LECTURA 2

ROAD NETWORK

It is the group of roads and highways that are available in a specific area and belong to
the same function classification and/or jurisdiction (national, regional and local).

It allows the movement of vehicles between two points inside a determined area and
connecting it to the exterior

In Peru, there are three classes according to its function

1) Primary Road Network

National System Sistema Nacional, consisting of roads that

put together main cities with ports and frontiers

2) Secondary Road Network

Regional System - Sistema Departamental, made up of roads inside the region zone,
province and/or political division, and even economical zones. For example, Carreteras de
Penetracion

3) Tertiary or Local Road Network

Local System - Sistema Vecinal, made up of small local / neighborhood roads that put
together small locations, rural roads, or various neighborhoods

In Peru, the roads are also classified according to its

demand (amount of vehicles using the road)

Highways

Multilane or Dual Roads

1st Class Roads

2nd Class Roads

3rd Class Roads

Dirt Roads (Trochas Carrozables)

HIGHWAYS
Roads with an AADT (Average Annual Daily Traffic) higher than 4000 veh/day

They have the following features:

Total Access Control, forbidding the road access from surrounding properties

They have different roadways per direction (with two or more lanes each),
separated by a median, terrain or other separation methods

Peruvian denomination = A.P.

MULTILANE OR DUAL ROADS

With AADT > 4000 veh/day

With separated roadways, each with two or more lanes
With partial access control
Peruvian Denomination = MC

1ST CLASS ROADS

AADT between 2001 - 4000 veh/day

With 2-lane roadways

Peruvian Denomination = DC

2ND CLASS ROADS

AADT between 400 - 2000 veh/day

With 2-lane roadways

Same denomination = DC

3RD CLASS ROADS

AADT less than 400 veh/day

The road design of the local system has differences when the traffic is more or
less than 200 veh/day

DIRT ROADS

Built with the soil movement / modification

It should allow the passing of at least one vehicle

ROAD NETWORK

The MTC also classifies the road network according tothe topographic condition
(elevations and slopes)

Roads Type 1

It allows heavy vehicles to keep approximately the same speed

as light vehicles

Terrain transverse slope <= 10%

Roads Type 2

Terrain transverse slope (normal to the axis) varies between

10% and 50%

 Heavy vehicles are forced to slow down significantly in
comparison to light vehicles

Roads Type 3

Terrain transverse slope (normal to the axis) varies between

50% and 100%

Heavy vehicles are forced to slow down significantly during

frequent intervals or considerable distances

Roads Type 4

Terrain transverse slope > 100%

Heavy vehicles diminished their speed even more, frequently

and for longer spans

Road elements: cars

URBAN ROADS

Street and Roads in urban zones can be classified according to its function as:

Local Roads

Inside specific districts and its function is to allow access to

urban properties

Regularly, they have two lanes in both direction and are called
Calles or Jirones (Street, Lanes in English)

Collector Roads

Connected with the local roads through at-grade unsignalized

intersections (generally)

Connect the traffic flow with the arterial roads and are called
Avenidas (Avenues) and they can have up to four lanes for both
directions (two each)

Arterial Roads

The traffic flow coming from the collector roads go to these

arterial roads and are called Avenidas or Corredores Viales
(Expressways)

Signalized at-grade intersections connected these roads,

although regularly they do not work properly, and as such police
personnel is needed to organize the traffic

Freeways

Built for high volumes with need of considerable speed, with

totally controlled exits and entries, and even major interchanges

Three main types: National/Regional, Sub-regional and

metropolitan.

