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Proactive Traffic Signal Timing and Coordination for Congestion Mitigation on Arterial Roads

What Was the Need?

The rapid growth of urban passenger cars and freight volumes results in serious traffic congestion in many cities of Texas. The congestion not only causes more delay in daily commutes but also increases risk of incidents, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption. Recently, signal phasing and time control on arterial roads has attracted intensive research and implementation attention due to its advancement on direct traffic management and coordination.

Project Summary

With precise loop-detecting technologies and/or increasing numbers of connected vehicles, signals are now able to interact with real-time traffic conditions and to be operated more proactively with traffic prediction models to mitigate road congestion and enhance the transportation network efficiency. The proposed innovation entails integrating traffic signals with various participants and infrastructures to develop a fully collaborative signal control system to maximize the network performance and minimize road congestion in the vicinities of intersections. The research leverages signal controls with recent advances in communications among detectors, connected vehicles, and signals to develop a proactive signal control system. The levers consider the following components: (a) network monitoring and prediction, (b) individual signal operation, and (c) signal coordination. The contractor anticipates that the project will save travel costs due to congestion of over $5.5 million in the next 10 years.

AASHTO High Value Research 2017 award winner (Formerly AASHTO “Sweet 16”)

Project Number

0-6920

Status

Completed

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Project Details

Start Date

1/20/2016

End Date

12/31/2016

Performing Institution(s)

Lamar University

Research Team

RS: Xing Wu

Sponsor

Project Manager

Darrin Jensen

Amount Funded

FY16: $51,511
FY17: $9,350

Publications from this Project

Page:

Publications Note

Refer to report for Implementation Project 5-6920-01, "Implementation of Proactive Traffic Signal Control System at Multiple Intersections at the Greater Houston Area: Final Report"

More TxDOT Projects Like This

Functional Area

Safety and Operations

Index Terms

Traffic signal control systems
Traffic signal timing
Intersections
Real time information
Risk assessment
Traffic congestion
Traffic delays
Greenhouse gases

Lead University

Lamar

Researcher

Wu, Xing

Geographic name

Beaumont, Tex.