Integrated Control Method for Freeway Work Zones Under Partially Connected Vehicle Environment

Highway work zones can cause traffic congestion and even traffic accidents. Dynamic lane merging (DM) and variable speed limit (VSL) systems are possible solutions to improve the efficiency of work zones. This paper presents a novel integrated control algorithm for freeway work zones under partially connected vehicle environment. The algorithm consists of three parts, i.e., data fusion, VSL, and DM. Data fusion can integrate trajectory data of connected vehicles and traffic flow data of detectors. The VSL algorithm can provide speed limits for non-connected vehicles and speed profiles for connected vehicles. The DM algorithm integrates dynamic early merging (DEM) and dynamic late merging (DLM) and provides a lane-changing scheme for connected vehicles. The integrated control algorithm was implemented and tested using simulation. The results showed that the integrated algorithm effectively decreases the delay under different traffic demands and market penetrations.