Civil engineering department chair discusses "superstreets" in Florida

"Superstreets, also known as restricted crossing U-turn intersections, usually are met with apprehension, said Joseph Hummer, a professor and chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit.

"We've found (there's) anxiety at the stage you're at right now, when there's one being proposed or being construction, but after it's in for a while, the drivers come to not only accept it, but then they really kind of embrace it," Hummer said.

The intersections typically cut travel time by 20 percent and reduce the number of collision points from 32 at a traditional intersection to 14, Hummer said. Drivers wanting to continue straight on Floresta would experience a slight delay, Hummer said.

"There's almost no way to make a mistake, and therefore there really shouldn't be much confusion there," Hummer said.

Crosstown's superstreet would be the first in Florida. As of 2014, there were 50 across the country, Hummer said. The design has been successfully implemented in North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Utah and South Carolina, according to city documents. The intersection would cost approximately $97,500 more than a traditional one, a project manager told the council Monday."

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