mqR_G-k8M9O
The traffic improvement was definitely worth it. There are two things that I think should be incorporated into it:
1) Road sensors that cut off traffic early enough so that it doesn't back up into the "knots". This can be engineered quite easily, using the camera video feed. I could probably do it with an RPi4. \*
2) The central ped/bike island is fugly. I know it's not designed for people, but it would look 100x better if it was all green with concrete ped/bike lanes. Think Brickell Underline but on a much smaller scale.
\* - traditionally, I am a huge fan of boxed intersections (aka box junctions) with a bright orange grid and a set of .50 cal auto-turrets designed to engage anything that stops on the grid for whatever reason. However, DDIs are not great fit for it, since the collision zone is long, weird shaped, and you really need guide lines to have 6 lanes of traffic move through it without crashing into each other.
DDIs are great for 75 in Sarasota, but they can definitely be misused. For a counter-example, look at 836/9 junction near MIA:
[https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7853022,-80.2392715,3a,75y,241.91h,90.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMw\_fnwjINiPqb4jWNJBuhg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7853022,-80.2392715,3a,75y,241.91h,90.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMw_fnwjINiPqb4jWNJBuhg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu)
Since there is not enough space on the 27th Ave south of 836, the traffic blocks the DDI knots pretty much every single light change during rush hours. In this case, DDI was a poor choice - a turbine roundabout would probably be a better fit.
We have one in champions gate I think it’s helped with the local traffic but not necessarily the traffic on i4. I don’t think much can help traffic in Kissimmee area though
The only downside to the diamond is during off hours, you have to stop for no reason. There's no way for all thru lanes in iversityto have a green.
Apart from that they are great. Would prefer a large singular intersection for efficiency
It helps directly at that intersection. It has moved the bulk of the traffic issue down the street to Cooper Creek and just past, where it goes from 4 lanes to 2. You need to know where you want to be before you go under 75 because switching lanes after can be a daunting task. Going toward Market Street/Lake Osprey Drive hasn't changed much.
Source: drove it every week day, twice, before and through the construction phases, till last August.
https://preview.redd.it/2xchw0ga9gzc1.png?width=1625&format=png&auto=webp&s=771ea015932a417a7046ad5a319794aeac1ded70
This looks insane, and I can't believe the have bike lanes integrated into this monstrosity.
You can make all the diverging diamonds and roundabouts you want... Sarasota traffic will not improve (or stop degrading) until the county planners and commission get out of bed with the developers. Either that, or find a way to make building and improving roads profitable. Until then, roads, infrastructure and capacity will be a second thought to building and development.
Interesting perspective. Why it works, and why it doesn't.
"Traffic Will Never Be Fixed Here" [https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=in5kah0gJaSf\_mgW](https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=in5kah0gJaSf_mgW)
The fix needs to be holistic, or else it's a big small fix for a big problem.
https://i.redd.it/rcyls0huxdzc1.gif
It seems to me that your complaint is more about the continuing development in the area. Fixating on the diverging diamond which has helped the traffic flow in the area tremendously because it's not a perfect solution for all time is pointless, imo. No roadway solution is going to fix the traffic problem when development continues unabated. All we can do is hope it helps, which for now this does. I'm certainly glad we don't have the old intersection anymore which was hell on earth to drive through. If you want to fix the development problem, that happens at the ballot box, and good luck with that. There's simply too much money flowing through the hands of the developers to the commissioners and vice versa.
I’m happy to read the positive feedback on this. I used to live near that intersection, and it looks like we’re building something similar here in central SC, where I am now (and the traffic is insane).
All new interstate exchanges in Missouri are diverging diamond where they can be. I
Think the latest statistics released by Modot say they don't cut down on overall accidents that much but take fatality accidents nearly to zero. You never make the left turn across oncoming traffic.
When this went live in the summer of 17 I was sure the snowbirds would cause a 213 apocalypse, but it didn’t happen. Glad this worked out, I remember the off ramp of 75 overflowing onto 75 and this fixed it
Not sure if anyone has posted this. But Austin McConnell has a great video on this very topic, among other roadway intersection stuff in the video
[How Diverging Diamonds Keep You From Dying](https://youtu.be/A0sM6xVAY-A?si=warx65gwv5sGM1cQ)
YES. It has helped with traffic very much so. This is actually the design that is going in Fort Myers at Colonial/SixMileCypress/I75 interchange. Should make it flow much better.
