Motorway Tidal Flow Lane Control

Ampountolas, K. , Salvaro Furtado, H. and Castelan Carlson, R. (2018) Motorway Tidal Flow Lane Control. In: 15th IFAC Symposium on Control in Transportation Systems, Savona, Italy, 6-8 Jun 2018, pp. 279-284. (doi: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.07.046)

Abstract

A traffic control case of particular importance occurs when inbound and outbound traffic on a motorway stretch is unbalanced throughout the day. This scenario may benefit of a lane management strategy called tidal flow (or reversible) lane control, in which case the direction of a contraflow buffer lane is reversed according to the needs of each direction. This paper proposes a simple and practical real-time strategy for efficient motorway tidal flow lane control. A switching policy based on the fundamental diagram, that requires only aggregated measurements of density (or occupancy), is adopted. A kinematic wave theory-based traffic flow analysis shows that the proposed strategy provides a Pareto-optimal solution. Simulation studies of the A38(M) Aston Expressway (Birmingham, UK), are used to demonstrate its operation. The results confirm an increase of motorway throughput and a smooth operation of the strategy.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: Published in IFAC-PapersOnline 51(9):279-284
• Keywords: Tidal flow lane control, reversible lanes, fundamental diagram of motorway traffic
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ampountolas, Dr Konstantinos
• Authors: Ampountolas, K., Salvaro Furtado, H., and Castelan Carlson, R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• ISSN: 1474-6670
• Published Online: 19 July 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 IFAC
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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