INTERSECTIONS

Intersections are common areas of two or more streets or roads that cross at-
grade and should allow for all the possible/desired movements

They are discontinuity elements of any network that normally represent critical
conditions

The job of a traffic engineer is to provide optimal conditions of safety and

capacity, within the limited physical and economical possibilities
TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

Different Types of Vehicles in a Road

See vehicle classification (FHWA or MTC)

Traffic Superposition in inadequate roads

Tight streets and/or with pronounced slopes

Unimproved roads

Lack of Planning

Built streets and roads with obsolete specifications

Intersections designed without technical basis
No or deficient provision for parking, bus or taxi stops

Government and Citizen lack of awareness

Lack of Road Safety Education for Driver, Passenger and Pedestrian

Old legislation or traffic rules, unconditioned to current traffic patterns

SOLUTIONS TO TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

Integral Solution

Build a new road infrastructure, that serves the modern vehicle

Create cities with a new, revolutionary pattern
Perform urban projects that balance supply and demand with a
functional pattern of arterial, collector and local roads

High cost solutions

Get the most out of the available infrastructure, with heavy, expensive
changes/improvements
 Widening of roads, intersection modifications, electronic change of
traffic lights, public and private parking in buildings

Partial Solutions of Low Cost

Maximum use of existing conditions, with minimal work and maximum

traffic regulation
Legislation and regulation adapted to the user needs
Safety Road Education
Unidirectional road systems
Limited public parking
Changes in traffic light configuration and timing
Channelization of traffic
Construction of bus stops, taxi stops and parking spaces

DEFINITION

In order to decide what solutions to use, it is necessary to mathematically

define some terms, like:

Levels of Service (LOS)

Flow
Delay
Cycles
Saturation

The entire semester we will cover these topics, but next class we will start with
traffic volume, peak hour factor (PHF), design hourly volume (DHV), and
volume counts, that are needed for everything else
LECTURE 3a

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

In-Situ Conventional Technologies

In-situ refers to measured traffic data with placeddetectors next to the
roadway
Two types
Intrusive (data registration and a sensor)
Non-Intrusive
Intrusive Methods
Pneumatic Tubes
Piezoelectric sensors
Magnetic circuits

Pneumatic Tubes

They register the pressure changes when a vehicles passes by the tube
Disadvantages:
Volume per lane, no turns
Limited by climate and traffic (multiaxis)
Problems with slow traffic or congestion

Piezoelectric Sensors

Different from the pneumatic tube, the sensor is capable of registering speeds
and weights
It is useful for the WIM (weight-in-motion) stations
Magnetic circuits: used in Europe but short-lived and affected by heavy traffic

In-Situ Conventional Technologies

Non-Intrusive Methods
Manual counts
Passive and active infrared
Passive magnetic
Microwave radar
Passive ultrasonic and acoustic
Video detection

Manual counts
Most used traditional method
Experienced measurers
 Besides volume data, the measurers can also get valuable information
that is hard to acquire automatically like
Vehicle occupational rate
Pedestrians
Vehicles types
Tools used:
Counting sheets
Mechanical counting tables
Automatic counting tables

Passive and active infrared

Counts, speed and type can be measured
However, there are limitations due to crossing vehicles, and adverse
climate

Passive Magnetic
Problems with congested reas

Microwave radar
Similar to infrared
Mainly used for traffic infraction detection

Passive Ultrasonic and Acoustic

Affected by climate conditions

Video Detection
Number of vehicles
Type of vehicles
Speed
Occupational Rate
Pedestrians
The post-processing is long and constant

MANUAL COUNTS
It consists in summarizing in a predetermined format what is observed in the
field
The format sheets have information like:
Vehicle types
Time intervals (15 min)
Intersection turning type and street
LECTURE 3B

Traffic Parameters

AADT = Annual Average Daily Traffic

It represents the arithmetic average of the daily volume counts in one year, existing or
predicted for a given section.
Knowing AADT gives the engineer a quantitative idea of the importance of the section
and allows to make economic feasibility calculations (SNIP in Peru).
In Spanish, it is called IMDA = Indice Medio Diario Annual

How can AADT be calculated?

AADT = Average of 365 ADT (Average Daily Traffic)

For a specific day can be calculated by:

Counts = field measurement

HF = hourly factor
DF = daily factor
MF = monthly factor
GF = growth factor

Annual average daily traffic (AADT)

Annual traffic averaged on a daily basis

Both directions

Design hourly volume (DHV)

Traffic volume used for design calculations

Typically between the 10th and 50th highest volume hour of the year (30th
highest is most common)

K-factor (K)

Ratio between DHV and AADT

 In high volume roads, AADT is not used. Instead, the Design Hourly Volume
(DHV) is used to avoid problems of congestion and determine acceptable
levels of service.

