Integrating GIS and Microscopic Traffic Simulation to Analyze Impacts of Transportation Infrastructure Construction

Abstract

AbstractInfrastructure rehabilitation is critical to assuring the proper functioning of a nation’s transportation infrastructure. While the goal of rehabilitation is typically to restore or improve the performance of the transportation system, the construction activity itself disrupts traffic and worsens the already-congested transportation network with unsafe work zones. Traffic simulation models are becoming widely used in evaluating such disruption in a controlled environment without physical implementation. Though rapid increase in computer processing power has made microscopic simulation feasible, developing valid models is still a tedious and time-consuming task that is prone to errors. This paper presents a study to automate development of microscopic traffic simulation models in a large-scale network by integrating the geographic information system (GIS) and microscopic traffic simulation. This study adopted an integration approach and developed a framework to combine GIS macro- and microscopic mo...