Research on the Influence of Front Virtual Work Zone on Traffic Operation of Expressway Construction Sections

In this paper, a new work zone traffic organization scheme (as opposed to a traditional one) is proposed. A front virtual work zone, in which no work is carried out, is set upstream of the real work zone and in a different lane from the work lane. It is set to force some of the vehicles to turn in the upper stream, reducing their speed and preventing aggressive driving behaviors. The influence of setting front virtual work zones upstream of freeway work zones on the traffic operation is studied. Through data collection and with the help of scheme comparison from two aspects of traffic volume and section speeds of different control areas, it is found, based on VISSIM microscopic traffic flow simulation, that setting the front virtual work zone upstream of the freeway is superior to no virtual work zone settings in both traffic efficiency and speed consistency.