DHV = 30th highest hourly volume in a year

In Spanish, Volumen Horario de Diseo (DHV)

k = traffic percentage in the design hour (highest hourly factor)

PHF = Peak Hour Factor in one hour (15 minute period)
 Directional distribution factor (D)

Factor reflecting the proportion of peak-hour traffic traveling in the peak

direction
Often there is much more traffic in one direction than the other

Directional design-hour volume (DDHV)

DDHV = K D AADT
 Hourly Factor

In the previous example, not all the hours were available. In such scenario, one
or more hours can be used and adding its HF, the daily volume can be calculated

Growth Factors

It can be estimated based on a

Lineal
Exponential
 Relationship..
or can be computed based on economical and socialvariables such as :
Population

Growth Factor
GFlineal = (1 + n.G)
GFexponential = (1 + G)n
GFpopulation = Popfut / Popcurrent
where
G = annual growth rate
n = number of years
Example

Current Year: 2012

Design Year: 2030
DHV2012 = 5,000 vph
Annual Growth Rate = 4%
Determine DHV2030

Example 2
Current Population (2012) = 170,000
Expected Population (2030) = 300,000
If the current DHV is 5,000 vehicles
Calculate the DHV in 2030

Some typical data:

Street Typical Capacity: 8000 vplpd

Freeway Typical Capacity: 2000 vplph

For some type of roads:

Residential 500 to 5000 vplpd

Collector 5000 to 15000 vplpd
Arterial 15000 to 50000 vplpd
Highways / Freeways More than 50000 vplpd
LECTURE 5A

Volume Studies

The Purpose is collect data on the number of vehicles and/or pedestrian that pass on a
highway facility during a specified time period. (varies from 15min as much as one
year).

Usually these are conducted when certain volume

characteristics are needed, such as:

Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) is the average of 24-hr counts collected every day
in the year. It is used for:

a. Estimation of highway user revenues

b. Computation of accident rates in terms of accidents per 100 million vehicle-
miles
c. Establishment of traffic volume trends
d. Evaluation of the economic feasibility of highway projects
e. Development of freeway and major arterial street systems
f. Development of improvement and maintenance programs

Average Daily Traffic (ADT) is the average of 24-hour counts collected over a number
of days greater than 1 but less than a year. ADTs may be used for

a. Planning of highway activities

b. Measurement of current demand

c. Evaluation of existing traffic flow

Peak Hour Volume (PHV) is the maximum number of vehicles that pass a point on a
highway during a period of 60 consecutive minutes. PHVs are used for

a. Functional classification of highways

b. Design of the geometric characteristics of a highway, for example, number of
lanes, intersection signalization, or channelization
c. Capacity analysis
d. Development of programs related to traffic operations, for example, one-way
street systems or traffic routing
e. Development of parking regulations

Vehicle Classification (VC) records volume with respect to the type of vehicles, for
example, passenger cars, two-axle trucks, or three- axle trucks. VC is used in:
 a. Design of geometric characteristics, with particular reference to turning-radii
requirements, maximum grades, lane widths, and so forth
b. Capacity analyses, with respect to passenger-car equivalents of trucks
c. Adjustment of traffic counts obtained by machines
d. Structural design of highway pavements, bridges, and so forth

Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) is a measure of travel along a section of road. It is the
product of the traffic volume (that is, average weekday volume or ADT) and the length
of roadway in miles to which the volume is applicable. VMTs are used mainly as a base
for allocating resources for maintenance and improvement of highways.

