Safety Analysis of Access Zone Design for Managed Toll Lanes on Freeways
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 144, Issue 11
Abstract
On freeways, managed lanes (MLs) have emerged as an effective dynamic traffic management strategy. MLs have been successfully implemented as an important facility in improving traffic mobility and generating revenue for transportation agencies. In this study, scenarios were built and tested in microsimulation to specify the safest accessibility level and decide on the safe weaving length near access zones. The findings indicated that the conflict rate on MLs was 48% and 11% lower than that of general purpose lanes (GPLs) in the peak and the off-peak periods, respectively. A log-linear model was developed with estimation of odds multipliers for the conflict frequency analysis. The results suggested that one accessibility level was the safest option in the 14.5-km (9-mi) corridor. The length of 305 m (1,000 ft) per lane change was shown to be the safest weaving length near access zones. Additionally, a weaving length of 183 m (600 ft) per lane change was not recommended. The findings of this study represent a further step toward improving access design of MLs.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research, and Innovative Technology Administration, Award No. DTRT13-G-UTC53 (SAFER-SIM). Also, we acknowledge the support of the fourth author (Ling Wang) of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51722809).
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 144 • Issue 11 • November 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 2, 2017
Accepted: May 29, 2018
Published online: Aug 23, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 23, 2019
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