Lane Addition Research Articles

Sustainable Urban Mobility: Corridor Optimization to Promote Modal Choice, Reduce Congestion, and Enhance Livability in Hyderabad, Pakistan

This research aims to optimize corridors in Hyderabad, Sindh, to promote modal choice, reduce congestion, and enhance livability. This study focused on developing and evaluating multimodal wide corridor routing methods, analyzing the modal choice behavior of travelers using a generalized cost model and a mixed constant and separate user balance model, and implementing and assessing innovative road space management strategies. The data were collected using GIS (Geographical Information System) to compare the performance and impacts of the proposed methods and techniques with existing ones, such as shortest path, minimum interference, maximum capacity, and lane addition, using various performance measures, such as travel time, modal share, congestion level, environmental impact, safety, and equity. This research aims to optimize corridors in Hyderabad, Sindh, to encourage various transportation options, such as the BRT system and Peoples Bus Service, to reduce congestion and enhance livability by developing and accessing different methods and strategies. This study analyzed available data through a geospatial perspective to optimize corridors in Hyderabad, Sindh, focusing on multimodal routing methods, modal choice behavior, and innovative road space management strategies to enhance urban livability rather than relying on simulation software or field-collected data.

Capacity Increase Plan Analysis by Adding Lane to the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road

The Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road serves as a vital route, connecting Jakarta to its eastern suburbs and facilitating both passenger travel and logistics operations. However, persistent congestion along this stretch of highway has prompted the need for a comprehensive assessment of its capacity performance. This study aims to evaluate the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road's capacity performance using the V/C ratio metric. The analysis encompasses the calculation of V/C ratio values for the years 2022–2023, forecasting peak-hour daily traffic volumes for 2024 under three distinct scenarios: (i) no capacity expansion, (ii) capacity expansion through the addition of one lane, and (iii) traffic management intervention involving one-lane contraflow. The findings reveal that the highest V/C ratio values for peak hours in 2024, without lane additions, are 0.65 for Lane A and 0.71 for Lane B. However, these values decrease to 0.49 for Lane A and 0.53 for Lane B when considering capacity expansion through lane addition or contraflow implementation. Therefore, to ensure compliance with the Minimum Service Standards (SPM) until the end of the concession period, it is recommended that the toll road operator implement capacity enhancement by adding one lane in each route.

High-Resolution Modelling of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Before and After the Implementation of a Designated Truck Lane

This work seeks to assess the impact of adding a lane for slower trucks on a divided multilane highway on CO₂ emissions. A portion of the U.S. 101 highway in San Luis Obispo County in California consists of the Cuesta Grade which is a 2.75-mile segment with a 7% grade. A microsimulation software, VISSIM, was used in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions model, MOVES, to estimate CO₂ emissions on the corridor before and after the construction of the third lane. It was found that CO₂ emissions <i>decreased</i> between 1998 (before) and 2012 (after the 2003 lane addition), but the effect of the truck lane was shown to be different for the northbound (uphill) and southbound (downhill) directions. The truck lane in the northbound direction exhibited a 9.5% decrease in volume with 10.7% decrease in emissions, and the southbound direction experienced a 20.3% increase in volume but 7.4% decrease in emissions. For the northbound (uphill) direction, emissions seemed to correlate more closely with traffic volumes while a sensitivity analysis revealed travel speeds had a more profound effect on southbound (downhill) emission rates. In the conclusion section, ideas to further validate the emissions estimate are discussed. Emissions seemed to correlate more closely with traffic volumes (uphill) while travel speeds had a more profound effect on southbound (downhill) emission rates. One factor to be accounted for is the change in volume which seems to play a much larger role in emissions than roadway features or topography.

Optimizing the selection and scheduling of multi-class projects using a Stackelberg framework

One of the major causes of non-recurrent traffic congestion in urban areas is the implementation of transport infrastructure projects on city roads. The seeming ubiquity of work zones in cities causes road user frustration and safety hazards, and public relations problems for the transport agency. For this reason, transport agencies seek strategic ways to not only select urban projects but also schedule them in a manner that minimizes the effort associated with these functions. In other words, they seek to exploit the synergies between the tasks of project selection and project scheduling while duly accommodating the project interdependencies. This study introduces a general framework that simultaneously and optimally selects and schedules urban road projects subject to budgetary constraints over a given planning horizon. The project classes considered in this study are lane addition, new road construction, and road maintenance. Through a mimicry of the classic Stackelberg leader-follower game, this problem is formulated herein as a bi-level program. In the upper level, the leader (transport agency decision-makers) determines an optimal set of projects from a larger pool of candidate projects and decides an optimal schedule for their implementation. In the lower level, the followers (road users) seek to minimize their travel delays based on the two decisions made by the leader in the upper level. The numerical experiments show that if the decision-makers do not consider the peri-implementation capacity reduction, the resulting set of selected projects and their construction schedule can lead to significant travel delay cost for the road users.

