Studying the Impact of Accelerated Construction Methods in Work Zones using Micro-simulation, on Vehicle Emissions and the Environment
Pavement maintenance, repair and rehabilitation (MRR) processes may have considerable environmental impacts due to traffic disruptions associated with work zones. Several studies have been conducted to determine the lifecycle impacts of construction materials used in arterial improvement projects. But most of these studies have overlooked the mobility impact due to work zones MRR activities. According to the Texas A & M Transportation Institute Urban Mobility Report (2012) user costs due to traffic delays and additional fuel consumption have increased dramatically from $24 billion to $121 billion (in constant 2011 dollars), over the last 30 years, as a result of congestion in 498 urban areas across the country. In 2011, 56 billion pounds of additional greenhouse gases (GHG) were released just because of congestion, posing serious threats to the environment. The purpose of this study is to address the impact of work-zones on traffic and come up with a comprehensive framework to model the total emissions and its effect on storm-water runoff by simulating traffic flow around work zones. Each MRR activity requires certain traffic management plans (TMP) for example lane closure, narrowed lanes, phasing/ staging, reduced speed, detours, and ramp closure, all of which impacts the traffic flow. In previous studies, simulation models used to predict the emission of work zones were mostly static emission factor models (SEFD). SEFD calculates emissions based on average operation conditions e.g. average speed and type of vehicles. Although these models produce accurate results for large scale planning studies, they are not suitable for analyzing driving conditions at the micro level such as acceleration, deceleration, idling, cruising and queuing in a work zone. There is a need of micro-simulation analysis that can capture the effects of instantaneous changes in vehicle operation and can provide an accurate prediction of traffic and emissions for a given work zone. Increased traffic emissions not only affect air quality but also have indirect effect on water quality in the form of storm-water runoff. There are two ways in which atmospheric pollutants can enter the runoff. First, the pollutants can deposit in absence of rain under the effect of gravity, wind and turbulence and secondly, by dissolving with the water droplets during the rain. The pollutants washed away from pavements are mostly suspended solids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals such as Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu. The transportation of these contaminants in water can be modelled using various hydrological models. Some of popular models for storm water runoff are SWMM, HSPF, TREX, and MOUSE. These models can be integrated with traffic simulation and emission models to predict the effects of congestion, associated with work-zones, on storm-water runoff. This will provide the decision makers with a work-zone environmental assessment (WEA) framework to select suitable TMPs not only economically but also from an environmental perspective. TMPs are greatly dependent on the construction process. Accelerated construction strategies are known to have minimized construction duration and traffic disruption. Micro-simulation models can be used to calculate the change, if any, in emissions for work zones involving accelerated construction. That way the feasibility of using accelerated construction in reducing the environmental impacts of MRR activities can be determined.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $600000.00
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Contract Numbers:
DTRT12GUTC17
KLK900-SB-004
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Sponsor Organizations:
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
University Transportation Centers Program
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590Department of Transport
NGAM Division, Room 3/18, 2 Monck Street
London, United Kingdom SW1P3BQ -
Performing Organizations:
National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology
University of Idaho, Moscow
115 Engineering Physics Building
Moscow, ID United States 83844-0901Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
Blacksburg, VA United States 24061Syracuse University
L.C. Smith College of Engineering & Computer Science
223 Link Hall
Syracuse, NY United States 13244 -
Principal Investigators:
Davidson, Cliff
Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed
Rakha, Hesham
Salem, Sam
- Start Date: 20140101
- Expected Completion Date: 20160131
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- Source Data: RiP Project 36470
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Arterial highways; Building materials; Environmental impacts; Greenhouse gases; Highway traffic control; Pavement maintenance; Pollutants; Runoff; Traffic flow; Work zone traffic control
- Uncontrolled Terms: Accelerated construction
- Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pavements; I15: Environment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01571792
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology
- Contract Numbers: DTRT12GUTC17, KLK900-SB-004
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Jul 30 2015 1:01AM