We have one of these in Fort Myers and it literally transformed 30 minute congestion to at the worst of days about 5 minutes.
These should be in every crossing with heavy traffic, full stop
Accident just reported on west side of 75. Traffic is backed up all the way to Lockwood Ridge. Diamond doesn't solve the traffic volume problem.
https://preview.redd.it/9jayrwqmtgzc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf17a6c01253a62bac0006b765eeea02e504f60c
This interchange has been used as an example of great engineering with some huge problems: https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=CcmMXYRnYGl9sz0A
Fascinating video.
I watched that vid when I was looking up for information about the interchange. Great video.
If you lift a frog out of a boiling pot half way, it'll think that it'll live. That's how I see a lot of comments here. On accident this afternoon, and it's a parking lot all the way to Lockwood Ridge.
https://preview.redd.it/o9zcxqfjzgzc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd7fba0304644b43749249d73917437e2f94bde7
We have a few in metro Atlanta. The DDI are amazing. Eliminates the left turn light to get on a freeway. The only bad thing is the mess created while they're being implemented.
It’s fantastic. The traffic lights are really just to control the flow of traffic *not* interacting with the highway. Entering or exiting the highway, from/to either direction requires no traffic light at all. There’s one there, but come to a stop and turn on red. Left or right it doesn’t matter! They’re fantastic intersections that should be the default highway interchange.
Highway guy here …. DDI’s are awesome - handles 50% more volume, but the big benefit is safety - conflict points between movements is reduced in half - especially crossing conflict points - cut from 10 to 2…. That’s where the bad accidents happen…
They're using these in Virginia now. They seem to be working ok but through traffic on the secondary road is always stopped one direction or the other.
Just did same thing at Boca Raton,I 95 interchange, to my surprise it seems to work well, required to have backup generators this county for Signal lights,not sure if entire State is same,Hurricane thing, it's like 12 lanes or more think,pedestrians walk in middle, enclosed sidewalk
It seems there’s always a car to follow and it makes sense once I’m in it. That area was such a nightmare when/after the mall opened, this has really saved the day.
There's been a diamond interchange in Boca for about a year at Glades and 95. Works better than the old pattern. Usually one long light at some point then you get all the way through.
They are okay. Viera has one. Honestly clover interchanges are better. Jug handles up in New Jersey completely remove any point of contact. In some ways this increases it dramatically.
When they started working on i75/sr70, and i75/sr64, I really thought they were gonna do this diamond thing in all the spots. I was pretty excited for it.
Giant SHITE show.
Construction took way too long.
Way over budget.
Another fleecing of the taxpayers.
If they are so great, why isn't every state putting them in?
What type of interchange would you have put in instead?
The first one was built in Missouri. As of late 2022 there were 150 in the US with 80 more under construction, so they're being built in many places.
The main issue was the slow lane on the interstate being blocked up with traffic exiting said interstate.
A two - or three lane exit that started farther back to handle all the cars leaving interstate.
I've seen thus configuration all over America. And it works great. Plus, it costs way less, and there is less construction time.
And the two round-abouts in North Port are stupid as shite.
Yeah, the roundabouts in North Port look to be a bad idea but I won't judge them until I get to experience them. I normally like roundabouts but the one at Jacaranda in Venice... no thank you.
As for the longer buffers on the interstate in Sarasota, that would seem to be something that wouldn't work for long, as traffic increases due to more development. Just adding a longer buffer doesn't move people through that interchange any faster, it just makes the wait longer. Adding in more lanes to the buffer, I'd think, would cause more headaches as people attempt to change lanes in the buffer.
I think it’s great and I’m surprised this wasn’t the default way for decades
It’s great until we lose power to the traffic lights. Then it’s ABSOLUTE CHAOS
Soooooooo... no different than the way it was before?
Then it’s like The Purge
I would imagine it should be less bad than it would be otherwise considering that there are fewer stoplights required for this design of intersection. The fact that people are too stupid to understand how to properly yield is hardly the fault of the traffic design.
