Investigating the Impacts of Fixed-Time Ramp Metering through Microsimulation

Abstract

Ramp metering is an effective strategy used to manage highway traffic by regulating the on-ramp traffic flow in order to avoid traffic congestion on highway networks. This study aims to investigate the impacts of fixed-time ramp metering on operational characteristics of highway networks via microscopic simulation. A fixed-time ramp meter is modelled for a highway section using Aimsun micro simulator and the traffic condition is evaluated under two ramp control scenarios: no-control and time-of-day metering plan. Three metering plans including one-car-per green, 2-vehicle-platoon releasing and 3-vehicle-platoon releasing are developed for peak and off-peak periods. The results show that ramp metering improves the highway performance, especially at peak hour. However, it leads to serious issues for the ramp and consequently for the entire system.