Verification and Calibration of Microscopic Traffic Simulation Using NDS and Video Data for Alternative Intersections and Freeway Merge and Diverge Areas

Details

• Creators:
  Zhou, Huaguo ; Li, Tonghui ; Quan, Li
• Corporate Creators:
  Auburn University. Highway Research Center
• Corporate Contributors:
  Alabama. Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Data Collection Diverging Traffic Drone-Based Trajectory Data Drones Freeway Merge And Diverge Areas Freeway Operations Freeways Merging Control Microsimulation PTV VISSIM Restricted Crossing U Turn Intersections Roundabouts Traffic Microsimulation Trajectory Control Vehicle To Vehicle Communications

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• Publication/ Report Number:
  ALDOT 931-092
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Alabama
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Alabama. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Traffic microsimulation enables practitioners to model the movement and interactions of individual vehicles, providing a level of detail not achievable with macroscopic or deterministic approaches. Microsimulation replicates vehicle-to-vehicle and driver-to-driver interactions under a wide range of traffic and geometric conditions. This makes it especially valuable for assessing alternative intersection designs, such as roundabouts, Diverging Diamond Interchanges (DDIs), and Restricted Crossing U-turns (RCUTs), as the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is starting to incorporate more of these designs into future projects. These facilities offer operational and safety benefits, but they also introduce complex vehicle trajectories and behaviors that are not captured by default microsimulation parameters. This project develops calibration and validation guidelines tailored to Alabama’s alternative intersections and freeway merge/diverge areas. Drone video data were collected at 21 locations, including 18 roundabouts, 1 DDI, 1 RCUT, 1 freeway work zone (merging), and 1 freeway exit ramp (diverging). Vehicle trajectories and movement characteristics were extracted from drone videos using the video-based data extraction tool Data from sky and used to build PTV VISSIM networks. A calibration workflow was implemented using the VISSIM COM interface to automatically determine key parameters to define the priority rule at conflict points and car-following behavior. Model performance was assessed by comparing simulated outputs with field data such as travel time, speed distributions, and traffic volume. The resulting guidelines translated drone-observed driver behavior into recommended VISSIM calibration parameters for alternative intersections and freeway merge/diverge areas.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  FHWA/ALDOT 931-092
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:500a12798ca320be437ac85b4341d713fb5939e485a149a44b24292c49b91da275292a5aca2e29aeb65c620cc264a4de346858046f5ee375a49aa9d765b30c0c
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90123/dot_90123_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 9.55 MB ]