Real-time Control of Transportation Network for Minimum Fuel Consumption

To verify improvement of fuel efficiency in real-time traffic control, a test highway section of I-235 from 50th Street to exit 5B in West Des Moines, Iowa is used. The existing Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) Wavetronix sensors, which are used to capture traffic data, cover the highway network of West Des Moines and Des Moines. The collected aggregated data was obtained through an online data portal maintained by TransCore. The weekday data for morning peak (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.) from May 1st to September 30th, 2015 is used in this work.  Location of the first speed limit sign is at the starting point of the test freeway. Locations of the rest speed limit signs are right after an on-ramp or an off-ramp. Simulation results below show effects with and without control of speed limit signs.

Traffic Simulation with Optimal Control of Speed Limit Signs

 

Traffic Simulation without Optimal Control of Speed Limit Signs