Citation

Koul R. Indian Highw. 1999; 27(2): 47-61.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Indian Roads Congress)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

The total economic and financial losses of the largest road and rail construction projects, now being planned in India, could be enormous, especially in urban areas. This paper discusses how to minimise these losses by devising suitable traffic management schemes during construction, and implementing them efficiently. The objective of developing schemes for traffic management during road construction is to maintain the road system's total entropy. To appreciate the objective, it is necessary to visualise the road and road network as a system, and identify its components and their interconnections. When evolving a traffic management scheme for a project, as much as possible of the existing traffic movements and roads should be maintained, without reducing the safety of road users, while facilitating the project's necessary construction activities. Relevant factors here include: (1) the project; (2) the project setting; (3) interfacing with other roads; (4) the project influence area (PIA); (5) roads within the PIA; (6) the current traffic scenario; (7) traffic controls and regulations; (8) construction methodology; (9) relocation of services; (10) development plans; and (11) areas needing special attention. The synthesis of a traffic management scheme is outlined; its features include capacity enhancement, re-routing, traffic regulations, and practical aspects.