TASK #1 - FIRST INTERIM REPORT SIMULATION MODELING OF TOLL PLAZA TRAFFIC AT MIDPOINT AND CAPE CORAL BRIDGES FOR NOVEMBER 1997

The Lee County (Florida) Department of Transportation is planning to open the Midpoint Bridge in October 1997, and it is to be equipped with an electronic toll collection (ETC) system. It is expected that some traffic handled by Cape Coral Bridge will shift to Midpoint Bridge along with a large shift from other nontolled bridges. This report examines the potential impact of nonavailability of ETC systems on traffic on two toll plazas on these two Lee County bridges, along with the predicted change in traffic volumes. To accomplish this, computer simulation models developed previously for each of the toll plazas and their approaches have been modified to reflect the changes in the traffic volumes and toll payment options. These models have been developed to examine all aspects of the toll collection processes. These simulation models have used several possible arrangements of the vehicle users, vehicle arrival rates, and traffic volumes. It is concluded that the nonavailability of ETC services is not likely to pose significant problems on the Midpoint Bridge or Cape Coral Bridge. A large number (16,900) of users presently served by several free bridges are expected to shift to Midpoint Bridge. Simulation results show that good traffic conditions will exist if more than 35% of free bridge users have stickers. However, Midpoint models run assuming that only 24% of users will have stickers have resulted in an average wait time at the plaza of 41 seconds. It is anticipated that traffic at the Cape Coral Bridge toll plaza will improve over current conditions because of the reduction in traffic volume by 10,000 vehicles per day due to the opening of the Midpoint Bridge.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Prepared for the Lee County Variable Pricing Team. CUTR Account No. 21-17-271-L.0.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of South Florida, Tampa

  Center for Urban Transportation Research, 4202 East Fowler Avenue
  Tampa, FL  United States  33620-5375
• Authors:
  • Burris, M
  • Apparaju, R
• Publication Date: 1997-8-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 10 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automated toll collection; Data collection; Mathematical models; Mathematical prediction; Simulation; Toll booths; Toll bridges; Toll collection; Toll plazas; Traffic flow; Traffic volume; Waiting time
• Identifier Terms: Cape Coral Bridge; Midpoint Memorial Bridge
• Geographic Terms: Lee County (Florida)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities; I71: Traffic Theory;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00766250
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 21 1999 12:00AM