Investigating Acceptable Level of Travel Demand before Capacity Enhancement for Signalized Urban Road Networks

Increasing travel demand in urban areas triggers traffic congestion and increases delay in road networks. In this context, local authorities that are responsible for traffic operations seek to strike a balance between traffic volume and capacity to reduce total travel time on road networks. Since intersections are the most critical components of road networks in terms of safety and operational issues, adjusting intersection signal timings becomes an effective method for authorities. When this tool remains incapable of overcoming traffic congestions, authorities take expensive measures such as increasing link capacities, lane additions or applying grade-separated junctions. However, it may be more useful to handle road networks as a whole by investigating the effects of optimizing signal timings of all intersections in the network. Therefore, it would be useful to investigate the right time for physical improvements on the road network to avoid premature investments considering limited resources of local authorities. In this study, effects of increasing travel demand on Total Travel Cost (TTC) is investigated by developing a bi-level programming model, called TRAvel COst Minimizer (TRACOM), in which the upper level minimizes the TTC subject to the stochastic user equilibrium link flows determined at the lower level. The TRACOM is applied to Allsop and Charlesworths’ network for different origin-destination demand matrix multipliers. Results revealed that TTC values showed an approximate linear increase while the travel demand is increased up to 16%. After this value, TTC showed a sudden spike although the travel demand was linearly increased that means optimizing signal timings must be supported by applying psychical improvements.

Optimal Timing for Lane(s) Addition to an Existing Highway: A Benefit–Cost Approach

The present study presents a comprehensive framework for optimal highway capacity expansion through lane(s) addition. The applicability of the proposed framework is demonstrated using data from a multi-lane urban arterial. In the proposed methodology, annualized widening costs (agency lane addition cost and work zone user delay cost) and excess user costs for do-nothing scenario (excess travel delay cost, excess vehicle operating cost and excess crash cost) were estimated for each analysis year within highway life cycle to estimate a range of traffic volumes for highway capacity expansion. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of optimal time for highway capacity expansion to: (1) annual traffic growth rates (2) agency to user cost relative weights and (3) annual discount rate. Study results revealed that optimal highway capacity expansion time corresponds to an ADT ranging between approximately 34,430 and 37,600 vehicles per day for the case study traffic mix conditions. The sensitivity analysis results revealed that increase in agency to user cost relative weight and annual traffic growth rate would result in later and earlier optimal highway capacity expansion, respectively, while variations in annual discount rate have minimal impact on optimal highway capacity expansion timings. It is anticipated that the application of proposed framework can result in a sustainable decision by saving a huge amount of agency expenditures and excess user costs due to non-optimal decisions.

A stochastic user equilibrium assignment problem in discrete network design problem

We formulate the transportation discrete network design problem (DNDP) as a mixed-integer bi-level mathematical problem, based on the concept reserve capacity. The upper level goal programme maximises the reserve capacity by designing the direction of street and increasing the street capacity through lane addition. The lower level problem is stochastic user equilibrium traffic assignment problem within a probit-based path choice decision framework which generates user equilibrium flow patterns. Because of non-convexity nature of the model, meta-heuristic methods used to solve the problem and we used Monte Carlo simulation approach to compute path choice probabilities and stochastic user equilibrium solved by method of successive averages. A hybrid genetic algorithm with simulated annealing and an evolutionary simulated annealing algorithm are proposed. Numerical examples are presented to verify the proposed model and algorithm.

Multi-objective discrete urban road network design

This paper addresses the problem of designing urban road networks in a multi-objective decision making framework. Given a base network with only two-way links, and the candidate lane addition and link construction projects, the problem is to find the optimal combination of one-way and two-way links, the optimal selection of network capacity expansion projects, and the optimal lane allocations on two-way links to optimize the reserve capacity of the network, and two new travel time related performance measures. The problem is considered in two variations; in the first scenario, two-way links may have different numbers of lanes in each direction and in the second scenario, two-way links must have equal number of lanes in each direction. The proposed variations are formulated as mixed-integer programming problems with equilibrium constraints. A hybrid genetic algorithm, an evolutionary simulated annealing, and a hybrid artificial bee colony algorithm are proposed to solve these two new problems. A new measure is also proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the three algorithms. Computational results for both problems are presented.