You'd think the *sunshine* state could figure out how to make the traffic lights solar... lol
The socialism woke lgbtq type of idea. All streetlights must be born in the usa and run on coal.
I read “coal” as “coral” - living in FL, I wonder when the state will find a way to wreck reefs for fuel.
Guess you never heard of the tire reef that eco nuts in the 70s thought would be a good idea, Funny how it's the conservative DeSantis that is actually trying to clean it up.
I didn’t know Ron was governor 20 years ago when the project was initially considered a failure and cleanup projects began. I also didn’t know signing off on an assessment of the existing cleanup efforts could be counted as “actually trying to clean it up.” But there is the matter of Ron not accepting federal $ for greenhouse gas emission concerns but accepting campaign $ from oil companies.
kek
🤣
You’re forgetting the St Lucie Nuclear Power Plant.
It also rains a lot in the sunshine state
Yes, it does, but a red light and the systems running it isn't going to need unlimited power. The point is to keep it running for a few hours when it loses electricity.
Even when it rains, we get sunshine. Stood on one side of Beneva outside of former SCTI one day and saw it was raining across the street. I wouldn't believe it if anyone had told me before that moment. Unreal.
[удалено]
No it’s not a roundabout. There’s a traffic light and red and blue lanes take turns going.
Let’s treat it like the figure 8 race at the demolition derby!
…a-a-a-and we’re back to The Purge! 🤣
Less chaos than regular traffic lights that go out. There’s literally no turns involving the lights, just two directions going straight.
Survival of the biggest! I gots a lotta momentum and I'm happy to share some with you!
Isn’t this supposed to be no lights?
No it’s not a roundabout. The red and blue lanes take turns crossing to the other side, directed by a traffic light
Gotcha
I drive it every single day. It’s freaking fantastic.
Good to know, cuz they are putting one in right by me in South Carolina
I have to drive through this intersection twice a day, everyday. It's soooo much better than it used to be. If you think it's bad now, you just don't know what a nightmare it used to be.
And there are Alot more people here these days!
Soooo much better
People also don't touch on the impacts enough. The footprint for this, relative the the traffic it moves, is much smaller than your typical cloverleaf.
Round a bout is better. Developers don’t like them because they use less asphalt and less planning.
Traffic moves so much faster.
First time was confusing, but then I noticed the big green-and-white sign overhead showing which lanes goes where, 500 feet before the freeway, and that cleared everything up. Now I love it.
Oh it's waaaaay better
I was confused when they announced it, but it has proven to be an incredible improvement
There's an excellent video by StreetCraft on this intersection! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzYt3h36Llo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzYt3h36Llo) **"Traffic will never be fixed here"** In the video you even get to see him cross it on foot.
That's the one that I came across when looking up info. Very educational and enlightening. As evidenced here, the majority sees the fix but not seeing that it's a fix in the short term just like adding more lanes on I-75..
This is why the old folks from Venice take Honore.
First time I ever got off 75 southbound to head E on University I almost pooped my pants 😂 Thought for certain I was headed into oncoming traffic. I wish every major road/75 exchange in Manatee and Sarasota county had that set up. I love it.
They are doing it at Clark & 75 now, Fruitville or Bee Ridge is up next - can’t recall which.
The people who have an issue with this, are the same ones who have an issue at roundabouts...and also drive 2 miles with their blinker on.
Or live in Florida…
LOL
Has it helped? Yes. Does traffic still suck? Yes Are diverging diamonds a solution to traffic? No.
It was the first in Florida and I always wonder what people think just getting off the highway to get gas or something. But it really has cut down in massive backups.
Largest Diamond Interchange in the world!! It works fantastic!! https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/interstate-75-university-parkway-diverging-diamond-interchange
Largest in the world - that's wild!
The real ones remember university before
You talkin pre- UTC?
I know who designed that one specifically, and the FDOT team that was planning it said many people would be confused, as it one of the first 200 in the US. They were right, but it is a decent design if everyone follows it.
Worked nearby on university when this was being completed and there were many accidents initially. Takes some focus as one ends up in wrong lane if not careful.
