Improved work zone design guidelines and enhanced model of travel delays in work zones : Phase I, portability and scalability of interarrival and service time probability distribution functions for different locations in Ohio and the establishment of improved work zone design guidelines, final report, January 2006.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Portability and scalability of interarrival and service time probability distribution functions for different locations in Ohio and the establishment of improved work zone design guidelines
• Creators:
  Zwahlen, Helmut T. ; Oner, Erdinc
• Corporate Creators:
  Ohio University. Ohio Research Institute for Transportation and the Environment. Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory
• Corporate Contributors:
  Ohio. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Traffic Congestion Traffic Congestion--Ohio Traffic Flow Traffic Flow--Ohio Traffic Flow--Ohio--Computer Simulation Work Zones Work Zone Traffic Control
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/OH-2006/1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Ohio
• Edition:
  Final report.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Ohio Research Institute for Transportation and the Environment. Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory
• Abstract:
  The project focuses on two major issues - the improvement of current work zone design practices and an analysis of
  
  vehicle interarrival time (IAT) and speed distributions for the development of a digital computer simulation model for
  
  queues and travel delays in work zones. Important considerations in the development of work zone design guidelines
  
  include guidance, delineation, and the safety of workers and drivers. A nationwide survey of current work zone best
  
  practices was conducted. Based on the review of the existing ODOT guidelines, superior practices available in other
  
  states, relevant research, and professional judgment of personnel involved in work zone activities, a set of guidelines
  
  for work zone design are proposed. It is anticipated that these research findings will result in the better design of work
  
  zones which will minimize traffic delays and improve safety. In the second part of the project trailers, each using two
  
  Wavetronix microwave radar units in side-fire mode, were developed to nonintrusively measure traffic. The traffic was
  
  measured at six work zones sites with different types of lane configurations at different freeways in Ohio. Traffic on
  
  the road was also independently measured using video and radar, and the results compared to records from the trailers
  
  to verify that the trailers were measuring the traffic with reasonable accuracy. IAT data of successive vehicles in freeflowing
  
  traffic ahead of work zones were analyzed and IAT distributions were generated as a function of the traffic
  
  volume for each lane and relationships between traffic volumes and cumulative IAT distributions were established
  
  allowing a direct conversion from hourly traffic counts to corresponding cumulative IAT distributions. This conversion
  
  method produces fairly accurate cumulative IAT distributions for selected hourly traffic volumes. It was also found that
  
  the same cumulative IAT distribution can be used to model the free-flowing traffic at other freeway locations in Ohio,
  
  which means that the IAT distributions are portable and scalable and a microscopic digital computer simulation model
  
  based on queueing theory may be developed to investigate traffic delays in work zones.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  State Job No.14808(0)
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:214e6516c369396885283880f02daa982883a3e2ba264062b68b15a1804553ed
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/17519/dot_17519_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.19 MB ]