Empirical Analysis of Traffic Sensor Data Surrounding a Bottleneck on a German Autobahn .

Empirical Analysis of Traffic Sensor Data Surrounding a Bottleneck on a German Autobahn.

Robert L. BertiniSteven HansenPortland State University

Klaus BogenbergerBMW Group

TRB Annual MeetingJanuary 10, 2005

2

Introduction.Objectives.

Empirical analysis of features of traffic dynamics and driver behavior on a German autobahn.

Understand details of bottleneck formation and dissipation.

Improved travel time estimation and forecasting: Traffic management Traveler information Driver assistance systems.

Contribute to improved traffic flow models and freeway operational strategies.

3

Background.

Previous empirical research (U.S., Canada, Germany) Active bottleneck definition:

Queue upstream Unrestricted traffic downstream

Temporally and spatially variable, static and dynamic, merges and diverges.

Activation/deactivation times. Bottleneck outflow features and possible triggers. Opportunity to compare with previous findings using data

from German freeways.

Queued Unqueued

Bottleneck

D e te c to rs

4

Study Area.Data.

14-km section of northbound A9, Munich 17 dual loop detector stations (labeled 280–

630) One-minute counts & average speeds

Cars Trucks

Six days in June–July 2002 Focus on June 27, 2002

Clear weather Variable speed limits and traffic information

(VMS)

630

5

Methodology.Analysis Tools.

Cumulative curves (Newell, Cassidy & Windover): Vehicle count Average speed

Transformations to heighten visual resolution: Oblique axis Horizontal shift with vehicle conservation

Retain lowest level of resolution (one-minute) Identify bottleneck activations and deactivations.

6

Speeds Northbound A9June 27, 2002

630

7

Speeds Northbound A9June 27, 2002

1

8

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Station 380

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

Station 380 + Off Ramp

-50

50

150

250

350

450

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time

420

390

380off

630

9

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 380–390–420

-50

50

150

250

350

450

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time @ station 420

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

420

390

380off

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

Station 420 + On Ramp

Station 390

Station 380 + Off Ramp

Time630

10

-50

50

150

250

350

450

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time @ station 420

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

420

390

380off

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

15:21@ Station 390

15:21@ Station 380

Flow

Reduction

@380

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 380–390–420

Time630

11

380

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30

Time

15:21

89 km/h

70 km/h

V(3

80,t

)-b

0t′,

b0=

3300

km

/hr2

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Station 380 Speed

630

12

-50

50

150

250

350

450

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time @ station 420

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

420

390

380off

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

15:24@ Station 420

15:21@ Station 390

15:21@ Station 380

Flow

Reduction

@380

380

55200

55400

55600

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30

Time

15:2189

70

V(3

80,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

3300

km

/hr2

V(3

90,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

4335

km

/hr2

390

98120

98170

98220

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30Time

15:21

80 41

420

95010

95060

95110

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30Time

V(4

20,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

4850

km

/hr2

15:2492

65

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 380–390–420

Time630

13

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

630

540

29400

29600

29800

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45

Time

V(5

40,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

4550

km

/hr2

15:349739

560

36420

36520

36620

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

V(5

60,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

3550

km

/hr2

15:4183 43

580

34180

34280

34380

34480

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

V(5

80,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

3650

km

/hr2

15:4287 43

600

32400

32500

32600

32700

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

630

41450

41650

41850

15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:05 16:10 16:15

Time

V(6

00,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

3450

km

/hr2

15:47

72 38

V(6

30,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

3100

km

/hr2

15:5893 20

14

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

15:21

15:24

15:34

15:4115:42

15:47

15:58 630

1

540

29400

29600

29800

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45

Time

V(5

40,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

4550

km

/hr2

15:349739

560

36420

36520

36620

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

V(5

60,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

3550

km

/hr2

15:4183 43

580

34180

34280

34380

34480

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

V(5

80,

t)-b

0t′,

b0=

3650

km

/hr2

15:4287 43

600

32400

32500

32600

32700

15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00

Time

630

41450

41650

41850

15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:05 16:10 16:15

Time

V(6

00,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

3450

km

/hr2

15:47

72 38

V(6

30,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

3100

km

/hr2

15:5893 20

15

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

380

350

340

320

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

Station 350

Station 320 + Off-Ramp

Station 340

Station 380 + On-Ramp

Time @ station 380

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 320–340–350–380

Time630

16

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

380

350

340

320

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

15:21@ Station 380

Flow Reduction@380

Time @ station 380

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 320–340–350–380

Time630

17

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 15:50

Time

N(x

,t)

- q

0t

380

350

340

320

N(x,t)-q 0t′,

q0=

51

70

ve

h/h

r

15:23@ Station 350

15:27@ Station 320

15:26@ Station 340

15:21@ Station 380

Flow Reduction@380

Time @ station 380

350

40500

40600

40700

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30Time

15:23

84

84

V(3

50,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

4200

km

/hr2

340

22320

22370

22420

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45

Time

15:26

99

97

V(3

40,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

5600

km

/hr2

320

19690

19740

19790

15:15 15:20 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45

Time

15:27

105

104

V(3

20,

t)-b

0t′

, b0=

6000

km

/hr2

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 320–340–350–380

Time630

18

Active bottleneck located between detectors 380 and 390.

