This research employed dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) modeling to study the network-wide impact of bottleneck alleviation measures taken by TxDOT on MoPac Expressway in downtown Austin. The measures led to a small improvement in MoPac travel conditions and no major route-switching behaviors were found due to the new geometric reconfiguration on MoPac. The study discussed the benefits and challenges of incorporating DTA into the traditional four-step planning process and provided guidelines to move forward in this direction. A decision-making framework to choose from potential future improvements projects was also developed. (Author/publisher)
Abstract