An Enhanced 0–1 Mixed-Integer LP Formulation for Traffic Signal Control

Abstract

An enhanced 0-1 mixed-integer linear programming formulation based on the cell-transmission model is proposed for the traffic signal optimization problem. This formulation has several features that are currently unavailable in other existing models developed with a similar approach, including the components for handling the number of stops, fixed or dynamic cycle length and splits, and lost time. The problem of unintended vehicle holding, which is common in analytical models, is explicitly treated. The formulation can be utilized in developing strategies for adaptive traffic-control systems. It can also be used as a benchmark for examining the convergence behavior of heuristic algorithms based on the genetic algorithm, fuzzy logic, neural networks, or other approaches that are commonly used in this field. The discussion of extending the proposed model to capture traffic signal preemption in the presence of emergency vehicles is given. In terms of computational efficiency, the proposed formulation has the least number of binary integers as compared with other existing formulations that were developed with the same approach.