Lane Closures Research Articles

Towards a Social Psychology-based Microscopic Model of Driver Behavior and Decision-making: Modifying Lewin's Field Theory

Central to effective roadway design is the ability to understand how drivers behave as they traverse a segment of roadway. While simple and complex microscopic models have been used over the years to analyse driver behaviour, most models: 1.) incorporate separate car-following and lane-changing algorithms, and thus do not capture the interdependencies between lane-changing and car-following vehicle; 2.) do not capture differences in the drivers’ cognitive and physical characteristics; and 3.) are constructed from observed vehicle movements and make no attempt to model the discrete differences between how each roadway element alters each driver's behaviour.This paper employs field theory to construct a conceptual framework for a new microscopic model. In field theory, an agent (e.g. the driver) views a field (i.e. the area surrounding the vehicle) filled with stimuli and perceives forces associated with each stimuli once these stimuli are internalized. Based on this theory, the resulting model would be designed to directly incorporate drivers’ perceptions to roadway stimuli along with vehicle movements for drivers of different cognitive and physical abilities. It is postulated that such a model would more effectively reflect reality, and if this model were accurately calibrated, could potentially model the effects of external stimuli such as innovative geometric configurations, lane closures, and technology applications such as variable message boards. A modified field theory could potentially capture and model “hot topics” in traffic engineering, such as the distracted drivers, road rage, the incorporation of ITS elements, and driver behaviour through a work zone.

Night-Time Highway Construction or Maintenance/Upgrading Works: An Analysis

This paper presents the analysis of interview sessions conducted with the general objective of studying night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works. This includes any work; construction, maintenance or upgrading, that involves the closure of highway lanes and traffic mitigation. Such works might be disadvantageous to be conducted during daytime, thus requiring them to be conducted at night. Data were collected by conducting interviews to relevant industry players with the objective of identifying reasons for such works to be conducted at night. The answers obtained were the gathered and the most famous themes are selected.

Impact of Abandoned and Disabled Vehicles on Freeway Incident Duration

AbstractIt is common to find a vehicle left on the shoulder, median, gore area, or on the travel lane for certain period of time. Experience from the state of Tennessee has shown that 78% of the freeway traffic-related incidents are attributable to disabled and abandoned vehicles. It is hypothesized that the longer the vehicle is left unattended within the right of way, the higher the probability of new incidents and secondary crashes. This paper utilized 2004–2010 freeway incident data in Tennessee to evaluate the effect of the length of incident durations caused by disabled and abandoned vehicles. Analysis evaluated the effect of these incidents with respect to roadway location, queue lengths, weather conditions, towing times, lane closure, and the source of incident notification. Temporal factors, including the spectra of the time of the day, the day of the week, and the seasons of the year were evaluated with respect to the number of incidents and incident durations. More disabled and abandoned vehicl...

A Reliable Mobile Application for Safety on Roads

Road traffic jams, roads construction works, maintenance activities, traffic incidents and other unplanned events represent a major concern in almost all countries that can result in considerable delays, higher fuel consumption, higher cost expenses and many other indirect effects which ultimately require immediate attention to alleviate such concerns that can influence the users. This was a motivation to combine mobile applications with traffic load analysis and develop an application that assists in giving drivers an access to traffic information, mainly road works and incidents, to help them better plan their daily journeys across the city. With this Mobile Application for the SAfety on Roads (MASAR), drivers can now stay in touch with latest information and traffic updates on the move in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. MASAR is dedicated to making drivers journey as safe and reliable as possible. Where delays occur, MASAR wants to make sure that you can access information quickly and easily. Furthermore, drivers can now take advantage of free travel news through MASAR. The current version of the application allows drivers to check how the traffic is flowing on highways and roads in Abu Dhabi before they begin their journey. The app only provides information for roads that are managed within Abu Dhabi, which are detailed within Abu Dhabi Network Maps. The travel information covers unplanned incidents such as accidents and congestion, plus lane closures and other restrictions due to improvement works. As future enhancements, the team is planning to covers all United Arab Emirates roads and makes the application compatible with almost all mobile phone platforms.

The Applicability Compare of Pavement Smoothness Instruments and the Exploration of the Specifications

Pavement roughness has a huge influence on driving comfort. As the progressive growing of motor vehicles, it is an important issue to effectively and quickly collect pavement information and prevent road congestion from lane closure when doing road test. This research compares the applicability of each roughness index and roughness instrument to recommend related organizations. The International Roughness Index, IRI is the index which is suitable for large-scale test, and the wavelength it can detect is close to human bodys sensation of vertical acceleration. The research also improves the self-developed inertial profiler based on previous generation, the instrument can now collect data on two side of the car instead of one side to improve the reliability in the process of road network test. The research finally compare the related regulation of inertial profiler and find out that the accelerometer, displacement sensors and numerical verification of domestic inertial profiler is incomplete and needs to be refined.

