Authors

Dr. Antoine G. Hobeika
Virginia Tech
E-mail: hobeika@vt.edu
Phone: (540) 231-7407

Contributing Author:

Dr. Nathan H. Gartner
University of Massachusetts Lowell
E-mail: Nathan_Gartner@uml.edu
Phone: (978) 934-2289

Description

The widespread, widely embraced ITS movement has emphasized the benefits of integrated systems elements. This course focuses on ramp control, HOV treatments and control centers as a way to manage corridors using integrated systems elements.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this module students should be able to:

• Explain Freeway Ramp Control as a means to regulate freeway bound vehicles (to reduce delays, increase freeway throughput, and decrease accidents)
• Describe the design and operation of different ramp metering strategies
• Distinguish the Control Center as the hub of a corridor management system
• Relate the major issues that must be considered for design, operation and maintenance of a control center
• Analyze the effectiveness of HOV programs      
• Summarize and describe HOV treatments

Audience

Public-sector Transportation Professionals including US DOT engineers, planners, project managers, and field staff, FTA Regional staff, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Specialists, and others as appropriate. Transportation professionals from state, regional, and local agencies would also benefit from participation in the course.

Length

Approximately twelve hours.

Prerequisites

Students should have a basic understanding of the ITS user services, advanced transportation management systems and their tools, and incident management.

Course Outline

Numbers in parentheses refer to pages.

1. Congestion (1-9)
1. Causes of Congestion
2. Geometric Design Factors
3. Traffic Operations Factors
4. Non-Recurrent Events
2. Ramp Control (10-95)
1. Relation to other freeway management functions
2. Benefits
3. Problem Identification
• Inventory of Traffic Characteristics
• Ramp Geometric Limitations
• Inventory of Infrastructure
4. Partner Identification and Consensus Building
   • Establishing Goals and Objectives
5. Define Functional Requirements
6. Ramp Closure
7. Ramp Metering
• Ramp metering: Congestion
• Ramp Metering: Signal Timing
• Ramp metering: System Layout
• Ramp Metering: Safety
• Ramp Metering: Pretimed Metering
• Ramp Metering: Metering Rates
• Traffic Diversion
• Metering Rates Calculation
• Traffic Flow Model
• Exercise
8. Ramp Metering Strategies
• Demand-Capacity Strategy
• Upstream Occupancy Strategy
• Local Ramp Metering
• Local Ramp Metering Strategies
• Systemwide Pretimed Metering
• Entrance Ramp Control: Scenario
• Systemwide Traffic-Responsive Metering
• Ramp Metering Examples
• Practical Considerations
• Ramp Metering Rates Calculation
• Applications of Ramp Metering Types
• Gap Acceptance Merge Control System
9. Ramp Design Requirements
10. Pretimed Metering: Benefits
11. Traffic-Responsive Metering: Benefits
12. Entrance Ramp Control: Freeway-to-Freeway Ramp Metering
• Public Acceptance
• Mainline Control
• Driver Information Systems
• Variable Speed Limit Signs
• Lane Closure and Lane Control
• Mainline Metering
• Reversible Lane Control
• Emerging Technologies
13. Lessons Learned: Implementation Strategies
• Operations and Maintenance
• Enforcement
• Equity
14. Cross-Word Puzzle
15. Review Exercises on Ramp Control
3. HOV Treatments (pp.96- 126)
1. HOV Facilities
• Needs Identification
• Facility Types
• Design Elements
2. HOV Operations
3. HOV Operations: Enforcement
4. HOV Treatment: Example (Powerpoint and movie presentation)
5. Quiz on HOV Treatments
4. Control Center (pp 127-173)
1. Introduction
2. Problem Identification
3. Decision Process:Identification of Partners and Consensus Building
   • Establish Goals and Objectives
   • Define Functional Requirements
   • Define Functional Relationships, Data Requirements and Information Flows
   • Identify and Screen Technologies
   • Decision Process: Evaluation
4. Techniques and Technologies
• Physical Design
• Information Displays
• Operator Workstation Design
• Communications Systems
5. Staffing
   • Security
   • Automation
6. Quiz on Control Centers
7. Lessons Learned
• Lessons Learned: System Capabilities
• Lessons Learned: Operations Manual
• Lessons Learned: Effective Use of System Operations
• Lessons Learned: System Maintenance
5. Session Examination (p. 174)