Real-Time Work Zone Management for Throughput Maximization

A simple control concept is proposed for efficient real-time work zone management in cases where the arriving flow exceeds the capacity of the work zone, leading to congestion and reduced efficiency due to capacity drop. Merging traffic control is proposed so as to maintain the occupancy (or the number of vehicles) in the merge area close to a critical value that maximizes throughput; to this end, an algorithm known from local ramp metering operations is employed (ALINEA). The potential control concept efficiency is demonstrated by use of microscopic simulation applied to a hypothetical work zone infrastructure with and without merging traffic control. It is shown that the employed feedback regulator is little sensitive to various settings which indicates easy applicability with low fine-tuning needs in potential field applications.