Environmental impacts from traffic on highway construction work zones: Framework and simulations

AbstractEmissions from internal combustion engine vehicles on highways are the major contributors to global warming in the United States. Transportation sector pavement-related emissions come from gasolines and diesel use in vehicles from pavement-vehicle interaction, which is affected by pavement conditions, and by the trucking of new pavement materials and demolition. The objective of this study was to develop a framework for determining the fuel use resulting in environmental impacts caused by construction work zones (CWZs) on a range of vehicles and to produce initial calculations of these impacts by modeling traffic closure conditions for highway maintenance and rehabilitation activities. The study included two common highway categories—freeways/multi-lane highways and two-lane highways. The framework was demonstrated using three CWZ operations under different traffic congestion levels. In the simulation results for a freeway with a CWZ and heavy congestion, fuel consumption increased by 85% and the carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions increased by 86%. Changing CWZ traffic congestion from heavy (average speed 5?mph) to medium (average speed 25?mph for a freeway section) reduced fuel consumption by 40% on a freeway. This study also included use of a pilot car in a CWZ on a two-lane road typical of lower traffic volume state highways and county roads to compare with the drive cycles in MOVES used for the scenarios. The pilot-car operation scenario results indicate that a one-lane closure with pilot-car operation on a two-lane road might consume 13% excess fuel because of idling time and the slow movement of vehicles following the pilot car.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2024.2392624
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/15568318
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 2024. Abstract reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis.
• Authors:
  • Kim, Changmo
  • Butt, Ali Azhar
  • Harvey, John T.
  • Ostovar, Maryam
• Publication Date: 2024-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 680-694
• Serial:
  • International Journal of Sustainable Transportation
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 1556-8318
  • EISSN: 1556-8334
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujst20

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Fuel consumption; Greenhouse gases; Road construction; Traffic volume; Work zones
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01932413
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 2024 5:21PM