Lane Change Control Combined with Ramp Metering: A Strategy to Manage Delays at On-Ramp Merging Sections

Control measures at merging locations aimed at either the mainline traffic or on-ramp traffic do not lead to a fairness in the distribution of total delay across the two streams. This paper presents a control strategy of combining a lane change control with a ramp metering system at motorway merges. The control strategy presents the opportunity...

On lane assignment of connected automated vehicles: strategies to improve traffic flow at diverge and weave bottlenecks

This paper presents a novel approach to improve traffic throughput near diverge and weave bottlenecks in mixed traffic with human-driven vehicles (HDVs) and connected automated vehicles (CAVs). This is done by the strategic assignment of CAVs across lanes. The main principle is to induce strategic and necessary lane changes (LCs) (by CAVs and...

Improving Traffic Flow Efficiency at Motorway Lane Drops by Influencing Lateral Flows

Lane drops are a common bottleneck source on motorway networks. Congestion sets in upstream of a lane drop as a result of the lane changing activity of merging vehicles. This causes the queue discharge rate at the bottleneck to decrease and drop below the capacity, leading to capacity drop and further congestion. The objective of this study is...

Multi-lane Traffic Flow Model: Speed Versus Density Difference as Lane Change Incentive and Effect of Lateral Flow Transfer on Traffic Flow Variables

For better and more efficient motorway traffic control strategies on a lane level, accurate modelling and prediction of traffic conditions is essential. Existing real-time traffic state estimation methods aggregate traffic across lanes. Hence, there is a need for lane-specific traffic flow models. The majority of the existing macroscopic lane...

Mainstream traffic flow control at sags

Sags are freeway sections along which the gradient changes significantly from downward to upward. The capacity of sags is considerably lower than the capacity of normal sections. Consequently, sags are often freeway bottlenecks. Recently, several control measures have been proposed to improve traffic flow efficiency at sags. Those measures...

Rule based control for merges: assessment and case study

Merging areas are a common bottleneck source on motorways. In order to tackle congestion at these locations, efficient traffic management and control is vital to best utilize the available space. However, before the application of any traffic control measures, a thorough analysis of the effectiveness of the designed control action needs to be...

First order multi-lane traffic flow model – an incentive based macroscopic model to represent lane change dynamics

Unbalanced lane usage on motorways might lead to the reduction in capacity<br/>of the motorway. Lane-level traffic management present new opportunities<br/>to balance the lane-flow distribution and help reduce congestion.<br/>In order to come up with efficient traffic management strategies on a<br/>lane-level, there is a need for accurate lane...

Using advanced adaptive cruise control systems to reduce congestion at sags: An evaluation based on microscopic traffic simulation

Sags are roadway sections along which the gradient increases gradually in the direction of traffic. Sags are generally bottlenecks in freeway networks. Previous research suggests that traffic management measures using advanced Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems could reduce congestion on freeways, but little is known about their potential...

Lane Determination with GPS Precise Point Positioning

Modern intelligent transport solutions can achieve an improvement of traffic flow on motorways. With lane-specific measurements and lane-specific control, more measures are possible. Single frequency precise point positioning (PPP) is a newly developed and affordable technique to achieve an improved position accuracy compared with global...

Optimizing traffic flow efficiency by controlling lane changes: collective, group and user optima (PPT)

Lane changes can lead to disturbances in traffic flow, whilst the uneven distribution of traffic over different lanes as a result of lane changes can also lead to instabilities and congestion on one specific lane. Therefore, giving advice on lane change can be beneficial for both individual drivers and traffic state in the network. However,...

Optimizing traffic flow efficiency by controlling lane changes: collective, group and user optima

Lane changes can lead to disturbances in traffic flow, whilst the uneven distribution of traffic over different lanes as a result of lane changes can also lead to instabilities and congestion on one specific lane. Therefore, giving advice on lane change can be beneficial for both individual drivers and traffic state in the network. However,...

Optimization of traffic flow at freeway sags by controlling the acceleration of vehicles equipped with in-car systems

Sags are bottlenecks in freeway networks. According to previous research, the main cause is that most drivers do not accelerate enough at sags. Consequently, they keep longer headways than expected given their speed, which leads to congestion in high demand conditions. Nowadays, there is growing interest in the development of traffic control...

Modeling traffic at sags

Traffic Flow Optimisation at Sags by Controlling the Acceleration of Some Vehicles

Sags are bottlenecks in freeway networks. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in the development of traffic management measures for sags based on the use of in-car systems. This contribution determines the movements that individual (equipped) vehicles should make in order to minimise congestion. Specifically, we optimise the accelerations of...

A paradox in dynamic traffic assignment: Dynamic extension of the Braess paradox