EVALUATING TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS USING MICROSIMULATION: THE CENTRAL ARTERY/TUNNEL INTEGRATED PROJECT CONTROL SYSTEM (IPCS)

This paper describes the evaluation approach that will be used to assess the performance of the Integrated Project Control System (IPCS) for the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project (CA/T) in Boston. The primary objectives of the evaluation are to assess the impact of IPCS control strategies on traffic flow and support the analysis of critical operational procedures. The framework for the evaluation consists of identifying a set of traffic scenarios and performance measures that will test the robustness of the IPCS. The traffic scenarios are designed to capture nominal and worst case conditions that might occur on the CA/T and range of variability in driver behavior. The primary evaluation tool is a microsimulation model that has been developed to integrate IPCS control strategies with models of traffic flow (and CO generation) on the CA/T.