Factors for enhancing inherent resilience in traffic network

The study of the inherent resilience of traffic networks has not received due research attention. The ability of a link or a corridor can be enhanced with design factors. Traffic control means such as adaptive systems can be applied as well and these have been studied in the past and are in use in many cities around the world. However, there has been a general lack of attention to improving inherent resilience with geometric design factors. The paper will consist of five parts. The first part serves as a background. The second part defines a model of traffic service capability and its inputs. The intent is to investigate link and corridor-level means to enhance the inherent resilience in terms of sustained service flow. Specifically, the developed predictive model incorporates geometric factors, volume-delay functions, and operating speed. This model can be used to study service volume changes in relation to selected variables. The third part defines a microsimulation methodology, which enables testing of factors for enhancing inherent resilience. The simulation-based methodology will be described, and the process followed to prepare inputs will be explained. The U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) equation was used in simulation studies. The fourth part will cover an analysis of simulation outputs. Finally, conclusions are presented. The findings of this research are intended for use by traffic engineers so that traffic networks can be designed and operated with the improved ability of links and corridors to withstand traffic shocks better as compared to the conventional approaches.