The Median U-turn Intersection (MUT) is not a new concept in the United States. However, very few Georgia residents have driven through MUT's. The use of the MUT in Georgia has not been previously promoted for specific projects by state or local governments until the Cobb County Department of Transportation (CCDOT) recently incorporated this design into its Barrett Parkway widening project. Barrett Parkway is a major multi-lane highway in northwest Atlanta. The project will widen Barrett Parkway to six lanes. The southern terminus of this 6-lane widening is the intersection with Burnt Hickory Road. Even though Burnt Hickory Road is a two-lane, undivided street, it is projected to carry over 18,000 vehicles per day in the future. When this traffic is combined with the 56,000 vehicles per day on Barrett Parkway, traffic operations at this intersection will be challenging even with widening Barrett Parkway to six lanes. CCDOT selected the MUT design for the Barrett Parkway approaches to this intersection. CCDOT received comments opposing this innovative strategy from local residents and governmental officials. However, with the estimated traffic operational benefits of removing the left turn phases for Barrett Parkway traffic, CCDOT decided to proceed with this design. This paper will describe the benefits of this design and the public's reluctance to accept this innovative intersection design strategy.
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