Capacity Assessment of Slaughter Rotary Intersection

This paper ex-rays the capacity of slaughter roundabout in order to address the traffic challenges by studying the traffic at the intersection. Slaughter intersection is one of the busiest intersections in Port Harcourt. Traffic volume count and analysis was carried out at the intersection and converted to equivalent Passenger Car Unit per hour (PCU/hr). The study revealed that, the intersection attracts a traffic volume of 3411 PCU/hr with a practical rotary capacity of 3209 PCU/hr. These capacities are about 13.7% and 7% higher than the recommended rotary capacity of 3000 PCU/hr given by the Indian Road Congress (IRC) making the present intersection inadequate and incapable of handling the present traffic set-up at Slaughter intersection leading to traffic problems. Further analysis on the four approaches revealed that they are undersaturated with degree of saturation of 0.31 (31%), 0.29 (29%), 0.45 (45%), and 0.23 (23%) for the North, East, South and West approaches, this is an average of about 0.53 (53%) below 0.85 (85%) of recommended traffic demand. Hence, the traffic situation experienced at Slaughter roundabout from field observation, were as result of illegal trading around the intersection, road user behavior, lack of pedestrian crossing facility, absence of pavement markings, lack of packing facility and not the flow from the approaches. The study therefore recommends an improved design of the intersection, parking facilities, pedestrian crossing facilities, a stop to illegal trading and markets around the intersection, provision of a flyover in the Trans Woji section of the intersection.