Simplified Web-Based Decision Support Method for Traffic Management and Work Zone Analysis

Traffic congestion mitigation is one of the key challenges that transportation planners and operations engineers face when planning for construction and maintenance activities. There is a wide variety of approaches and methods that address work zone impacts, starting with simple equations, over spreadsheets and deterministic methods, to high-level computer simulation software. Some of the widely used tools include CA4PRS, QuickZone, and VISUM. However, every model has its own limitations and assumptions that are dictated by the applied computational technique. These analysis tools may not fully capture the dynamic nature of drivers’ responses to traffic management techniques and significant changes in the transportation network. In this case, performing analyses with a Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) engine, or a similar traffic estimation method, may meet this need while providing additional analysis details (e.g., network, path, OD, and link analyses) for local engineers to justify their decisions/actions. At the same time, technical expertise, data management, and software licensing often become significant barriers for incorporating this type of analysis into everyday operations. This research presents a DTA-based tool that is designed to overcome the existing limitations in work zone simulation and analysis.