The highway operational strategies implemented to reduce recurring congestion have shown promising results abroad where there is an extensive use of active traffic management systems. To prove the effectiveness of a better managed freeway in mitigating recurring congestion, this study tested the effectiveness of an active traffic management system on a simulated model of I-66 and I-95 in Northern Virginia. Hard shoulders, variable speed limits, and ramp metering are several active traffic management systems simulated in this study. The simulation model was based on the geometric characteristics, ramp volumes, vehicle flows, and speeds of actual recorded conditions. Compared with the simulated control conditions, the results of the study indicated improvements in average fuel economy, travel delay, delay of the onset of congestion, and reduction of queues. The two active traffic management systems, i.e., variable speed limits and hard shoulders, showed the highest potential for reducing recurring congestion and should be considered as potential countermeasures in congested corridors. The purpose of this research was to develop and test the effectiveness of active traffic management strategies for reducing recurring congestion on a simulated model of I-95 and I-66 in Northern Virginia to determine which congestion mitigation techniques would have the highest likelihood of success at reducing recurring congestion.
Investigation of Solutions to Recurring Congestion on Freeways
2009
30 pages
Report
No indication
English
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