Operational and Safety Analysis with Mitigation Strategies for Freeway Truck Traffic in Wyoming

The State of Wyoming road network is characterized by heavy truck traffic. In 2015, truck traffic was approximately 22% of vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) along all routes in Wyoming, according to the WYDOT Annual Traffic Report. The heaviest truck traffic exists along I-80 with about 47% truck VMTs. Trucks have significantly different physical and driving characteristics than passenger cars, especially on grades, which has impacts on operational efficiency, safety, and pavement deterioration. The presence of heavy vehicles reduces the capacity of freeway segments, with the reduction being more significant along specific grades. This study focuses on the benefits of climbing lanes on operations and safety of freeway truck traffic. Various methodologies were used in this assessment. The results show that the addition of climbing lanes reduces delays and increases overall traffic speeds on upgrades, and can reduce the total and truck-related crashes from 6% to 34%, and from 1% to 16%, respectively, depending on the analyzed location and applied methodology

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/downloads/mpc19-396.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=961
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Wyoming, Laramie

  Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
  1000 East University Avenue
  Laramie, WY  United States  82071

  Mountain-Plains Consortium

  North Dakota State University
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Zlatkovic, Milan
  • Ksaibati, Khaled
  • 0000-0002-9241-1792
  • Haq, Muhammad Tahmidul
• Publication Date: 2019-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 56p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climbing lanes; Crash rates; Evaluation and assessment; Freeways; Traffic delays; Traffic safety; Traffic speed; Truck traffic
• Geographic Terms: Wyoming
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01717792
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: MPC 19-396
• Contract Numbers: MPC-519
• Files: UTC, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 24 2019 2:49PM