Impact of Lane Closures on Roadway Capacity: Part B: Arterial Work Zone Capacity

The current Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) arterial work zone capacity estimation procedure does not account for various operating and work zone characteristics of the facility (i.e. speeds, the position of the closed lanes, etc.). The objectives of this research are to: a) identify the various geometric and traffic factors that might impact the capacity of an arterial work zone, and b) develop analytical model(s) and methods to estimate its capacity. Field data were not available to conduct this research, therefore CORSIM was used to develop several intersection and work zone configurations and obtain relationships between various factors and the capacity of the arterial work zone. A set of appropriate scenarios was developed considering the capabilities of the simulator, the impacts various factors may have on arterial work zone capacity, as well as the sensitivity of those factors with respect to the simulated capacity. Five regression models were developed to predict the capacity of the entire approach, the capacity of the left turning lane group, and the capacity of the through and right turning group for various arterial work zone configurations. In those models, capacity is estimated as a function of various factors including the percent of left turning vehicles, the distance of the work zone to the downstream intersection, the g/C ratios of each lane group, etc.