The Safety Effects of Access Management Treatments in the Vicinity of Major Arterial Crossroads in Utah Grant G. Schultz, Ph.D., P.E., PTOE; Charles G. Allen, E.I.T. Abstract: Traffic safety and operations are important factors in transportation systems. Signalized intersections are of particular concern in terms of both safety and operation as they are designated to facilitate safe and efficient movement of conflicting traffic, oftentimes at high speeds. When accesses are located within the functional areas of major-arterial crossroads, additional conflicts arise from entering and exiting movements at the accesses, further complicating intersection activity. To help in understanding the effect of accesses in the vicinity of major-arterial crossroads, research was conducted on the impact of accesses on crashes within major-arterial crossroad functional areas. To understand the relationships within the functional areas, 144 signalized major-arterial crossroads across the state of Utah were examined. Frequency, type, and severity of functional area crashes as well as the intersection and roadway characteristics within the functional area were summarized in a database and analyzed to determine the influence of accesses on crashes within the functional area of intersections. Statistical analyses showed that the existence of accesses within the functional areas was related to an increase in the total number of crashes and the severity of such crashes. The analyses also showed that study intersections designed to meet state of Utah access management corner clearance standards exhibited fewer right-angle crashes and decreased crash severity. This research helps to identify the safety effects of access management treatments in the vicinity of major-arterial crossroads that can be used by governing agencies to help justify standards and identify safety benefits of access management. INTRODUCTION Traffic safety and operations are important factors in transportation systems. Signalized intersections are of particular concern in terms of both safety and operation as they are designed to facilitate safe and efficient movement of conflicting traffic, oftentimes at high speeds. Accesses that are located within the functional areas of major-arterial crossroads introduce additional conflicts from entering and exiting movements at the access, further complicating intersection activity. Past research in the area of access management has addressed the safety relationship between accesses, roadway corridors, and access management techniques (Eisele and Frawley 2005; Flintsch et al. 2008; Gluck et al. 1999; Schultz et al. 2007; Schultz et al. 2009; Schultz et al. 2010a; TRB 2003), including research on the effect of crossroads in the vicinity of interchanges and the impact these crossroads have on capacity and safety (Butorac and Wen 2004). Previous research had not specifically explored the safety impact of accesses within the vicinity of intersections, particularly within the functional area of major arterials. To help understand the effect of accesses within the functional area of intersections, 144 signalized major-arterial crossroads across the state of Utah were examined. Frequency, type, and severity of functional area crashes as well as the intersection and roadway characteristics within the functional area were summarized in a database and analyzed to determine the influence of accesses on crashes. Statistical analyses were then conducted to determine the role