The method to calculate daily VKT (VMT) for a segment is to multiply the length of a
roadway segment by the volume of traffic on that segment. The formula for the daily
VKT on a segment calculation is given below:

Daily VKT = Segment length (km) x Volume on segment (vehicles per day)

Methods of Conducting Volume Counts

Manual Method:

More flexible and in some situations more accurate

Pedestrian, turning movements, vehicle classification

Electronic Count Boards

Have different buttons for different maneuvers

Light weight, compact, usually with an internal clock
Labor intensive and impractical for large/long counts

Automatic Method:

Using surface detectors (such as pneumatic road tubes) or

subsurface detectors (such as magnetic or electric contact
devices) on the road.
Good for simple counts for long periods of time
Lately more complex movements can be done automatically
(video cameras)

Cordon Counts

An imaginary boundary around a region usually a major activity

center
Used for origin-destination studies, trend analysis
 Count tracks both entering and leaving vehicle at stations
tracking an accumulation with time
Same will track license plates

Signalized Intersections

Most count Board can record turning movements

Held to distribute green time among phases, determine cycle
length

Pedestrian Counts

Aids in the design of pedestrian facilities, intersections, workways

Periodic Volume Counts

To obtain certain traffic volume data.

To obtain AADT is necessary to collect data continuously. However, it is not
feasible to on all roads because of the cost involved.

Traffic Volume Data Presentation

The data collected from traffic volume counts may be presented in one of several
ways, depending on the type of count conducted and the primary use of the data.

Traffic Flow Maps:

These maps show traffic volumes on individual routes

Intersection Summary Sheets:

These sheets are graphic-representations of the volume and directions of all traffic
movements through the intersection.
LECTURE 5B
Spot speed Studies

These are conducted to estimate the speed of vehicles in the traffic stream at a
particular location on a highway. Usually expressed in mph or kph (kilometers
per hour).
Spot speed studies are conducted to estimate the distribution of speeds of
vehicles in a stream of traffic at a particular location on a highway.
Carried out by recording the speeds of a sample ofvehicles at a specified
location.

Used to:

Establish parameters for traffic operation and control,such as:

speed zones,
speed limits (e.g. 85th-percentile speed)

Locations for Spot Speed Studies

Represent different traffic conditions on a highway for basic data

collection.
Mid-blocks of urban highways and straight, level sections of rural
highways for speed trend analyses.
Any location may be used for solution of a specific traffic engineering
problem.

Should be selected to achieve the following:

Unbiased data
Drivers be unaware
Equipment concealed from the driver,
Observers inconspicuous.

Time of Day and Duration of Spot Speed Studies

depends on the purpose of the study.
recommended when traffic is free-flowing,
during off-peak hours.
typically:
the duration is at least 1 hour andthe sample size is at least 30
vehicles
 Sample Size for Spot Speed Studies
The larger the sample size, will give an estimated mean within
acceptable error limits.
Average Speed
Median Speed
Modal Speed
The ith-percentile Spot Speed
Pace
Standard Deviation of Speeds

Methods for Conducting Spot Speed Studies

manual and automatic
manual method is seldom used
automatic devices
road detectors
radar-based
Road Detectors
pneumatic road tubes & induction loops collect data on speeds &
volume at the same time
Advantage:
Human errors are considerably reduced
Disadvantages:
expensive
may, affect driver behavior,

Pneumatic road tubes

laid across the lane in which data are to be collected.
When moving vehicle passes over, an air impulse is transmitted to the
counter.
two tubes are placed across the lane, 2 m apart.
An impulse is recorded when the front wheels of a moving vehicle pass
over the first tube;

Pneumatic road tubes

a second impulse is recorded when the front wheels pass over the
second tube.
The time elapsed between the two impulses and the distance between
the tubes are used to compute the speed of the vehicle.

Inductive loop
a rectangular wire loop buried under the roadway surface.
 It operates on the principle that a disturbance in the electrical field is
created when a motor vehicle passes across it.

Radar-Based Traffic Sensors

Electronic-Principle Detectors
traffic characteristics, such as speed, volume, queues, and headways are
computed.
Using video image processing

Methods for Conducting Spot Speed Studies

Video Taping
Using machine-vision system. Detected the presence of vehicles
computing traffic characteristics such as volume, queues, and
headways
Record vehicle as they pass through a manual speed trap and
extract speed data from the tape
Road Detectors
Are used to collect speed data and volume data at the same time.
Two Categories:
1. Pneumatic road tubes: are laid across the lane in which data are be collected.
2. Inductive loop: rectangular wire loop buried under the road surface.

Doppler

Work on the principle that when a signal is transmitted onto a moving vehicle, the
change in frequency between the transmitted and reflected is proportional to the
speed of the vehicle in motion.

