MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Design and Evaluate Coordinated Ramp Metering Strategies for Utah Freeways
Authors:	Qinzheng Wang and Xianfeng Yang
University:	University of Utah
Publication Date:	Sep 2022
Report #:	MPC-22-486
Project #:	MPC-641
TRID #:	01864965
Keywords:	bottlenecks, coordination, freeways, ramp metering, traffic simulation

Abstract

During the past few decades, ramp metering control has been widely implemented in many U.S. states, including Utah. Numerous studies and applications have demonstrated that ramp metering control is an effective strategy to reduce overall freeway congestion by managing the amount of traffic entering the freeway. Ramp metering controllers can be implemented as coordinated or uncoordinated systems. Currently, Utah freeway on-ramps are operated in an uncoordinated way. Despite improvements to the operational efficiency of mainline flows, uncoordinated ramp metering will inevitably create additional delays to the ramp flows. Therefore, this project aims to assist the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in deploying coordinated ramp metering systems and evaluating the performance of deployed systems. First, we leverage a method to identify existing freeway bottlenecks using current UDOT datasets, including PeMs and ClearGuide. Based on this, we select the site that may benefit from coordinated ramp metering from those determined locations. A VISSIM model is then developed for this selected corridor and the VISSIM model is calibrated based on collected traffic flow data. We apply the calibrated VISSIM model to conduct simulations to evaluate system performance under different freeway mainline congestion levels. Finally, the calibrated VISSIM model is leveraged to evaluate the coordinated ramp metering strategy of the bottleneck algorithm from both operational and safety aspects.

How to Cite

Wang, Qinzheng, and Xianfeng Yang. Design and Evaluate Coordinated Ramp Metering Strategies for Utah Freeways, MPC-22-486. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium, 2022.