고속도로 단기공사구간 기본용량 결정에 관한 연구

고속도로 시설의 유지보수 관련 도로점용공사는 차로폐쇄로 인해 병목구간이 생기고 급격한 교통류 변화가 발생하게 된다. 이 때, 급격한 교통류 변화는 병목구간에서 합류로 인한 차량간 마찰을 키우고 이로 인해 정상적인 교통상황에서보다 용량이 더 낮게 나타나게 된다. 이러한 공사구간의 용량감소는 지정체를 발생시키고 상류부로 대기행렬을 형성시킴으로써 교통사고 발생 가능성도 높아지는 등 경제적인 손실비용 또한 증가시키게 된다. 따라서, 본 연구는 고속도로를 대상으로 단기 도로점용공사 작업 계획시 공사구간의 원활한 교통처리에 활용될 수 있는 공사구간 기본 용량 결정을 목적으로 수행되었다. 이를 위해 본 연구에서는 고속도로 검지기 자료와 공사현황 자료를 수집하여 두 자료의 매칭과정을 수행한 후 공사구간 검지기 자료를 1차적으로 선정하였다. 또한, 차로점용공사로 인해 교통류가 급격하게 변화되는 분석대상지점을 선정하여 용량분석을 수행하였다. 선정된 분석지점을 대상으로 공사유형, 차로감소유형, 설계속도별 등 다양한 유형별로 용량을 분석하였으며, 최종적으로 공사구간 기본용량을 설계속도 100, 120kph별로 각각 1,700, 1,750pcphpl로 제시하였다. Lane closure in freeway work zone due to maintenance and repair of freeway facilities results in abrupt change of traffic flow. Sudden change of traffic flow results strong interactions among vehicles, and reduces capacity compared to the ordinary traffic condition. Such capacity reduction is likely to cause congestion, traffic queues, and economic loss cost. This study aims to determine the base capacity for a short-term freeway work zone that can be used to establish a work zone schedule in advance without any traffic impact. First, the research collected detector data and schedule data of road works on all freeways in Korea. Second, the research determined 23 study sites finding the capacity values of work zone after matching two kinds of data. All study sites had varying characteristics regarding traffic flow being adjacent to work zone during road works. The capacity values were reviewed in terms of lane closure configuration, the types of work, and design speed. Finally, research proposed capacity values for a short-term freeway work zone with the design speeds of 100 kph, 120 kph and 1,700 pcphpl, 1,750 pcphpl, respectively.

A three dimensional approach for tracking cracks in bridges using GPR

Abstract Corrosion associated with reinforcing bars is the most significant contributor to bridge deficiencies. The corrosion is usually caused by moisture and chloride ion exposure. The reinforcing bars are attacked by corrosion and yield expansive corrosion products. These oxidation products occupy a larger volume than the original intact steel and internal expansive stresses lead to cracking and debonding. There are some conventional inspection methods for the detection of the reinforcing bar's corrosion but they can be invasive and destructive, often laborious, and lane closure is required and it is difficult or unreliable for any quantification of corrosion. For these reasons, bridge engineers always prefer more to use the ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique. In this work a novel numerical approach for three dimensional tracking and mapping of cracks in the bridge is proposed. The work starts from some interesting results based on the use of the 3D imaging technique in order to improve the potentiality of the GPR to detect voids, cracks or buried objects. The numerical approach has been tested on data acquired on a bridge by using a pulse GPR system specifically designed for bridge deck and pavement inspection. The equipment integrates two arrays of Ultra Wide Band ground coupled antennas, having a main working frequency of 2 GHz. The two arrays are using antennas arranged with a different polarization. The cracks, associated often to moisture increase and higher values of the dielectric constant, produce a not negligible increase of the signal amplitude. Following this, the algorithm, organized in preprocessing, processing and postprocessing stages, analyzes the signal by comparing the value of the amplitude all over the domain of the radar scan.