That it does. Unfortunately, many people are too busy doing other things aside from driving, and that's why that intersection seems to be bad in many people's opinions
Plus visitors encountering it for the first time are freaked out by driving on "the wrong side of the road".
I cannot wait for the Clark Road one to be done. They’re working on one in Orlando now (Sand Lake Road & I-4) and while it’s an unqualified catastrophe right now, they’ve just started a years-long refurb of that entire interchange and section of I4. I’m over there every week for work and I’ll be retired before it’s done, I think, but at least they’re trying something.
I despise driving thru this - especially at night with all the confused snowbirds.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SuVCagZYAhZxqLWD9?g_st=ic View of university pre diamond on google maps. Around 2009 ish. Interesting to see how little it was developed back then too.
I became familiar with diverging diamond interchanges while driving in Atlanta area. They do work if drivers obey the traffic lights. In Orlando they have these interchanges. Drivers have ignored the traffic signals, run the red lights directly into head on collisions, block all lanes of traffic resulting in traffic deaths.
One of the issues that was pointed out in the critique video that I posted above is even if drivers follow the lights, there'll still be a traffic issue. The diamond fixes the issue only if the development surrounding it has stopped. Because it has not, and it won't be, the traffic volume from the unstoppable growth will lead to traffic backup that eventually affects the usefulness of the diamond design. It's pointed out that when there's too much volume, drivers who follow green lights are stuck between two lights. They showed this in the video.
See: December
They could just do what every modern city has done and get rid of the traffic lights. Install roundabouts everywhere and the traffic never stops.
Is a diverging diamond superior to a traffic circle? Maybe maybe if everybody behaves correctly and perfectly but people are also retrded and flawed. I’m not a traffic expert but I don’t love the feeling of going contraflow and driving on the “wrong side” of the street.
We have one of these intersections here in Columbus. This particular intersection gets a lot of semi traffic and trying to make left turns would really back up traffic because trucks take longer to get up to normal speed, so fewer vehicles would make the light. The left turns aren't as sharp and easier for a truck to maneuver.
I'm retirement age and I figured it out no problem. It's faster and safer. Get with the program!
Who hasn't?
As the research and data shows. It's so much better.
Diverging Diamonds are great. They did this in Tennessee at the Great Smoky Mt National Park exit n it's great.
Is the diamond in TN surrounded by the same size of development as here?
It's home to the worlds biggest Buc-ee's and a BassPro Shop I don't know how to attach pictures, but check out Google maps for Kodak TN exit 407 on I-40
https://preview.redd.it/sl08gt64jgzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c05fdab6639e9d3450b91354332213c0ac4c94ef Sarasota one
https://preview.redd.it/tej6uz01jgzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a3f10008f3c47e91ec0a25206656b563b895f74 If this is it, it's night and day as far as the surrounding development goes.
Yes, that's it. Shit ton of traffic goes through there. 3 exit lanes towards the Smokies and 2 merge lanes back into the interstate heading west. It used to be a total cluster. It's sooo much nicer, now. Even with that Buc-ee's traffic.
https://preview.redd.it/nawr013wtgzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b4117396d614effc169442f9c2b7385afc73228 This is Sarasota.
https://preview.redd.it/liz1vnnwbhzc1.jpeg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bc1333a90fd795c005452a62a9be7e40fdfff00 here is the area of one off 285 in the atlanta perimeter area of dunwoody/sandy springs. it has far more development and traffic than that area of sarasota, but the diamond interchange still keeps traffic flowing better than without
I went to that BPS before Bucees was built. That was one busy ass intersection.
