Improvements in pedestrian facilities at Maharagama to mitigate the traffic congestion

Abstract

Traffic congestion at the busy intersections during peak hours is very high and the wastage of time, fuel and other resources of road users is a critical issue. This congestion cost in Sri Lanka is estimated around Rs. 12 billion per annum. High Level Road (A04) which is a main corridor out of the seven major transport corridors, pass through Maharagama junction. Due to infringement and inadequacy of pedestrian walkways and facilities, encroaching of pedestrians into the carriageway disturbing vehicle movement is a main reason for the traffic congestion. Therefore, a number of road traffic accidents occur daily. This paper illustrates the overall study carried out to determine a solution for safe movement of pedestrians in Maharagama city. The study was started by identifying the problem and continued with data collection conducting a vehicle count survey and a pedestrian survey. As the most feasible solution for the congestion, a pedestrian overpass was selected and justified using a decision matrix. The network and the stations for overpass system were decided considering the commercial centres, public related service centres and locations where high pedestrian movement is present. As the secondary data, 1: 10,000 digital data obtained from Survey Department including the land use in the area were considered. In designing the structure, the ultimate loading conditions, deflection, vibrational effects, materials needed for construction, aesthetic appearance and power needed for the system were considered. Width of the overpass was decided by considering the Level of Service (LOS) for the pedestrians. Expected outcomes of the project are: improvement of vehicle flow, reduction of delay, reduction of road accidents and improvement of pedestrian safety at Maharagama.