Activated at 15:21. Queue propagated as far as detector

630. Unrestricted traffic downstream.

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

630

19

Bottleneck ActivationJune 27, 2002

Direction of Travel

15:21 19:40

17:40

18:44

17:28

17:35

17:38

15:24

15:34

15:4115:42

15:47

15:58

19:18

1

630

20

Bottleneck ActivationJune 27, 2002

Direction of Travel

15:21 19:40

17:40

18:44

17:28

17:35

17:38

15:24

15:34

15:4115:42

15:47

15:58

19:18

1

2

630

21

Direction of Travel

15:21 19:40

17:40

18:44

17:28

17:35

17:38

15:24

15:34

15:4115:42

15:47

15:58

19:18

Bottleneck ActivationJune 27, 2002

1

2

3

630

22

Direction of Travel

15:21 19:40

17:40

18:44

17:28

17:35

17:38

15:24

15:34

15:4115:42

15:47

15:58

19:18

Bottleneck ActivationJune 27, 2002

1

2

34

630

23

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002Stations 380–390–420

N(420,t)

N(390,t)

N(380,t)0

100

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Time

N(x,t)-q0t

, q0=

51

78

ve

h/h

r

630

24

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

N(420,t)

N(390,t)

N(380,t)0

100

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Time

N(x,t)-q0t

, q0=

51

78

ve

h/h

r

15:2

1 17:3

5

17:4

0

18:4

5

19:1

8

1

630

25

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

N(380,t)0

100

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Time

N(x,t)-q0t

, q0=

51

78

ve

h/h

r

15:2

1 17:3

5

17:4

0

18:4

5

19:1

8

1

630

26

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

N(380,t)0

100

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Time

N(x,t)-q0t

, q0=

51

78

ve

h/h

r

15:2

1 17:3

5

17:4

0

18:4

5

19:1

8

5510

vph

5370 vph

1

630

27

Bottleneck Activation June 27, 2002

N(380,t)0

100

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Time

N(x,t)-q0t

, q0=

51

78

ve

h/h

r

15:2

1 17:3

5

17:4

0

18:4

5

19:1

8

5510

vph

5370 vph

5410 vph

1 4

630

28

Bottleneck Activation Northbound A9Outflow Summary at 380

Day

Date

Pre-

Queue Flow

Pre-Queue

Standard Deviation

Bottleneck

Outflow Duration

Bottleneck Outflow

Bottleneck Outflow

Standard Deviation

Flow Drop

Wed 6/27/2002 5510 10.53 2:13 5370 5.8 -3% 6/27/2002 0:33 5410 6.5

Thu 6/28/2002 5800 11.22 1:41 5545 6.3 -4% 6/28/2002 0:55 5266 6.3 6/28/2002 0:30 5359 4.6 6/28/2002 1:46 5393 6.8

Mon 7/2/2002 5972 5.58 1:34 5177 6.2 -13% Tue 7/3/2002 5835 8.31 0:11 5485 4.9 -6%

7/3/2002 1:40 5017 5.2 Wed 7/4/2002 3:30 5551 6.8 Thu 7/5/2002 5527 9.43 1:22 5429 7.0 -2%

Mean: 5620 5370 -5% Standard Deviation: 320 160

630

29

Bottleneck Activation Northbound A9On-Ramp DynamicsJune 27, 2002 Station 420

2280 veh/hour

2630

1830 2370

2660 (+12%)

18502330

2630

15:16

15:20

15:2

1@

390

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

14:30 14:45 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:45 16:00

Time

N(4

20 o

n r

amp

,t)

- q

0t'

630

30

Bottleneck Activation Northbound A9Station 420 Truck Flow Dynamics June 27, 2002Station 420 Trucks

0

50

100

150

14:00 14:15 14:30 14:45 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:45 16:00

Shoulder Trucks (q0=220)

Median Trucks (q0=22)

Right Ramp (q0=385)

Left Ramp (qo=15)

RampRightq0=385 veh/hour

400 veh/hour

750 (+190%)

15:2

1@

390

MainlineRightq0=220veh/hour

RampLeftq0=15veh/hour

MainlineLeftq0=22 veh/hour

550 320

580

320

530

260

490 330

510

230

390

240 170330

160350 (+120%)

230

50

100

50

270 (9 trucks in 2 minutes)

24

20

3040

Trucks Only

N(x,t)-q 0t

630

31

Bottleneck 1 Activation Northbound A9Station 390 Truck Flow Dynamics June 27, 2002

0

50

100

150

14:00 14:15 14:30 14:45 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:45 16:00

Shoulder Trucks

Center Trucks

Median Truck

N(x,t)-q 0t

Shoulderq0=560 veh/hour

Centerq0=65 veh/hour

Medianq0=15 veh/hour

630 veh/hour 400

740

470670

770

420820 (+95%)

570

740

220

20200

80210

100 210 (+120%)

15:2

1@

390

14080

180

2070

20180 (6 trucks in 2 minutes, +680%)

7030

Trucks Only

630

32

Conclusion.

Method for diagnosing active bottlenecks. 11 bottleneck activations on 6 days at one location. Measured bottleneck outflows appear stable:

Day to day (contrary to other research) Preceded by queueing or not

Pre-queue flows measurably higher than bottleneck outflow.

Precursors to queue formation some distance downstream of merge: Rise in on-ramp flow (total) Surges in truck counts

Research continuing at this and other sites in Germany.

33

Thank you for your attention.

AcknowledgementsBMW GroupOregon Engineering Technology Industry CouncilPortland State UniversitySteven Boice