Dynamic signal control strategy for freeway work zones considering queue length

DUAN Ke; MA Sheqiang; YAN Xuedong; XUE Qingwan

doi:10.11860/j.issn.1673-0291.20230090

Abstract：Aiming to mitigate traffic conflicts arising from lane merging in freeway work zones,this study proposes a dynamic signal control strategy considering queue length to enhance traffic efficiency and safety. Through Cellular Automata simulation models,this study compares the effectiveness of dynamic signal control strategy against the early-merging strategy,late-merging strategy,and fixed-signal control strat-egy under varied traffic conditions. Analysis of traffic metrics is conducted,such as flow rate,travel delay,queue length,and incidence of aggressive lane changes. The results show that under the late-merging strat-egy,the frequency of aggressive lane changes exceeds that of the standard strategy by 15.8％,posing el-evated safety risks in practical scenarios. The early-merging strategy exhibits similar characteristics to the standard approach but demonstrates a notable 7.6％ reduction in travel delay. Implementation of the signal control strategy reduces traffic delays by 10％ and minimizes aggressive lane changes by 20％. Compared to fixed-signal control,the dynamic signal control strategy effectively manages upstream queue lengths in work zones,ensuring a more equitable distribution of vehicles across different lanes. Moreover,the pro-posed strategy demonstrates superior suitability in scenarios with lower traffic density. This study's conclu-sions provide valuable insights into lane merging management for freeway work zones.