MICROCOMPUTERS IN TRANSPORTATION. DETERMINING HOURS OF CONGESTION FOR URBAN FREEWAYS

It is noted that the concept of Hours of Freeway Congestion is a measure of effectiveness in the evaluation of freeway reconstruction scenarios. The paper describes a procedure for the estimation of future traffic volume on a freeway segment for each hour of the day and then compares the volume with the segment's capacity. Volume exceeding capacity is carried over into the next hour's volume. Where appropriate, Highway Capacity Manual methods are used for capacity computation. The number of hours when volume exceeds capacity is summed. An application of the method is also described.