Possible Expectancy Violations on Frontage and Conventional Roads at Interchanges

The intersection and mandatory movement lane control signs placed on intersection approaches are critical to safe and efficient intersection operations. Ramp, frontage road, and cross-street approaches to interchanges often widen at intersections to accommodate additional through or turn lanes. Currently, there is inconsistency in conveying to drivers how they should align themselves upstream of a diamond intersection to maneuver for their desired turning movement as the intersection widens. These inconsistencies can result in drivers making an incorrect lane selection that may result in late lane changes or illegal turns. This paper focuses on the expectancy violations that were discovered by a driver survey portion of a larger project that included practitioner surveys and a field evaluation of sign alternatives. A computer-based driver survey sampled 204 Texas drivers in four cities. The questions reported in this paper focused on driver expectations of lane movement and assignment on frontage road approaches to cross streets on freeway on- and off-ramps. Findings that showed that drivers are often incorrect in their assumptions about lane assignment when approaching intersections indicate a greater need for advanced lane control signs. A new sign design, adopted from Australian practice, that graphically shows lane additions and drops was the most effective for cases in which the downstream geometry varied from the driver's expectations.

Left-Turn Prohibition and Partial Grade Separation for Signalized Intersections: Planning-Level Assessment

AbstractRecurring congestion at signalized intersections is caused by the inability of traffic signal controls to serve demand even in cities where advanced traffic signal timing and management systems are in operation. Left-turn prohibition (LTP) and partial grade separation with low-clearance underpass (LCUP) are possible congestion mitigation actions for urban complex and congested signalized intersections that have exhausted other options for capacity enhancement, such as lane addition and signal timing optimization. LTP and LCUP improve traffic signal efficiency by eliminating signal phases, increasing green splits, or adding lanes. They also improve intersection safety by eliminating certain conflicts. At the same time, they necessitate traffic rerouting, may have negative impacts at downstream locations, and may have perceived or actual impacts to accessibility and neighborhood character. A planning-level assessment method to quantify and compare the benefits and costs LTP and LCUP was developed to...

Modeling Traffic Flow on Urban Highways: the Application of Cellular Automata and Nested Logit

The current study attempts to model the drivers’ behavior in a basic freeway in order to use it in future simulations and predictions as well as to find out its effective variables and analyze the sensitivity of model to them, using a cellular automata model. Cellular automata are considered as one of the applied methods in traffic flow simulation. These models consist of a set of regular and finite grid of cells each of which can be in one of a finite number of defined states. In order to find the rules, a nested logit model is constructed. The parameters of the nested logit model are then estimated and analyzed. In order to be able to estimate the parameters, real data are needed. Therefore, the data which are extracted from a selected highway in Iran are used for the parameter estimation of the nested logit model. Results of the analysis confirmed the capability of nested logit model in simulation of traffic flow under irregular driving conditions, in which lane changing occurs frequently. They also showed that crash risk has no effect on reduction of longitudinal speed of vehicles, while the maximum safe speed plays a main role in driving behavior, showing that the focused drivers choose their next position in accordance with the maximum safe speed. The current paper’s center of attention is its methodology. This method can be used to improve the utilization of the existing systems (without lane addition) through better traffic management and operations strategies, and improve the geometric design of roads and highways, and consequently improve mobility, safety, and air quality, which are of great importance.

Optimizing reserve capacity of urban road networks in a discrete Network Design Problem

This paper addresses the problem of designing of street directions and lane additions in urban road networks, based on the concept of reserve capacity. Reserve capacity is identified by the largest multiplier applied to a given existing demand matrix, that can be allocated to a network without violating the arc capacities. Having a two-way streets base network and the allowable street lane additions, the problem is to find the optimum configuration of street directions and two-way street lane allocations, and the optimum selection of street lane addition projects, in a way that the reserve capacity of the network is maximized. The problem is considered in two variations; in the first variation no restriction is imposed on the symmetricity of lane allocations for two-way streets, and in the second variation, two-way street lane allocations are restricted to be symmetric. The proposed problems are modeled as mixed-integer bi-level mathematical problems. A hybrid genetic algorithm and an evolutionary simulated annealing algorithm are proposed to solve the models. Computational results for both problem variations are presented.

