TITLE:
Quantifying Operational Impacts of Variations in Work Zone Setups, Traffic Demand, and Traffic Composition: A Case Study
AUTHORS:
A B M Tausif Ullah Chy, Virginia P. Sisiopiku
KEYWORDS:
Work Zone Placement, Late Merge Control, PTV VISSIM
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
18,
2023
ABSTRACT: The presence of work zones due to pavement repair
and rehabilitation is very common in highway facilities. Lane closures
associated with work zones result in capacity reduction, which, in turn, often
leads to increased congestion at such locations. This paper documents findings
from a study that investigated the performance of freeway facilities in the
presence of work zones under various Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) and lane
closure scenarios while taking under consideration traffic composition and
driving behaviors. The study site was an approximately 10-mile freeway segment
of Interstate 65 (I-65) located in Birmingham, AL. The testbed was coded in PTV VISSIM, a microscopic
simulation analysis platform, for: 1) baseline conditions (i.e., no work zone presence) and 2) work zone conditions with single lane closure (i.e., 3-to-2 lane closure). Work zone
scenarios were coded for two TTC strategies, namely, early merge and late merge
control and for three different positions of the lane closure (i.e., left, right, and center lane
closures). The length of the work zones varied from 1000 to 2000, and 3000 ft.
Sensitivity analysis was performed to document the operational impacts of
varying heavy vehicle percentages, changes in drivers’ aggressiveness, and
projected traffic demand changes. The impacts were quantified using
linked-based measures of effectiveness (MOEs) such as travel time, and travel
time index. The study results show that there is no significant change in
travel time index due to the variation of work zone length across the study
corridor. Under similar traffic control and demand conditions, a center lane
closure consistently results in significantly higher travel time index than a
left or right lane closure and should be avoided. Consideration of operational
impacts of changes in truck percentage indicates that the corridor can absorb
an increase in truck percentage from 10% to 15%, while performance rapidly
deteriorates when a higher percentage of trucks is present in the traffic
stream. The study findings can be used to guide transportation agencies in
their future efforts to develop strategic lane closure plans that minimize congestion.