Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of cold and snow on daily and hourly truck traffic volume on a primary highway in Alberta, Canada. This research is based on a detailed case study of 5 years of weigh-in-motion data recorded continuously at Leduc site on Highway 2A. Influence of the winter conditions on truck type distribution is examined by classifying trucks into single-unit trucks, single-trailer, and multi-trailer units. It is evident from the study that proportion of the three truck classes in the total truck traffic remained essentially stable over the study period (2005–2009). Dummy-variable regression models are used to relate daily and hourly truck traffic volume with snowfall and categorized cold as independent variables. The statistical significance of all the independent variables used in the model is established by conducting tests such as R 2, F test, incremental F test, and t test. The study results suggested that the truck volume is not significantly affected by the normal snowfall or the typical cold temperatures, i.e., average daily snowfall about less than 15 cm or temperatures higher than −25 °C are not likely to affect the truck traffic patterns. It is believed that the findings of this study can benefit highway agencies in developing programs and policies for efficient monitoring of truck traffic throughout the year and snow removal during the winter season in Canada.
Highlights
Traffic volume varies over time and locations on all roadways
This paper investigates the impact of cold and snow on daily and hourly truck traffic volume on a primary highway in Alberta, Canada
Studies on truck traffic variations during severe winter conditions are next to non-existent, whereas research on truck traffic could be very useful for transportation analyses for such purposes as developing programs and policies for efficient winter road maintenance programs, structural and geometric design of pavement, highway life cycle analysis, project prioritization, etc
Summary
Traffic volume varies over time and locations on all roadways. Even if traffic streams are investigated for the same time and location, the variations in traffic volume could differ substantially when each vehicle class traveling in the traffic stream is analyzed separately. Severe winter weather conditions in Canada and northern regions of the USA are another factor for traffic stream variations [1, 2]. Datla and Sharma [1] studied the impact of winter weather conditions (cold temperatures and snowfall) on highway traffic volume. Their study concluded that winter weather causes significant variations in traffic volume, and the magnitude of variation depends on the time of day, day of the week, location, highway type, and severity of the weather. Studies on truck traffic variations during severe winter conditions are next to non-existent, whereas research on truck traffic could be very useful for transportation analyses for such purposes as developing programs and policies for efficient winter road maintenance programs, structural and geometric design of pavement, highway life cycle analysis, project prioritization, etc
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