Evaluating Coastal and River Valley Communities Evacuation Network Performance Using Macroscopic Productivity

The ever-increasing processing speed and computational power of computers and simulation systems has led to correspondingly larger, more sophisticated representations of evacuation traffic processes. Today, micro-level analyses can be conducted for megaregion-level hurricane evacuations spanning multiple states over several days and include the intermodal exchange of evacuees, millions of vehicles, and thousands of miles of roadway. However, the effort required to build such models and the volume of output data they produce also present difficulties for analysts; as they code networks, generate demand, model control elements and then calibrate results and interpret output. The goal of this research is to quantify and describe the operational conditions of evacuation traffic "network productivity." The concepts suggest that maximum production and therefore trip completion, is realized when the network achieves the highest rate of vehicles-miles traveled in a time interval. Here, a megaregion evacuation model of a coastal community is used to quantify the average network velocity, demand and network length necessary to estimate the network productivity. This research is likely to find that the network productivity exhibits a peaking characteristic. This would suggest network productivity can be maximized on a macroscopic scale as a function of demand. Research Objective(s): To better understand evacuation productivity of coastal and River Valley communities to assist in the planning, mitigation, response, and recovery of these areas from disasters.

• Record URL:
  http://martrec.uark.edu

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $239401.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DTRT13-G-UTC50

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

  Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
  3418A Patrick Taylor Hall
  Baton Rouge, Louisiana  United States  70803

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  University Transportation Centers Program
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

  Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
  3418A Patrick Taylor Hall
  Baton Rouge, Louisiana  United States  70803
• Principal Investigators:

  Wolshon, Brian

• Start Date: 20150501
• Expected Completion Date: 20170430
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 40072

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coastal zone management; Disasters and emergency operations; Evacuation; Hurricanes; Traffic flow; Travel time; Vehicle miles of travel
• Uncontrolled Terms: Megaregions
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01573276
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC50
• Files: UTC, RiP
• Created Date: Aug 21 2015 1:00AM