Winter Performance Measurement Using Traffic Speed Modeling

Traffic flow is often disrupted to varying degrees during precipitation, frost, and blowing snow events. In general, as winter weather events cause road conditions to deteriorate, traffic has a tendency to slow down. Winter maintenance activities affect road conditions and therefore impact traffic speed, so a measurement system using traffic speed has the potential to be a direct measure of the impact of maintenance activities. A prototype model has been developed to predict the average traffic speed at a given time during a winter storm event using commonly reported and forecast road weather data. The prototype model has shown much promise in the quantitative evaluation of winter maintenance by comparing the simulated traffic speed at any point in time to the actual traffic speeds observed by traffic speed sensors. Winter operations may be considered successful when observed traffic speed is found to be at or above the model prediction, and operations may be considered unsuccessful when speeds are significantly less than the model predicts. The minute-by-minute nature of the model output makes it easier to evaluate the specific series of events contributing to the microscale successes or failures over the course of an event. The prototype model is being analyzed and improved for incorporation into real-time performance analysis systems.

• Record URL:
  http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/167060.aspx
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515
• Authors:
  • Greenfield, Tina
  • Haubrich, Matt
  • Kaiser, Mark
  • Zhu, Zhengyuan
  • Fortin, Daniel
  • Li, Jing
• Conference:
  • International Conference on Winter Maintenance and Surface Transportation Weather
  • Location: Coralville Iowa, United States
  • Date: 2012-4-30 to 2012-5-3
• Publication Date: 2012-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 187-197
• Monograph Title: Winter Maintenance and Surface Transportation Weather. International Conference on Winter Maintenance and Surface Transportation Weather, April 30–May 3, 2012, Coralville, Iowa
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Circular
  • Issue Number: E-C162
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0097-8515

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Mathematical models; Mathematical prediction; Performance measurement; Sensors; Traffic speed; Winter maintenance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I62: Winter Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01371226
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: WM-STW12-161
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 25 2012 10:32AM