Real World Energy Efficiency Benefits of the I-75/I-575 NWC Express Lanes in Metro Atlanta
Georgia’s Express Lane systems provide significantly shorter and more reliable travel times compared with adjacent general-purpose (GP) lanes and maintain average speeds and driving cycles that are more favorable to minimizing energy use and emissions. A recent paper presented at the annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting that assessed the optimal speeds on freeway facilities (time savings, fuel costs, safety costs, and the social cost of carbon) also concluded that 60-65 mph at smooth speeds are optimal. Customer surveys also reveal that they are highly valued by both commuters and intermittent users. The driving cycles on these lanes (time fractions of engine loads) generally experience more cruise activity and fewer unnecessary accelerations and decelerations, given that the fleet is predominantly made up of light-duty vehicles (vehicles with more than six wheels and tractor trailers not allowed), and that there is no lane-changing behavior (restricted entrances from and exits to the GP lanes). It seems logical that maximizing the most efficient use of the facility through pricing reduces travel time, on-road energy use, and emissions. However, it has become apparent that certain navigation routing apps are currently not recommending use of managed lanes when energy optimization is enabled. This research aims to quantify costs, energy use, and emissions across the reversible toll lanes on the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor (NWC) and compare these results to parallel travel on the general-purpose lanes to assess the conditions under which managed lanes should be recommended. The Georgia Tech research team proposes to expand prior analysis of the I-75/I-575 NWC Express Lanes by performing an energy use and emission assessment for these Express Lanes against the GP lanes on a per vehicle miles of travel (VMT) basis. The tools and results from this project will support assessment and public outreach efforts related to expansion of Georgia’s Express Lanes systems.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $80000
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Contract Numbers:
DOT 69A3552348319
DOT 69A3552344814
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590National Center for Sustainable Transportation
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA United States Calle del Príncipe de Vergara, 135, 28002
Madrid, Spain -
Managing Organizations:
National Center for Sustainable Transportation
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA United StatesUniversity of California, Davis
1 Shields Ave
Davis, California United States 95616Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
790 Atlantic Drive
Atlanta, GA United States 30332-0355 -
Project Managers:
Iacobucci, Lauren
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Performing Organizations:
National Center for Sustainable Transportation
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA United StatesGeorgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
790 Atlantic Drive
Atlanta, GA United States 30332-0355 -
Principal Investigators:
Guensler, Randall
Rodgers, Michael
Guin, Angshuman
Lu, Hongyu
- Start Date: 20240201
- Expected Completion Date: 20250131
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Energy conservation; Expressways; Highway corridors; Managed lanes; Pollutants; Vehicle miles of travel
- Geographic Terms: Atlanta (Georgia)
- Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01916218
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
- Contract Numbers: DOT 69A3552348319, DOT 69A3552344814
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Apr 20 2024 9:17AM