Future Impact on Maharagama Town Traffic Flow and Pedestrian Safety due to Southern Expressway and Outer Circular Highway: Proposed Solutions

Abstract

Maharagama town becomes severely congested due to traffic & pedestrian activities during daytime. The absence of proper road shoulders makes the pedestrians enter the carriageway, which in turn creates a safety hazard and results in slowing down vehicular traffic. After the completion of the Southern Expressway and Outer Circular Highway, it is expected that additional traffic volume in Maharagama town area will result in traffic congestion and safety situation even worse. In order to find a solution for this situation, capacities of roads were evaluated by compiling data of vehicular flow, pedestrian movements and other supportive information of that area for present condition and for year 2030 (i.e. 20 years from now) with do nothing option. According to the obtained field data, and capacity calculations, all the roads in this area will badly fail to cater to the future traffic demand (i.e. for year 2030) unless some drastic improvements are conducted immediately. Also it was found that even at present, available pedestrian facilities were not satisfactory in this area, and the rate of accidents were high. Hence road widths, number of lanes, walkway shoulders, and pedestrian crossings were designed using the US highway capacity manual to evaluate the above conditions in the zone. Also geometric designs for islands were conducted based on AUSTROADS guides and templates. Objective of this study is to introduce suitable layout plan for Maharagama town area with required road improvements, road signs, and pedestrian facilities to enhance traffic flow and pedestrian safety for future operational conditions with the Southern Expressway and Outer Circular Highway in operation.