Using ITS to improve the capacity of freeway merging sections by transferring freight vehicles

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of heavy commercial vehicles on traffic characteristics and operation of freeway merging sections. Freeways are designed to facilitate the flow of traffic, including passenger cars and trucks. The impact of these different vehicle types is not uniform, creating problems in freeway operations and safety, particularly in the vicinity of merging sections. There have been very few studies that are concerned with the traffic behavior and characteristics of heavy vehicles in these situations. Therefore, a three-year study was undertaken to investigate traffic behavior and operating characteristics during the merging process under congested traffic conditions. Fir..