Citation

ASCE ASME J. Risk Uncertain. Eng. Syst. A Civ. Eng. 2017; 3(3): e04016017.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society of Civil Engineers)

DOI

10.1061/AJRUA6.0000899

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Traffic congestion is a serious challenge that urban transportation systems are facing. Variable speed limit (VSL) systems are one of the countermeasures to reduce traffic congestion and smooth traffic flow on roadways. The negative impacts of congestion, including road rage, air pollution, safety issues, and traffic delays, are well recognized. The impact of unexpected delays on road users is quantified through travel time reliability (TTR) measures. In this study, a bilevel optimization problem was introduced to determine location, speed limit reduction, start time, and duration of limited number of VSL signs while maximizing travel time reliability on selected critical paths on a network. The upper-level problem focuses on TTR optimization whereas the lower-level problem assigns traffic to the network using a dynamic traffic assignment simulation tool. A heuristic approach, simulated annealing, was used to solve the problem. The application of the methodology to a real roadway network is shown and results are discussed. The proposed methodology could assist traffic agencies in making proper decisions on how to allocate their limited resources to the network to maximize the benefits.

Language: en