Modeling the Heterogeneous Traffic Flow of the Urban Signalized Intersection with the Straddling Work Zone

Work zones widely exist on urban roads in many countries and have a serious impact on traffic. Few studies have focused on modeling the traffic flow of the work zone on the urban arterials, especially on the work zone at the intersections. In this paper, a microscopic model based on the social force theory for the heterogeneous traffic flow of the intersection with a specific work zone, the straddling work zone, is proposed. The proposed model can capture the heterogeneity, no lane division and irregular boundary characteristics of the traffic flow of the intersection with the straddling work zone. The proposed model is calibrated and validated using the real work zone data, and the results display that the MARE values are all less than 10%. By analyzing the influencing factors affecting the traffic flow in the straddling work zone by simulations, the study reveals that the distance from the central isolation line of the entrance and the proportion of large vehicles in the work zone have the greatest impact on the signalized intersection, which provides a reference for the future traffic control at the intersection with the straddling work zone.