Radar Meter (most common)

The changes in frequency between the transmitted and reflected wave is a
function
of speed.
It is also a function of the incidence angle: 0 yields true value 90 yields speed of
zero

Field Procedures for radar

Layout of site depends on
1. Capabilities of radar unit
2. Minimum angle of incident
3. Concerning Unit
 Presentation and Analysis of Spot Speed Data
Statistical methods
Analyzing data
Frequency histogram
Cumulative frequency distribution curve

Applications
1. Determining traffic operation and control parameters
Speed limits
Advisory speeds
Critical Intersections Approaches
No-pass zone markings
School routes, zones, crossings
Location and timing of traffic signals
2. Establishing highway design elements
Horizontal/vertical curves
Superelevation
Gradient/length of grade
Length of passing zones
Sight distances

Applications (continued)
3. Analyzing Highway Capacity
4. Assessing Highway Safety
Hazardous Location Identification
Accident Analysis
Compliant Investigation
5. Monitoring speed trends
6. Measuring effectiveness of controls and programs
Traffic Control Devices
Operational Changes (e.g. Speed Limits)
Enforcement Programs

Locations, Time, and Conditions

Presence of different traffic conditions (basic data)

Level sections of rural highways (speed trends analysis)
Any location (specific problem)
It is necessary the unaware of the driver keeping the driver behavior
characteristic
Typically a matter of common sense based on the objective and scope of the study.

Example:

Approach Speeds ---------------- Measurements taken upstream prior to deceleration point

Nighttime acceleration ------------- Collect data at dark

Safety, visibility of study may tamper the data

Sample Size of Spot Speed Studies

Accuracy of a mean increases with the numbers of samples

Statistical procedures are used to determine this minimum sample size.

Speed Characteristics

1. Average speed, which is the arithmetic mean of all observed vehicle

speeds (which is the sum of all spot speeds divided by the number
of recorded speeds).

2. Median speed, which is the speed at the middle value in a series of

spot speeds that are arranged in ascending order.

3. Modal speed, which is the speed value that occurs most frequently
in a sample of spot speeds.

4. The ith-percentile spot speed, which is the spot speed value below
which I percent of the vehicles travel.

5. Pace, which is the range of speed-usually taken at 10-mi/h intervals-

that has the greatest number of observations.

6. Standard deviation of speeds, which is a measure of the spread of

the individual speeds. It is estimated by statistic formulas.
Standard Deviation

Here we will assume that speed are normally distributed about the true mean
probability mass function of a normal distribution.

Example: Minimum Sample Size for speed Study

Determine the minimum sample size required for a spot speed study on a rural two-
lane if the confidence level for the study is 95.0 percent and the tolerance is 1mph.
Assume a standard deviation of 5.30 mph
Methods for Conducting Spot Speed Studies

Selection of target Vehicles

Random selection is key subject to the population of vehicle under study
i.e. clearly defying study population then obtain sampling scheme to get
random samples of that population
Selection of every vehicle almost always impossible

Comparison of Mean Speeds

Test the hypothesis that the means from 2 studies are different based on the standard
deviation of the difference of 2 means

Comparison of Mean Speeds

Example: Minimum Sample Size for speed Study

Speed data were collected at a section of highway during and after utility maintenance
work. The speed characteristics are given as show below. Determine whether there
was any significant difference between the average speed at the 95 percent
confidence level.
Presentation and Analysis of Spot Speed Data
Usually this information is taken only from a sample of vehicles, but these data are
used to determinate the speed characteristics of the whole population traveling on
the study site.
The format most commonly used is the frequency distribution table

Spot speed Studies

Example

Determining Speed Characteristics from a Set of Speed Data.

Table 1 shows the data collected on a rural highway during a speed study.
Develop the frequency histogram and the frequency distribution of the
data and determine:
1. The arithmetic mean speed
2. The standard deviation
3. The median speed
4. The pace
5. The mode or modal speed
6. The 85th-percentile speed
 Solution:
The speeds range from 34.8 to 65.0 mph, giving a
speed range of 30.2.
For eight classes, the range per class is 3.75 mph;
for 20 classes, the range per class is 1.51 mph
It is convenient to choose a range of 2 mph per class
which will give 16 classes.
A frequency distribution table can then be prepared,
as shown in Table 2.
 The pace is the 10-mph speed range representing the speeds of the largest
percentage of vehicles. The upper limit of this pace is also a good indicator of
an appropriate maximum speed limit.

