Synonyms
Reversible and convertible lanes; One-way-out evacuation; Emergency preparedness; Evacuation planning; All-lanes-out; Split designs; Merge designs
Definition
Contraflow is a form of reversible traffic operation in which one or more travel lanes of a divided highway are used for the movement of traffic in the opposing directionFootnote 1 [1]. It is a highly effective strategy because it can both immediately and significantly increase the directional capacity of a roadway without the time or cost required to plan, design, and construct additional lanes. Since 1999, contraflow has been widely applied to evacuate regions of the southeastern United States (US) when under threat from hurricanes. As a result of its recent demonstrated effectiveness during Hurricane Katrina [2], it also now looked upon as a potential preparedness measure for other mass-scale hazards.
Contraflow segments are most common and logical on freeways because they are the highest capacity roadways and are...
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Notes
- 1.
The common definition of contraflow for evacuations has been broadened over the past several years by emergency management officials, the news media, and the public to include the reversal of flow on any roadway during an evacuation.
Recommended Reading
AÂ Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 5th edn., American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C. (2001)
Wolshon, B.: Planning and Engineering for the Katrina Evacuation. The Bridge, National Acad. Sci. Eng., vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 27–34 (2006)
Wolshon, B.: One-Way-Out: Contraflow Freeway Operation for Hurricane Evacuation. Nat. Hazard. Rev., Am. Soc. Civil Eng. 2(3), 105–112 (2001)
Wolshon, B., Lambert, L.: Convertible Lanes and Roadways, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Synthesis 340, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington DC, 92 pp (2004)
Wolshon B., Catarella-Michel, A., Lambert, L.: Louisiana Highway Evacuation Plan for Hurricane Katrina: Proactive Management of Regional Evacuations. ASCE J. Transp. Eng. 132(1), 1–10 (2006)
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Wolshon, B., Urbina, E., Levitan, M., Wilmot, C.: National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies, Part II: Transportation Management and Operations; ASCE Nat. Hazards Rev. 6(3), 142–161 (2005)
United States Army Corps of Engineers: Southeast United States Hurricane Evacuation Traffic Study, performed by Post, Buckeley, Schuh, and Jernigan, Inc., Tallahassee, FL (2000)
Theodoulou, G., Contraflow Evacuation on the Westbound I-10 Out of the City of New Orleans. Master's Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University (2003)
Williams, B., Tagliaferri, P.A., Meinhold, S.S., Hummer, J.E., Rouphail, N.M.: Simulation and Analysis of Freeway Lane Reversal for Coastal Hurricane Evacuation, ASCE J. Urban Plann. Dev. – Special Emergency Transportation Issue, 133(1), 61–72 (2007)
Lim, Y.Y.: Modeling and Evaluating Evacuation Contraflow Termination Point Designs. Master's Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University (2003)
Urbina, E., Wolshon, B.: National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies: A Comparison and Contrast of State Practices. Transp. Res., Part A: Policy Pract. 37(3), 257–275 (2003)
Senior Citizens From Houston Die When Bus Catches Fire, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, September 24 (2005); Page A09. [Also available online at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/23/AR2005092300505.html]
Wolshon B. and Marchive, E.: Evacuation Planning in the Urban-Wildland Interface: Moving Residential Subdivision Traffic During Wildfires. ASCE J. Urban Plann. Dev. – Special Emergency Transportation Issue 133(1), 73–81 (2007)
Sorensen, J., Vogt, B.: Interactive Emergency Evacuation Planning Guidebook. Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, Department of Homeland Security. [Available online at: http://emc.ornl.gov/CSEPPweb/evac_files/index.htm] (2006)
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Wolshon, B. (2008). Contraflow for Evacuation Traffic Management. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_210
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