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Microscopic Model of Road Capacity and Risk for Highway Systems in Port Based Metropolitan Areas

In this project, a unique microscopic simulation model is proposed to assess the highway capacity and risk measure when lane blockage is necessary. The model is devised for highway systems in sea-ports based metropolitans, such as areas surrounding Port of Long Beach/Los Angeles by specifically considering the impact of container trucks. ARENA software will be used in the design. The highway capacity is captured using percent time spent following (PTSF) and we also suggested a measure to capture the risk of collision during merging. The highway capacity and risk measure will be studied as a function of a variety of factors, such as effective length of lane blockage and cargo truck distributions, to name a few. Existing sea-based ports are typically surrounded by major metropolitan areas, which results in movement of cargo containers through those areas. A case in point is the Port of Long Beach, one of the nation's largest and most important ports. Although several projects have been or to be implemented aiming to release the pressure on local highways (such as Alameda corridor and Maglev train transportation project), the conventional cargo truck transportation is still the primary container carriers. Therefore, specific understanding on cargo trucks' impact on local highways is still in urgent need. Mostly, the transportation simulations do not address the level of risk associated with the design and usage of various highway resources. The proposed simulation model not only considers the impact of cargo truck on traffic congestions, but also suggests a way to assess the risk measure. The results of this study will: (1) provide suggestions in construction zone (lane closure) design; (2) provide evidence to justify the impact of various proposals aiming to redirect the cargo trucks traffic; (3) be compatible with ARENA optimization module, which could be added in the future to compare the economical efficiency among different container evacuation options to optimize the usage of current highway resources.