Pace: A 10 mile-per-hour increment in speeds that encompasses the highest

portion of observed speeds; often is the mean speed plus/minus five miles per
hour

The median speed 49 mph,

the 50th-percentile speed.

85th-percentile speed is 54 mph

 LECTURA 6A

Travel time and delay studies

Know how travel time and delay study results can
be applied
Know definition of terms related to travel time and
delay studies
Know what types of travel time studies are available
Understand how the moving-vehicle technique is conducted and its
data reduced

What we cover in class today

What are travel time and delay studies
How are they used?
Definition of terms
Methods requiring a test vehicle
Methods not requiring a test vehicle
Learn how to reduce data collected by the Moving-
Vehicle technique

* Determines the amount of time required to travel from one point to

another on a given route. Often, information may also be collected on the
locations, durations, and causes of delays
Indicate the level of service
Identify problem locations

Applications of travel time and delay data

Efficiency check
Problem location identification
Evaluation of performance before and after improvement
Model calibration
Collect data for economic analysis (user costs)
Definition of terms related to time and delay studies
1. Travel time is the time taken by a vehicle to traverse a given section
of a highway.
2. Running time is the time a vehicle is actually in motion while
traversing a given section of a highway.
3. Delay is the time lost by a vehicle due to causes beyond the control
of the driver.
4. Operational delay is that part of the delay caused by the impedance
of other traffic. (for example, parking or unparking vehicles).
5. Stopped-time delay is that part of the delay during which the
vehicle is at rest.
6. Fixed delay is that part of the delay caused by control devices such
as traffic signals.
7. Travel-time delay is the difference between the actual travel time
and the travel time that will be obtained by assuming that a vehicle
traverses the study section at an average speed equal to that for an
uncongested traffic flow on the section being studied.

Methods for conducting Travel Time and Delay Studies

The particular technique used for any specific study depends on the
reason for conducting the study and the available personnel and
equipment.
Methods Requiring a Test Vehicle
Floating-Car Technique
In this method, the test car is driven by an observer along the test
section so that the test car "floats" with the traffic.
The driver of the test vehicle attempts to pass as many vehicles as
those that pass the test vehicle.
The time taken to traverse the study section is recorded. This is
repeated, and the average time is recorded as the travel time.
 Methods Requiring a Test Vehicle
Average-Speed Technique. This technique involves driving the test
car along the length of the test section at a speed that, in the
opinion of the driver, is the average speed of the traffic stream. The
time required to traverse the test section is noted.
Moving-Vehicle Technique. In this technique, the observer makes a
round trip on a test section taking the time to travel it and the cars
passes.

In test vehicle methods time can be recorded at intermediate

points.
Stop time at signals can also be recorders

Moving vehicle technique

The observer makes a round trip on a test section
The observer starts at section X-X, drives the car eastward to
section Y-Y,
turns the vehicle around
drives westward to section X-X again
The time it takes to travel east from X-X to Y-Y (Te), in minutes
The time it takes to travel west from Y-Y to X-X (Tw), in minutes
The number of vehicles traveling west in the opposite lane while
the test car is traveling east (Ne)
The number of vehicles that overtake the test car while it is
traveling west from Y-Y to X-X, that is, traveling in the westbound
direction (Ow)
The number of vehicles that the test car passes while it is traveling
west from Y-Y to X-X, that is, traveling in the westbound direction
(Pw)
 The volume (Vw) in the westbound direction can then be obtained
from the expression:

where (Ne Ow Pw) is the number of vehicles traveling westward

that cross the line X-X in time Te+Tw.
Similarly, the average travel time in the westbound direction is
obtained from

EXAMPLE : The data in Table 1 were obtained in a travel time study on a

section of highway using the moving- vehicle technique. Determine the
travel time and volume in each direction at this section of the highway.
SOLUTION: