Planning and Design of Passing Lanes Using Simulation Model
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 121, Issue 1
Abstract
The present paper describes the planning and preliminary design of passing lanes in difficult terrain in Southern California and is based on an investigation of approximately 560 km (350 mi) of two-lane highways in Imperial, San Diego, and Riverside counties. The need for passing opportunities has arisen for several reasons, the most important being the fact that long sections of highways are marked as no passing zones, which leads to extensive delays, driver frustration, and increased accidents. The planning techniques described herein include the use of video-logs to create a computer file documenting existing highway conditions and a two-lane highway simulation model. The TRARR (traffic on rural roads) simulation model was used to determine the impact of proposed passing lanes and turnouts on level of service. The use of the simulation model allowed the evaluation of a range of passing lane alternatives (including length and location) for a wide range of traffic, vehicle, and driver characteristics. In total, 117 new passing lanes and four turnouts were recommended for the 560 km (350 mi) of State routes that were evaluated.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Botha, J. L., Sullivan. E., and Zeng, X. (1992). “Level of service of two-lane highways with design speeds less than 60 mph. Volumes 1 and 2.”Final Rep., California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, Calif.
2.
Design procedure for passing lanes (1975). System design branch, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ontario, Canada.
3.
Griffin, P. K. (1988). “Mitigating passing restrictions.” Division of Transportation Operations and Toll Bridges, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, Calif.
4.
Highway capacity manual (1985). Spec. Rep. No. 207, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
5.
Hoban, C. J., Shepherd, R. J., Fawcett, G. J., and Robinson, G. K. (1991). A model for simulating traffic on two-lane rural roads; user guide and manual for TRARR version 3.2. technical manual ATM 10B. Australian Road Research Board, Vermont, South Victoria, Australia.
6.
“Low-cost methods for improving traffic operations on two-lane roads.” (1987). Rep. No. FHWA-1P-87-2, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
7.
Manual on uniform traffic control devices. (1988). Federal Highway Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
8.
Morrall, J.(1990). “Planning and design of passing lanes for the trans-Canada highway in Yoho National Park.”Can. J. Civ. Engrg., 17(1), 79–86.
9.
Nogueron-Espinosa, M., and May, A. D. (1992). “Investigating rural highway design alternatives with simulation.”Proc., 71st Annu. Meeting of the Transp. Res. Board, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
10.
“Passing lane study reports.” (1992). Rep. Prepared for District 11, California Department of Transportation, UMA Engineering, Inc., Irvine, Calif.
11.
“SR 94 passing lane study.” (1992). Rep. Prepared for District 11, California Department of Transportation, UMA Engineering, Inc., Irvine, Calif.
12.
“State route 94 (SR 94); 11-SD94; (P.M. 1.4-65.4).” (1991). Route Concept Rep., System Planning Branch, District 11, California Department of Transportation, San Diego, Calif.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 121 • Issue 1 • January 1995
Pages: 50 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jan 1, 1995
Published in print: Jan 1995
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.