United States Department of Transportation
i
Evaluation of Driveway Assistance Device (DAD) Systems in One-Lane Two-Way Work Zone
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2024-06-30
[PDF-7.02 MB]
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Edition:Final Report September 2020 – June 2024
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Abstract:Lane closure on two-lane highways due to the presence of work zones negatively impacts traffic safety and operational efficiency. Additionally, traffic from access points (e.g., commercial and residential driveways, or minor side roads) within work zones make operations more complicated and inefficient. Deploying a driveway assistance device (DAD) system can enable more efficient traffic control for work zones with access points. While traffic agencies are becoming interested in DAD deployments, research on such systems is relatively sparse. This research was the first in-depth operational investigation of the DAD system under different signal strategies, traffic conditions, and work zone characteristics. This study modeled DAD-operated work zones for single-lane closure on two-lane highways using microsimulation software calibrated to field-observed Nebraska work zone data. First, this study modeled and evaluated different signal control strategies using 192 scenarios and identified the most efficient strategy for DAD operations using statistical comparisons. Second, this research conducted a sensitivity analysis on various factors including traffic volumes, truck percentages, work zone lengths, and numbers of DAD-controlled access points. A total of 3,456 traffic scenarios were established to assess the effect of the DAD system in terms of delays and queues. Furthermore, this study has reviewed research related to the signal head designs, placement, and driver compliance of the DAD system. This report highlights important findings and discusses the practical implications of the DAD system in work zones, which may help traffic agencies improve operation and safety. While the work zone data used from Nebraska represents characteristics typical of the U.S. Midwest, the research methods and tools used are transferable to study DAD-operated work zones in other locations across the U.S. without a loss of generality. Future studies should cover more data from access points under the DAD system when such experiments are permitted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
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