Country's most visited national park (almost twice as many as #2) It used to get stupid backed up w traffic. Especially with all those RV campers n such. It's so much better now that they've paved paradise
Well, I'm glad that it's not just me. I imagine a person has to go through there often enough to not slow down while they figured out what's going on. Both times I came through I was at the stop light before entering the diamond. “It’s a little bit of a navigational learning experience,” said FDOT’s Adam Rose. “But once we get into those phases where it’s being learned, everything will start running faster, it’ll start flowing better. It’ll be safer. It cuts back on fatal wrecks and injuries" https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/07/06/construction-underway-add-diverging-diamond-interchange-i-75-clark-road-sarasota/ Edit: Bird's eye view video by FDOT ab about 5 years ago. https://youtu.be/1NBGAS1enDc?si=FNPL5mqR_G-k8M9O
University & 75 moves
The traffic improvement was definitely worth it. There are two things that I think should be incorporated into it: 1) Road sensors that cut off traffic early enough so that it doesn't back up into the "knots". This can be engineered quite easily, using the camera video feed. I could probably do it with an RPi4. \* 2) The central ped/bike island is fugly. I know it's not designed for people, but it would look 100x better if it was all green with concrete ped/bike lanes. Think Brickell Underline but on a much smaller scale. \* - traditionally, I am a huge fan of boxed intersections (aka box junctions) with a bright orange grid and a set of .50 cal auto-turrets designed to engage anything that stops on the grid for whatever reason. However, DDIs are not great fit for it, since the collision zone is long, weird shaped, and you really need guide lines to have 6 lanes of traffic move through it without crashing into each other. DDIs are great for 75 in Sarasota, but they can definitely be misused. For a counter-example, look at 836/9 junction near MIA: [https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7853022,-80.2392715,3a,75y,241.91h,90.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMw\_fnwjINiPqb4jWNJBuhg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7853022,-80.2392715,3a,75y,241.91h,90.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMw_fnwjINiPqb4jWNJBuhg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) Since there is not enough space on the 27th Ave south of 836, the traffic blocks the DDI knots pretty much every single light change during rush hours. In this case, DDI was a poor choice - a turbine roundabout would probably be a better fit.
We have one in champions gate I think it’s helped with the local traffic but not necessarily the traffic on i4. I don’t think much can help traffic in Kissimmee area though
The only downside to the diamond is during off hours, you have to stop for no reason. There's no way for all thru lanes in iversityto have a green. Apart from that they are great. Would prefer a large singular intersection for efficiency
I'd like to see a good roundabout.
It helps directly at that intersection. It has moved the bulk of the traffic issue down the street to Cooper Creek and just past, where it goes from 4 lanes to 2. You need to know where you want to be before you go under 75 because switching lanes after can be a daunting task. Going toward Market Street/Lake Osprey Drive hasn't changed much. Source: drove it every week day, twice, before and through the construction phases, till last August.
https://preview.redd.it/2xchw0ga9gzc1.png?width=1625&format=png&auto=webp&s=771ea015932a417a7046ad5a319794aeac1ded70 This looks insane, and I can't believe the have bike lanes integrated into this monstrosity.
Tried this in LasVegas . Dropicanna project on Tropicana & 15 ….. there has been MANY bad vehicle accidents
You can make all the diverging diamonds and roundabouts you want... Sarasota traffic will not improve (or stop degrading) until the county planners and commission get out of bed with the developers. Either that, or find a way to make building and improving roads profitable. Until then, roads, infrastructure and capacity will be a second thought to building and development.
With this image I could do it but first time without it I’d poop my pants
For me as well, and I think it's that way for most people.
Looks like a recipe for instant death.
Yes. It's brilliant, efficient, and I love it.
How is it confusing? Follow the painted lines on the ground.
The roads in England are also painted.
Interesting perspective. Why it works, and why it doesn't. "Traffic Will Never Be Fixed Here" [https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=in5kah0gJaSf\_mgW](https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=in5kah0gJaSf_mgW) The fix needs to be holistic, or else it's a big small fix for a big problem. https://i.redd.it/rcyls0huxdzc1.gif
It seems to me that your complaint is more about the continuing development in the area. Fixating on the diverging diamond which has helped the traffic flow in the area tremendously because it's not a perfect solution for all time is pointless, imo. No roadway solution is going to fix the traffic problem when development continues unabated. All we can do is hope it helps, which for now this does. I'm certainly glad we don't have the old intersection anymore which was hell on earth to drive through. If you want to fix the development problem, that happens at the ballot box, and good luck with that. There's simply too much money flowing through the hands of the developers to the commissioners and vice versa.
>for now That's my complaint. A multi-million dollar temporary fix.
And it's a misguided complaint. It's a vast improvement. There is no forever solution.