Hybrid Evolutionary Metaheuristics for Concurrent Multi-Objective Design of Urban Road and Public Transit Networks

This paper addresses a bi-modal multi-objective discrete urban road network design problem with automobile and bus flow interaction. The problem considers the concurrent urban road and bus network design in which the authorities play a major role in designing bus network topology. The road network design deals with the decision making for new street constructions, lane additions to existing streets, lane allocations for two-way streets, and the orientations and locations of one-way streets. The bus network design is performed by keeping the terminal stations of the existing bus lines unchanged and redesigning the forth and back routes of each line. Four measures, namely user benefit, the demand coverage of the bus network, the demand share of the bus mode, and the average travel generalized cost of bus passengers, are used to evaluate the network design scenarios. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization model in which a modal-split/assignment model is included to depict the mode and route choice behaviors of travelers. The model is solved by the hybrid genetic algorithm and the hybrid clonal selection algorithm. The performance of these algorithms is presented and investigated by solving a number of test networks.

Bi-objective bimodal urban road network design using hybrid metaheuristics

In this paper a bimodal discrete urban road network design problem with bus and car modes is investigated. The problem consists of decision making for lane addition to the existing streets, new street constructions, converting some two-way streets to one-way streets, lane allocation for two-way streets, and the allocation of some street lanes for exclusive bus lanes. Two objectives are considered in the problem: maximization of consumer surplus, and maximization of the demand share of the bus mode. The interaction of automobile and bus flows are explicitly taken into account and a modal-split/assignment model is used to obtain the automobile and bus flows in the deterministic user equilibrium state. The main contribution of the paper lies in proposing a new network design problem that combines the road network design decisions with the decision making for bus networks. The problem is formulated as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints. A hybrid of genetic algorithm and simulated annealing, a hybrid of particle swarm optimization and simulated annealing, and a hybrid of harmony search and simulated annealing are proposed to solve the problem. Computational results for a number of test networks are presented and investigated.

Planning for Evacuation: Insights from an Efficient Network Design Model

In the context of evacuation planning at a strategic level, an efficient model is proposed to augment network capacity under a budget constraint so as to enhance operational performance under a security threat. Contraflow strategies and lane additions are considered for capacity augmentation. The corresponding mathematical programming model is obtained through a case-specific graph theoretic transformation of Daganzo's cell transmission model, exploiting problem characteristics to enhance computational efficiency. This paper focuses on experiments and sensitivity analyses to provide insights: (1) on the computational efficiency of the proposed model; and (2) for strategies for evacuation planning and operations. Sensitivity analyses are performed for a test network in terms of the budget for contraflow operations, the evacuee population size, and the amount and spatial distribution of origin-destination (O-D) demand. The results suggest that there is a threshold budget beyond which benefits, in terms of the network clearance time, are negligible. They also indicate that the network clearance time varies linearly with uniformly distributed population size. Finally, greater spatial uniformity of O-D demand reduces clearance times, suggesting that specifying multiple destinations in the safety zone may lead to more efficient evacuation in many instances. From a response standpoint, the study suggests that operational effectiveness requires predetermined contraflow strategy plans with designated and well-trained personnel, rather than just reacting to a security event in real-time.

Induced Demand: A Microscopic Perspective

This paper analyses the induced demand hypothesis using a disaggregate approach at the link level. A panel data-set of Minneapolis-Saint Paul highway network for the years 1980-98 is constructed. A model that predicts the traffic flow on the link in terms of vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) based on the flow and capacity conditions existing on the link in the previous years is specified and estimated. The flow and capacity conditions existing on the identified neighbouring parallel links are also taken into account. Socio-demographic characteristics like population of the Minor Civil Division (MCD) to which the link belongs and the surrounding MCDs are also considered. The results indicate that capacity enhancements in the previous years, given by lane additions, have a positive and significant effect on the VKT of the link, confirming the induced demand hypothesis. The elasticities are lower than reported in previous research, indicating the importance of separating new construction from the expansion of existing links.

