Managed Lanes Strategies Feasible for Freeway Ramp Applications

Current funding constraints and difficulty in gaining environmental and public approval for large-scale construction projects has forced the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to continue considering alternative solutions to roadway widening to mitigate congestion. One area for potentially improving freeway performance is ramp locations. Current ramp treatments only address point demand. Applying managed lanes operational strategies to ramps could maximize existing capacity, manage demand, offer choices, improve safety, and generate revenue. This project investigates the application of these demand management strategies to mainlane ramps and managed lane ramp operations during the peak period; i.e., “managed ramps.” Such strategies could include peak-period use of both mainlane or managed lanes entrance and exit ramps by user group, possibly influencing mode choice, enhancing mobility, improving safety in a freeway corridor, and helping ensure the integrity and free-flow operations of a managed lanes facility. This research: (1) investigated under what conditions should managed ramps be considered for both mainlanes and managed lanes based on relevant factors including target users in the corridor, congestion level, ramp spacing/density, ramp volumes, accident history, etc.; (2) assessed the impacts and benefits of managed ramps; and (3) developed general guidelines and best practices for operating and enforcing managed ramps.

• Record URL:
  http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5284-2.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Project Title: Feasibility and Guidelines for Applying Lane Strategies to Ramps. Report Date: September 2007; Published: January 2008.
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Implementation Office, P.O. Box 5080
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5080

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Kuhn, Beverly
  • Balke, Kevin
  • Chaudhary, Nadeem A
  • Jasek, Deborah L
  • Karkee, Ganesh J
  • Obeng-Boampong, Kwaku
  • Shelton, Jeffrey
  • Venglar, Steven
• Publication Date: 2007-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Technical Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 410p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway operations; Managed lanes; Mobility; Mode choice; Off ramps; On ramps; Peak hour traffic; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow; Traffic lanes; Traffic simulation; Traffic volume
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01090241
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-08/0-5284-2, Report 0-5284-2
• Contract Numbers: Project 0-5284
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 21 2008 8:14AM