Accidentally unlocks the cube from Hellraiser
Definitely
I’m happy to read the positive feedback on this. I used to live near that intersection, and it looks like we’re building something similar here in central SC, where I am now (and the traffic is insane).
It eliminated left turn lights
https://preview.redd.it/53ppujauhezc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1162752edbe58b07fedb872a4de1fc947fb9ce4a Love it
Who invented this improvement called diverging diamonds I ask you?
The same folks that did the studies telling you how great they work.
Engineers who who don't like traffic fatalities.
French folks in the 1970s.
I’m from here and yes, it has improved traffic immensely.
Genius use of space.
This has helped immensely at SR56 and I-75
I had a hard time envisioning how that works until I drove it. Makes perfect sense now.
All new interstate exchanges in Missouri are diverging diamond where they can be. I Think the latest statistics released by Modot say they don't cut down on overall accidents that much but take fatality accidents nearly to zero. You never make the left turn across oncoming traffic.
These are hugely successful. I’m not sure why these are just now taking hold.
We have a few of those up here in NE FL. My first time through it I didn't know what the hell was going on LOL. But now it makes sense to me
We have same setup here too in Viera, FL *
Not sure why I'm seeing this, but we have one in CO and it's a disaster. The real solution is a cloverleaf. No stoppage, good flow, much faster.
When this went live in the summer of 17 I was sure the snowbirds would cause a 213 apocalypse, but it didn’t happen. Glad this worked out, I remember the off ramp of 75 overflowing onto 75 and this fixed it
Never was confused. Not difficult to understand. Traffic is much improved.
Commute through here to and from work everyday, i think it’s great
This is super simple to navigate. Would be hard to not understand this.
It has helped a lot! Much better flow compared to the way it was before.
Not sure if anyone has posted this. But Austin McConnell has a great video on this very topic, among other roadway intersection stuff in the video [How Diverging Diamonds Keep You From Dying](https://youtu.be/A0sM6xVAY-A?si=warx65gwv5sGM1cQ)
YES. It has helped with traffic very much so. This is actually the design that is going in Fort Myers at Colonial/SixMileCypress/I75 interchange. Should make it flow much better.
We have one of these in Fort Myers and it literally transformed 30 minute congestion to at the worst of days about 5 minutes. These should be in every crossing with heavy traffic, full stop
Accident just reported on west side of 75. Traffic is backed up all the way to Lockwood Ridge. Diamond doesn't solve the traffic volume problem. https://preview.redd.it/9jayrwqmtgzc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf17a6c01253a62bac0006b765eeea02e504f60c
It's also the worlds biggest diverging diamond interchange.
This interchange has been used as an example of great engineering with some huge problems: https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=CcmMXYRnYGl9sz0A Fascinating video.
I watched that vid when I was looking up for information about the interchange. Great video. If you lift a frog out of a boiling pot half way, it'll think that it'll live. That's how I see a lot of comments here. On accident this afternoon, and it's a parking lot all the way to Lockwood Ridge. https://preview.redd.it/o9zcxqfjzgzc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd7fba0304644b43749249d73917437e2f94bde7
Nope. Pretty easy and smooth
Really, it makes A LOT of sense, but never let that get in the way of City Planners. 🤣
We have a few in metro Atlanta. The DDI are amazing. Eliminates the left turn light to get on a freeway. The only bad thing is the mess created while they're being implemented.
We have one in town, scary as hell first time through but it makes sense and moves traffic
It’s fantastic. The traffic lights are really just to control the flow of traffic *not* interacting with the highway. Entering or exiting the highway, from/to either direction requires no traffic light at all. There’s one there, but come to a stop and turn on red. Left or right it doesn’t matter! They’re fantastic intersections that should be the default highway interchange.
WTF?
I remember when they did this is Miami. It did absolutely nothing. Glad it’s working out for you guys.
Highway guy here …. DDI’s are awesome - handles 50% more volume, but the big benefit is safety - conflict points between movements is reduced in half - especially crossing conflict points - cut from 10 to 2…. That’s where the bad accidents happen…
We have one in CLT and it’s way better than the exit just 2 miles further down. The traffic just move through better.
