Reduced conflict intersection could be part of Highway 60 project at Bingham Lake

January 7, 2014

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Design decreases the ‘T-bone’ accidents seen at Highway 60/Cottonwood County #1 intersection

CROSSING A RURAL four-lane divided highway using a Reduced Conflict Intersection.(MnDOT graphic)

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has proposed a reduced conflicted intersection (RCI) may be part of the West Gap of the Highway 60 Project between Mountain Lake and Windom. That intersection would be where Cottonwood County Road #2 crosses Highway 60 at Bingham Lake.

The entire Highway 60 four-lane project calls for two new existing west-bound lanes be built to the north of the existing two-lane section, realignment of three Cottonwood County roads to lessen skew between roadways and the possible RCI realignment at Bingham Lake. Work on this section of the project is slated for 2017.

LEFT HAND TURN onto a rural four-lane divided highway using a Reduced Conflict Intersection. (MnDOT graphic)

According to the MnDOT website, RCIs are designed to increase safety, decreasing “T-bone” (or right-angle broadside) crashes, such as that occur at the intersection of the four-lane divided Highway 60 and the two-lane Cottonwood County Road #1 at Mountain Lake. These accidents occur when motorists either attempt to cross all four lanes of traffic or make a left-hand turn. (A typical four-lane divided highway intersection has 42 possible vehicle conflict points, and with RCIs, those conflict points are reduced to as few as 18). In fact, studies show a 70% reduction in fatalities – and a 42% reduction in injury crashes – where RCIs are used. RCIs are also faster to build. They can be designed and built in approximately one year, while interchanges typically take between three-to-five years. RCIs are also often less expensive than a stop light – and are a fraction of the cost of building an interchange.

At a traditional intersection with a four-lane divided highway, motorists from the side road need to look in both directions in order to cross. Left turns require the same level of attention. With an RCI, drivers from the side road only have to be concerned with one direction of traffic on the highway at a time. There is no need for motorists to wait for a gap in both directions to cross a major road.

Here is how RCIs work:

Motorists approaching a four-lane divided highway from a side road cannot make a left turn or cross the lanes of traffic. Instead, motorists are required to turn right onto the highway, then make a U-turn at a designated median opening.

In an RCI, drivers always make a right turn – followed by a U-turn. This reduced potential conflict points and increases safety.

MnDOT already has RCIs in place at County Road #24 at Willmar, Highway 169 and County Road #3 at Belle Plaine, Highway 36 and Keats Avenue at Lake Elmo, Highway 10 and County Road #8 at Becker and at Highway 169 and 173rd Street at Jordan. Plans are to build additional RCIs in the next five years in Cologne, Cannon Falls, Vermillion, Zumbrota, Cotton, Ham Lake, Ramsey and Oakdale.

(In some parts of the country, RCIs are sometimes referred to as J-turns or RCUTs – restricted crossing U-turn intersections.)

Following is an animated video of traffic flow at an RCI, courtesy of MnDOT:

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Reduced conflict intersection could be part of Highway 60 project at Bingham Lake