Investigation cause of accident using Terrestrial Laser scanner

The aim of traffic reconstruction is to recreate motor vehicle collision scenes in order to analyze the dynamics of the collision events, to provide evidence in court cases and allow the manufacturers to evaluate the vehicle’s design. However, at the scene of the accident it is not known exactly the amount of information that will be required for the analysis and often relevant data are missing. The emergence of terrestrial laser scanning has enabled the 3D documentation of accident events in a safer way, as information can be collected without any lane closures or traffic interruptions, and in a more flexible and faster way, as a single user can operate the instrument in complete darkness or direct sunlight. The notion of this paper is to model accident scene using terrestrial laser scanning data. Terrestrial laser scanning provides the capability of recording such infrastructures in a fast and reliable way, where a number of different information, including traffic control features, volumes, accident characteristics and detailed spatial data, can be easily obtained. This information can then be integrated within traffic management integrated systems and be used for accident prevention purposes.

Field Evaluation of Automated Flagger Assistance Devices in Work Zones on Two-Lane Roads

Automated flagger assistance devices (AFADs) are designed to be operated remotely by a flagger positioned outside of the travel lanes and thus to reduce the flagger's exposure to vehicular traffic. There are two types of AFADs. One type uses a remote-controlled stop and slow sign to alternate the right-of-way; the other uses remote-controlled red and yellow lenses to alternate the right-of-way. A gate arm is required only with the latter. Although AFADs may have increased the safety of flaggers, there were concerns that motorists may have misunderstood AFADs and proceeded before it had been safe to do so. As part of a recent Texas Department of Transportation project, Texas A&M Transportation Institute researchers conducted field studies at lane closures on two-lane, two-way roadways in Texas to assess the operational and safety effectiveness of AFADs relative to the use of flaggers. The research findings show that the violation rate for the stop–slow AFAD without a gate arm is the highest and is significantly higher than the violation rate for the red–yellow lens AFAD (which requires a gate arm). Adding a gate arm to the stop–slow AFAD decreased the violation rate such that it was not significantly different from the red–yellow lens AFAD. In addition, alternative supplemental signs increased motorists' understanding that the stop sign would have changed to a slow sign when motorists were allowed to proceed. Overall, the research findings show that some motorists violate AFADs, especially when the queue of vehicles going in the same direction is visible to the stopped motorist.

Development of an Oversaturated Speed–Flow Model Based on the Highway Capacity Manual

Oversaturated speed, flow, and density relationships are of key importance to studies of freeway operations. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) oversaturated model, which is defined by a linear transition from the flow and the density at capacity to a zero flow at jam density in the flow–density space, provides a reasonable representation of this relationship but does not provide an unbiased representation for all freeway facilities with different road conditions or driver behavior. This study proposes a method for fitting the HCM model to oversaturated flow and density. Fifteen-minute aggregated flow rate and speed data were collected in 2010 from Traffic.com fixed-location sensors at three sites on North Carolina urban freeways. Density was calculated as the flow rate divided by the speed. The fitted models for these sites were compared with the default HCM model. A set of thresholds was defined to identify eligible sensor observations that represented the steady-state congested traffic conditions. The results revealed that data observations during inclement weather, lane closures, or incidents biased the model-fitting results and therefore needed to be filtered out. The steady-state congestion data identified in the manner proposed in this study fit well with the HCM-based linear flow–density oversaturated model. This method avoids possible bias caused by capacity and jam density differences between the default HCM model and the site-specific models; therefore, the fitted models represented the actual traffic characteristics relationships better than the default HCM models did. Fitting a site-specific HCM-based model is recommended for sites with sufficient speed and flow data.

Precast concrete pavements: Technology overview and technical considerations

Precast concrete pavement can be used to rapidly repair and rehabilitate of existing pavements, especially for high-volume, congested roadways with constrained lane closures and work windows. This paper provides an overview of the emerging precast concrete pavement technology and how it is being used in U.S. demonstration projects. Implemented precast concrete pavement systems include proprietary and nonproprietary systems and components. The paper also summarizes a recent study on modular pavement technology that was aimed at developing information and guidelines to encourage its successful adoption. A performance evaluation demonstrates that the four key attributes of precast concrete pavement (constructability, concrete durability, effective load transfer at joints, and effective panel support condition) can be achieved with available technology. However, precast concrete technology is expected to continue to evolve to meet the needs for durable, cost-efficient rapid repair and rehabilitation of existing pavements.

