Verification of the Sustained Effectiveness of Congestion Measures by Changing Road Markings on Inter-urban Expressway

Abstract

When verifying the effectiveness of congestion measures, traffic conditions at two different periods are commonly compared. Among the various congestion measures, the effect of changing road markings may decrease as users become accustomed to them, and its sustained effect has not been clarified. This study examined the effect of the congestion measures by comparing and analyzing the traffic conditions of the lane-keeping green line near Higashi-Matsuyama IC (outbound) and the solid-white lane boundary line near Oizumi JCT (inner), where the road markings were changed as the congestion measures. As a result, the study revealed that the increase in traffic capacity and the decline in the utilization rate of passing lane were sustained after the implementation of these measures at both locations. Furthermore, at Oizumi JCT (inner), the lane utilization rate had been balanced two years following the implementation of these measures, which suggests that traffic conditions had changed over time.