EVALUATION OF THE FLORENCE HIGHWAY WIDENING PLAN BY MEANS OF LCA APPROACH

The project of boosting the Florence segment of the main Italian highway, linking the northern regions with the southern ones, has been evaluated in this work, by means of Life Cycle Assessment. Basically, the project consists in building a third lane, for both north and south directions, for the highway segment which bypasses the Florence urban area. This route - 22,5 km long between the two outermost Florence highway exits - is intensively used also as an alternative local traffic way in spite of urban area crossing. Because of the large traffic flows, slowing-downs and jams are frequently reported, especially during rush hours. Beyond annoyances as comfort reduction, time wastes, and noises, this situation strongly contributes to environmental quality reduction in the suburban area, in the highway neighbourhoods. The present situation and the future scenario of third lane addition have been compared in terms of environmental effects on a life cycle horizon. Moreover, further hypotheses of lane widening were proposed and assessed and an improvement in the vehicle composition - considering low emission vehicles, according to the latest EC directives - was evaluated. Results showed that the third-lane project realisation allows 3l% overall environmental load reduction with respect to the present situation scenario. The environmental impact due to the construction and maintenance phases is negligible when compared with the operation phase. The proposed theoretical further lane widening doesn't add any substantial environmental load variation. When also considering vehicle composition improvement, the third-lane scenario results even in higher environmental load percentage reduction with respect to the present situation scenario. For the covering abstract see ITRD E120462.

Effects on road safety of new urban arterial roads

This paper presents an evaluation of the effects on road safety of new urban arterial roads in Oslo, Norway, and a synthesis of evidence from similar studies that have evaluated the safety effects of new urban arterial roads in other cities. A before-and-after study was made of four urban arterial road projects in Oslo. The study controlled for general accident trends in Oslo and for regression-to-the-mean. A statistically non-significant reduction of 9% in the number of injury accidents was found for all four projects combined. The effects on safety of new urban arterial roads were found to vary, depending on whether a new arterial road was built, or an existing arterial road upgraded by means of lane additions and reconstruction of junctions to interchanges. New arterial roads tend to induce more traffic, which tends to offset the benefits of a lower accident rate on the new roads. The results for other cities are very consistent with those for Oslo. For a total of seven cases in which new arterial roads were built, a statistically non-significant reduction of 1% in the number of injury accidents was found. Two cases that involved lane additions and converting at-grade junctions to interchanges resulted in a mean accident reduction of 51%, which was highly significant. On the average, the nine arterial road projects from which evidence was summarised resulted in a net induced traffic of 16%, and a net reduction in accident rate (accidents per million vehicle kilometres) of 18%. These effects almost cancel each other, leading to a very small net change in the expected number of accidents.

Success Factors and Decision Issues for High-Occupancy Vehicle Facilities

Factors affecting success of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are explored. An earlier study was conducted to support future HOV choices in Chicago, which has no such facilities, in part because of concerns about risks and possible negative outcomes. HOV facility performance characteristics were assembled and updated. Comparisons of closed and operating HOV lanes, as well as case studies, highlighted the importance of HOV lane utilization as a success factor and suggested 800 to 1,000 HOVs per lane-hour as typical of the success-failure boundary. A number of key factors in the HOV planning and decision process were explored. HOV lanes were found to be generally favorable for transit; flexibility of access restrictions (such as occupancy requirements and tolling options) makes it feasible to assure acceptable lane utilization levels; HOV2+ seems to be the access restriction most feasible in typical markets; evidence on formation of new carpools is mixed (this question warrants more study); lane addition rather than conversion is usually essential for feasibility; and organized opposition to HOV lanes demands careful planning and promotion of utilization. Criteria for identification of more promising HOV facility locations are provided.

Freeway Facility Methodology in Highway Capacity Manual 2000

The next edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000) will contain for the first time an operational analysis procedure for directional freeway facilities up to 20 to 25 km long. At the simplest level, this procedure integrates the proposed HCM 2000 methods for the analysis of basic, ramp, and weaving segments to enable the analysis of an entire facility. But the proposed facility methodology goes much further. It allows the user to analyze multiple, contiguous time intervals with timevarying demands and capacities. It can handle both undersaturated and oversaturated traffic conditions (with some limitations). In the latter case, both the spatial and time extent of congestion are estimated. Finally, the method permits the investigation of the effect of many traditional and intelligent transportation system–based freeway improvement strategies such as full or auxiliary lane additions, ramp metering, incident management, and a limited set of high-occupancy-vehicle designs on facility performance. Described here is the conceptual model for and computational steps of the methodology, with emphasis on the components for analysis of oversaturated conditions. The scope and limitations of the methods are also highlighted. Reference is given to a companion paper that describes how the results of the method were validated in the field and how they compared with those obtained from widely used freeway simulation models.