Probe Vehicle–Based Statewide Mobility Performance Measures for Decision Makers

Decision makers in state transportation agencies typically manage budgets approaching or exceeding $1 billion. Historically, the data used to make investment decisions have been quite coarse and have been typically based on short-term volume counts fed into models to forecast performance. As a result, it is not uncommon for construction projects to address needs that were forecast to be a priority 5 to 10 years earlier, while more pressing congestion challenges go unmet. It is essential that long-term planning begins to be supplemented by more current performance measures. The emerging private-sector probe vehicle data obtained from commercial providers offer an opportunity to augment traditional forward-looking planning models with performance measures that reflect the conditions motorists are experiencing today. This paper proposes scalable, analytical probe data–reduction techniques to create technically sound, yet visually intuitive, system-performance measures of current freeway conditions. These types of performance measure are increasingly used by high-level agency management to identify locations at which customers experience congestion, and the magnitude of that congestion, and to compare congestion on various highway corridors. These proposed performance measures can be used for policy-oriented decisions, such as the prioritization of capital program investments, the management of snow removal, and the scheduling of lane closures. The techniques are applied to seven Indiana Interstate highways, comprised of 1,886 directional miles. The Interstates span rural and urban sections that experience varying levels of recurring and nonrecurring congestion as a result of winter weather and construction activity. Specific examples adjacent to the Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; and Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan areas are presented, along with the 10 most congested Interstate segments.

The Ageing Effect of Mechanical Joints on the Tyre/Joint Noises Monitored by a Control Vehicle Method without Traffic Disturbance

This paper studies the ageing effect of mechanical joints reflecting from the tyre/joint impacting noise by measuring the vehicle structure-borne noise change. Field data is collected applying two measurement methods suitable for newly installed and existing old expansion joints. The measurement methodology is improved by designing and applying a trailer for equipment installation. The main advantage of this method is not to disturb existing traffic by lane closure for measurement. Field measurements were conducted regularly for a study period up to 16 months after new joint replacement to monitor the variation of the structure-borne noise change inside a test vehicle while passing through mechanical joints. Empirical relationship is developed based on the field data of the roadside airborne noise change and the vehicle structure-borne noise change. The roadside tyre/joint noises could be converted using calibrated empirical formula. Key result findings include the following. ( 1 ) The vehicle structure-borne noise change is found smallest during the 3rd–6th months even lower than that measured when a new joint is installed. The structure-borne noise change then keeps increasing afterwards till the end of the study period. ( 2 ) Similar observations are found in all study cases incorporating various mechanical joint types and test vehicle types.

Role of Transit in Carless Evacuation Planning

During evacuations, the needs of transit-depended and carless populations require special attention and add to the complexity of evacuation logistics. The objective of this paper is to examine the role of transit in the evacuation of carless populations as part of a comprehensive evacuation plan. For this purpose, a case study is presented describing the development of a large-scale simulation/optimization model for the Birmingham, Alabama region that considers evacuation of carless populations with transit in the event of flooding. Flooding evacuation studies can be useful in evaluating various alternatives to evacuate people, identifying alternative routes based on historical experience of flooded areas and supporting optimal assignment of rescue personnel and optimization of their routes. The paper first provides a synthesis of the state of practice in carless evacuation using transit. Then the study methodology is presented, and details are offered on model selection, development, and testing; study site characteristics; study scenarios modeled; and related assumptions. Study scenarios consider vehicle evacuation with and without evacuation of carless populations from the affected area to nearby shelters using transit assets. Consideration is given to the fact that some network links would not be accessible because of the flooding, and thus lane closures are modeled in the study scenarios to increase the realism of the model. The paper demonstrates the opportunities and requirements related to the use of transit for local emergency evacuations while best serving the needs and interests of carless populations and the public at large.

Evaluating Variable Speed Limits and Dynamic Lane Merging Systems in Work Zones: A Simulation Study

ITS technologies such as dynamic lane merging (DLM) and variable speed limits (VSL) have been deployed in roadway work zones in an attempt to enhance safety and mobility through vehicular traffic. The DLM system in its two main forms namely the early merge and the late merge was designed to advise drivers on definite merging locations whereas VSL were introduced to work zones to decrease speed fluctuations, variances, and to smoothen traffic through work zones. Up to date, there are no studies that contrast Maintenance Of Traffic (MOTs) plans including a combination of ITS technologies to standard work zones MOTs under matching work zone settings. This study simulates a two-to-one work zone lane closure configuration in VISSIM under six different MOT plans and compares work zone throughputs and travel times across MOTs namely Motorist Awareness System (MAS), early DLM, late DLM, VSL combined with MAS, a VSL and early DLM combination, and a VSL late DLM combination. Results showed that the combination of VSL and DLM or standalone DLM improve work zone throughputs and travel times compared to work zones with conventional static Florida MOT and work zones with VSL.

