Freeway Geometric Design for Active Traffic Management in Europe

Continued growth in travel on congested urban freeway corridors exceeds the ability of agencies to provide sufficient solutions and alternatives based on traditional roadway expansion and improvement projects. Several countries are implementing managed motorway concepts to improve motorway capacity without acquiring more land and building large-scale infrastructure projects. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain to examine the use of innovative geometric design practices and techniques to improve the operational performance of congested freeway facilities without compromising safety. Managed motorways are a combination of active or dynamically managed operational regimes, specific designs of infrastructure, and technology solutions. The concept uses a range of traffic management measures to actively monitor the motorway and dynamically control speeds, add capacity, and inform road users of conditions on the network with the objective to optimize traffic and safety performance. Examples include shoulder running, variable mandatory speed limits, lane control signals, and driver information using variable message signs. Managed motorways increase journey reliability and throughput of a motorway by speed management and increase capacity by shoulder running.

• Record URL:
  • http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/pl11004/pl11004.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/1014
• Corporate Authors:

  American Trade Initiatives

  P.O. Box 8228
  Alexandria, VA  United States  22306-8228

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of International Programs, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Jones, Jeffrey C
  • Knopp, Martin C
  • Fitzpatrick, Kay
  • Doctor, Mark A
  • Howard, Charles E
  • Laragan, Gregory M
  • Rosenow, James A
  • Struve, Brooke A
  • Thrasher, Barton A
  • Young, Elizabeth G
• Publication Date: 2011-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Glossary; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 96p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driver information systems; Freeway management systems; Freeway operations; Freeways; Geometric design; Highway capacity; Highway traffic control; Road shoulders; Study tours; Traffic congestion; Urban areas; Variable message signs; Variable speed limits
• Uncontrolled Terms: Active traffic management; Lane control; Speed management
• Geographic Terms: England; Europe; Germany; Netherlands; Spain
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01341256
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PL-11-004
• Contract Numbers: DTFH61-99-C-005
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 31 2011 6:43PM