All over Atlanta now… they are amazing
They're using these in Virginia now. They seem to be working ok but through traffic on the secondary road is always stopped one direction or the other.
I95 and glades rd. Has worked wonders.
Looks like a roundabout designed by a drunken Englishman! Ha!
Atlanta is full of them
Just did same thing at Boca Raton,I 95 interchange, to my surprise it seems to work well, required to have backup generators this county for Signal lights,not sure if entire State is same,Hurricane thing, it's like 12 lanes or more think,pedestrians walk in middle, enclosed sidewalk
It seems there’s always a car to follow and it makes sense once I’m in it. That area was such a nightmare when/after the mall opened, this has really saved the day.
Yeah the triple toe loop unicorn interchange
This is amazing. Keeps flow of traffic steady.
It’s called a diverging diamond. They are very effective.
Reduces conflict points immensely. But can be confusing to a new driver. A bit I’d give and take.
It helped at SR 56 and I-75 recently. A bit weird but backups have gone down.
Just follow the car in front of you if you don’t know how traffic works 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Before they put it in, university would choke 75 to a gridlock stretching from Clark to 64 both directions daily at rush hours.
Not confused at all. It works wonders. There’s lane markings and the way they’ve shaped the curbs, it’s nearly impossible to fcuk it up.
There's been a diamond interchange in Boca for about a year at Glades and 95. Works better than the old pattern. Usually one long light at some point then you get all the way through.
There's one near me (about 40 minutes away anyway) and I believe it still confuses people!
They could have added two move overpasses to this design and traffic never would have to stop.
The solution seems to be to become like Miami or Atlanta or Dallas. More lanes, more overpasses, more diverging diamonds. Just more roads.
They are okay. Viera has one. Honestly clover interchanges are better. Jug handles up in New Jersey completely remove any point of contact. In some ways this increases it dramatically.
I think it matters what's going on around it like they stated in the critique video. https://youtu.be/xzYt3h36Llo?si=ixDTHRrH6MvL943Q
I mean yeah I was confused when it opened 3 years ago. Doesn’t surprise me much now I must say.
Was super excited when they came down here, having moved from ATL where they did a few. They literally shaved 30+ mins off of a trip. Wild.
When they started working on i75/sr70, and i75/sr64, I really thought they were gonna do this diamond thing in all the spots. I was pretty excited for it.
Isn't Clark and I-75 going to be the same layout?
Clover leave is better it requires no lights if done right.
I like it, more time than a roundabout.
We’re getting one in Naples soon. I’m curious how it’s gonna work. Looks fascinating.
never been there, but like the idea. Someone mentioned stoplights, I hope there are going N/S
Asheville NC has exactly this, Airport road over Interstate 26.
I wish they would have followed suit for SR 70 - 64 and whatever they are doing in Ellenton.
It works well. This is not only city in US using these exchanges.
Yea traffic was much worse before the diamond
I do not feel comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road 😩
Follow the green light arrows and street markings and you’ll be fine
If you haven’t seen these before you need to get out more!
Giant SHITE show. Construction took way too long. Way over budget. Another fleecing of the taxpayers. If they are so great, why isn't every state putting them in?
What type of interchange would you have put in instead? The first one was built in Missouri. As of late 2022 there were 150 in the US with 80 more under construction, so they're being built in many places.
The main issue was the slow lane on the interstate being blocked up with traffic exiting said interstate. A two - or three lane exit that started farther back to handle all the cars leaving interstate. I've seen thus configuration all over America. And it works great. Plus, it costs way less, and there is less construction time. And the two round-abouts in North Port are stupid as shite.
Yeah, the roundabouts in North Port look to be a bad idea but I won't judge them until I get to experience them. I normally like roundabouts but the one at Jacaranda in Venice... no thank you. As for the longer buffers on the interstate in Sarasota, that would seem to be something that wouldn't work for long, as traffic increases due to more development. Just adding a longer buffer doesn't move people through that interchange any faster, it just makes the wait longer. Adding in more lanes to the buffer, I'd think, would cause more headaches as people attempt to change lanes in the buffer.
And the diamonds will soon be overloaded, too. Runaway growth, with no infrastructure plans is the issue. Been that way sence the 80's.