United States Department of Transportation
i
Design of Lane Merges at Rural Freeway Construction Work Zones [Project Capsule]
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2008-02-01
[PDF-348.01 KB]
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Alternative Title:LTRC research project capsule : technology transfer program : 07-2SS.
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Abstract:The goal of this project is to evaluate unconventional lane-drop merge configurations in the vicinity of construction work zones on rural freeways to comparatively assess the conditions of the various designs that impact delay, flow, and safety through an approach to a work zone. Prior discussions have suggested that some recently developed lane-drop configurations have the potential to improve both the safety and efficiency characteristics of freeway traffic streams while also minimizing driver frustration and annoyance. Specifically, it has been hypothesized (and suggested in prior research) that configurations such as the joint merge operate more effectively by more evenly balancing volume in the two lanes for as long as possible as well as maintain consistent speeds through the zone resulting in a less turbulent, safer overall operation particularly in moderate to high volume conditions. To accomplish this goal the researchers propose the following objective in the research, including: (1) Identify and document both the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice with respect to the geometric design and traffic control at the entrance to construction work zones on rural freeways; (2) Generate alternate geometric and traffic control designs for the entrance to construction work zones on rural freeways; (3) Evaluate the traffic flow and safety performance of the design configurations generated in the second objective; (4) Document results and (5) Provide recommended practice to the DOTD along with an expectation of their anticipated benefits.
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