Analytical Methods for Deriving Work Zone Capacities from Field Data

AbstractWork zone capacity is a key variable in scheduling construction activity on roadways. Understanding the effect of different definitions of capacity on the values computed from field data will result in better planning and scheduling of lane closures. Capacity values obtained using three different definitions (and methods) of capacity: (1) maximum sustained flow, (2) rescaled cumulative flow curves, and (3) 85th percentile flow were compared using field data from short-term work zones in Missouri. The queue discharge flow (QDF) values were found to be the most conservative estimates of capacity. The 85th percentile flows were lower than the 15-min sustained flow values in all but one location. The prequeue flow (PQF) values, indicative of near-constant flow prior to breakdown, did not occur in any of the four work zones. The four-site average capacities were 1,149, 1,267 and 1,301 vphpl for QDF, 85th percentile flow, and 15-min sustained flow, respectively. These capacity values were close to the 1...

Comparing Three Lane Merging Schemes for Short-Term Work Zones: A Simulation Study

Traffic safety and mobility of roadway work zones have been considered to be one of the major concerns in highway traffic safety and operations in Florida. Dynamic lane merging (DLM) systems—ITS-based lane management technology—were introduced by several states in an attempt to enhance both safety and mobility of roadway work zones. Two forms of lane merging, namely, the early merge and the late merge were designed to advise drivers on definite merging locations. Up to date, there are no studies that contrast both merging schemes under matching work zone settings. This study simulates a two-to-one work zone lane closure configuration under three different Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plans in VISSIM. The first MOT is the conventional plans used in Florida’s work zones, the second MOT is a simplified dynamic early merging system (early SDLMS), and the third MOT is a simplified dynamic late merging systems (late SDLMSs). Field data was collected to calibrate and validate the simulation models. Simulation results indicated that overall, under different levels of drivers’ compliance rate and different percentages of trucks in the traffic composition, the early SLDMS outperformed the conventional MOT and the late SDLMS in terms of travel times and throughputs.

Assessment of the Productivity of Nighttime Asphalt Paving Operations

AbstractPerforming highway construction operations during nighttime hours has emerged as a response to traffic congestions caused by daytime lane closures. Work zone conditions at night may be different from those during the day, and nighttime factors that affect project metrics (i.e., safety, quality, and productivity) should be carefully considered during the planning of nighttime projects. Currently, there is no methodology for quantifying the effects of nighttime factors on the productivity of construction operations. The objective of this study therefore is to create such a methodology, specifically for asphalt paving projects, focusing on visibility, personnel fatigue, and glare. The methodology is demonstrated using an example case. First, nighttime qualitative (subjective) factors affecting the productivity of asphalt paving operations are identified. A productivity index (PI) is then estimated to account for these factors. The PI value is subsequently used to modify the baseline productivity simu...

Comprehension of new instructions for car drivers in merging areas

This article describes some key results of a study with the aim of measuring the time and accuracy of comprehension of the new instructions 'keep lane' and 'merge alternately'. These instructions shall allow for a more efficient merging behaviour when approaching a working zone with a lane closure on a motorway, and thus increase the capacity of such bottlenecks. One hundred and ninety seven randomly selected car drivers were surveyed by means of face-to-face interviews. A computer-aided survey design ensured a precise measurement of the comprehension time and the testing of animated signs. The instruction 'merge alternately' performed well in every respect, though the tested signs were new to drivers. The instruction 'keep lane' refers to a completely new meaning. It lags behind both in time and accuracy of comprehension. In this case, the results suggest using a variable message sign (VMS) with a simple text rather than a picture. Moreover, a considerable learning effect was identified. Comprehension improved significantly with the third repetition of the instruction.

Interactive Lane Closure and Traffic Information Tool Based on a Geographic Information System

This paper describes the development of the Rutgers Interactive Lane Closure Application (RILCA), an interactive computer tool to plan lane closures for work zones. This tool provides traffic engineers with a computerized and easy-to-use lane closure application, along with other useful features. RILCA was developed with the ArcView geographic information system (GIS) software package as the main development environment. ArcView displays the interactive GIS map of the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and other major freeways in New Jersey and its surrounding network. RILCA provides various analysis and visualization options to plan lane closures interactively, obtain traffic volume information, and conduct accident queries. RILCA was tested successfully, and New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and New Jersey Turnpike Authority engineers now use it with all of the features presented in this paper. RILCA received an annual implementation award from the New Jersey DOT in 2009. The award recognized RILCA's usefulness and potential to improve the efficiency of traffic operations as a practical decision-support tool for lane closure decisions.