Student Researcher: A. Myton

Faculty Advisor: R.L. Bertini

ABSTRACT: In order to improve freeway modeling and operations, it is important to understand how traffic conditions evolve in both time and space. The widespread availability of freeway sensor data makes detailed operational analysis possible in ways that were not available in the past. Inspired by several other studies of a six-mile segment of Interstate 405 in Orange County, California, this paper's objective is to describe the evolution of traffic conditions over one morning peak period using inductive loop detector data, including vehicle count and lane occupancy measured at 30-second intervals. Using cumulative curves of vehicle count and occupancy, transformed in ways that enhanced their resolution, ten bottleneck activations were identified in time and space over one morning peak period. Upon bottleneck activation, queue propagation was observed in generally predictable ways. Bottleneck outflows were carefully measured only while the bottlenecks were active

PRODUCTS:

report Tomlinson, L., "Orange County Empirical Analysis: Using Loop Detector Data to Identify Bottleneck Locations and Characteristics." M.S. Project, Department of Civil Environmental Engineering, Portland State University, 2009.

journal Bertini, R.L and Myton, A., "Using PeMS Data to Empirically Diagnose Freeway Bottleneck Locations in Orange County, California." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1925, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2005, pp. 48

presentation Bertini, R.L and Myton, A., "Using PeMS Data to Empirically Diagnose Freeway Bottleneck Locations in Orange County, California." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2004.

thesis Aaron, Myton, "I-405 Freeway Bottleneck Analysis." M.S. Project, Department of Civil Environmental Engineering, Portland State University, 2004.