Proposed Practices for the Application of Dynamic Lane Use Control
Active Traffic Management (ATM) strategies provide the “ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing and predicted traffic conditions” (FHWA’s Active Traffic Management website). New traffic control devices and approaches are needed to support these strategies and many of those devices and approaches are not included in the MUTCD. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the devices and approaches in obtaining the desired response from drivers are not well understood. Inefficiencies in traffic control lead to reductions in safety and operational efficiency, precisely what ATM is intended to improve. One of the commonly used ATM strategies is dynamic lane use control. The FHWA defines dynamic lane use control as dynamically closing or opening individual traffic lanes as warranted and providing advance warning of the closure(s) (typically through dynamic lane control signs), in order to safely merge traffic into adjoining lanes. Drivers are required to identify and understand the intended lane usage and make an appropriate maneuver safely and smoothly. In many existing dynamic lane use control installations, acceptable travel lanes are identified by text-based or graphical overhead signage such as a green arrow or a dynamic speed limit sign. Closed travel lanes are most often identified by an overhead red ‘X’. In some locations, ground-mounted signing is also used to communicate lane use to drivers. For example, Seattle, WA uses shoulder- or barrier-mounted signs that read either SHOULDER OPEN TO TRAFFIC or SHOULDER CLOSED. Other locations use signs to indicate the type of traffic allowed in the controlled lane (frequently buses). Various forms of static pavement marking or colored pavements are used to support the signs. There is little consistency and limited guidance in the methods used for communicating dynamic lane use control to drivers and little research on the most effective approaches. There are a number of other operational strategies that present similar traffic control challenges and the traffic control approaches should be consistent. The objective of this research was to develop recommendations for the application of dynamic lane use control based upon their human factors implications. This research discovered how dynamic lane use control should be interpreted broadly so as to include applications such as reversible lanes, hard shoulder running, dynamic junction control, and toll plazas.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
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Contract Numbers:
Project 03-123
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Sponsor Organizations:
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 225
Washington, DC United States 20001National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Transportation Research Board
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Project Managers:
Jared, David
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Performing Organizations:
Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station
Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX United States 77843-3135 -
Principal Investigators:
Chrysler, Susan
- Start Date: 20160701
- Expected Completion Date: 20200430
- Actual Completion Date: 20200430
- Source Data: RiP Project 39944
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Advanced traffic management systems; Best practices; Highway traffic control; Lane use control signals; Managed lanes; Road shoulders; Traffic congestion; Traffic control devices; Traffic safety
- Identifier Terms: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
- Uncontrolled Terms: Active traffic management
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01568391
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
- Contract Numbers: Project 03-123
- Files: TRB, RIP
- Created Date: Jun 27 2015 1:00AM