Investigation of Traffic Disruption due to the Blockage of the Line Affected by the Work Zone Area Based on Travel Time

In freeways, in addition to assessing the traffic performance at the entrance ramp section to the freeway and its impact on vehicle delays, temporary functional changes may be necessary in certain freeway sections. Such changes could involve the temporary closure of one or several lanes along a specific stretch of the freeway for various reasons, including maintenance and repairs. The closure of one or several freeway lanes, when the flow of freeway traffic converges with the traffic from the entrance ramp, requires specific study and examination for various considerations. The Guide to Road Capacity did not previously address the examination of delays caused by the work zone area at the entrance ramp to the freeway. This study addresses this gap using the simulation software Aimsun. The study aims to measure the effects of interferences caused by the presence of the Work Zone area, the number of freeway lanes, the blocked freeway lanes, the entrance ramp lanes, and the length of the acceleration lane on travel time, comparing it with the Guide to Road Capacity in more detail. Considering the criteria in the Guide to Road Capacity, it was observed that in the convergence of 2 lanes to 1 lane, the main input flow volume and the entrance ramp flow volume had the most significant impact on the number of interferences and travel time. The variable of the acceleration lane length in this case had a more significant reduction effect on the number of interferences and travel time compared to other scenarios.