Design, Field Implementation and Evaluation of Adaptive Ramp Metering Algorithms: Final Report

This report is presented in two parts: Part I: Modeling, Estimation, and Ramp Metering Control of Freeway Traffic, and Part II: Corridor Control Systems. In Part I, the authors develop improved algorithms for freeway on-ramp metering control. Two macroscopic traffic models are presented: a modified cell transmission model (CTM), and a switching-mode model (SMM). A mixture Kalman filter based freeway state estimator is designed to provide estimated vehicle densities and is applied to the Interstate 210 West test site in Pasadena, California. A suite of ramp-metering control algorithms are developed, including a switching ramp-metering controller, a queue-length estimator, and a local control strategy. Simulation results on the models calibrated to the test site demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the algorithms. In Part II, several integrated corridor traffic control strategies are developed and applied to two networks, on a real network from the Dallas-Forth Worth area and the other a synthetic network constructed to highlight some key issues in the design, implementation, and evaluation of two integrated corridor control systems: local synchronization control and global optimal control.