Product No.: 10072
Date Published: 10/2012
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The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) commissioned the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) to construct a powerful computer model capable of simulating, visualizing, and assessing traffic conditions along the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) to use as a practical research tool. The tool can be used to determine the effects of growth, predict outcomes of changes to the Expressway’s infrastructure, judge the merits of competing designs, develop maintenance and protection of traffic plans, and develop congestion management plans for improvement projects. The Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) Operational Research Model is a mixed-traffic operations and planning tool with application for the Schuylkill Expressway proper. DVRPC prepared the operational model for the Schuylkill Expressway’s mainline and interchange ramps between the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Valley Forge and the Walt Whitman Bridge—a distance of approximately 23 miles. Thirty-six (36) key intersections, at/near ramp touchdown points, that impact or may impact mainline operations were modeled in the networks. Staff used the integrated transportation modeling suite of VISUM and VISSIM to prepare the linked regional travel forecasting and dynamic traffic modeling tool. The regional model (VISUM) was prepared and executed for Year 2010 and Year 2035 Long-Range Plan conditions. Some of its outputs served as inputs to the VISSIM operational model, thus establishing a linkage between the regional model and the operational analysis of the Expressway. The Schuylkill Expressway operational model employed VISSIM to simulate the travel of individual vehicles throughout the better part of a typical weekday (7:00 AM to 6:00 PM)—for current 2010 and forecasted Year 2035 Long-Range Plan conditions. The model supplies the ability to compute and collect valuable information (volume, speed, density, throughput, travel time, stops, delay, intersection level of service, queuing, emissions, fuel consumption) for critical timeframes (15-minute, peak-hour, etc.). In turn, the data can be assessed for changes in performance between scenarios or to judge the effectiveness of conceptual improvements and strategies. Off-line database tools were developed to prepare datasets and facilitate comparisons of datasets. The delivered product is a starting point, albeit a comprehensive one, for the systematic evaluation of the Schuylkill Expressway corridor. With added effort, the models can be adjusted or expanded for other or wider applications that may be warranted in the future. Ultimately, PennDOT directed that the modeling tools be made available to member agencies for local applications and that DVRPC be responsible for administering and maintaining the models.Geographic Area Covered: : the City of Philadelphia; and Lower Merion Township, the Borough of West Conshohocken, the Borough of Conshohocken, and Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Key Words: Transportation Modeling, Regional Travel Demand Forecasting, Traffic Operations Modeling, VISUM, VISSIM, Performance Measures, Traffic Volume, Mean Spot Speed, Average Operating Speed, Travel Time
Staff Contact(s)
- Keith Hartington (khartington@dvrpc.org)
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