Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) via Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) technology certainly increases the capacity of a highway system. But it also introduces significant changes in the bottleneck locations. In this study, a stretch of highway is divided up into sections, each containing one plaza and each having its own capacity. This paper focuses on the calculation of the capacities of these sections. Comparing the capacities of adjacent sections makes it possible to identify bottlenecks on the system. This research establishes a clear understanding of toll plaza capacity or a methodology to quantify a toll facility's ability to process traffic. This information will assist engineers who are planning and designing toll facilities to adequately serve highway systems. Capacity will identify the maximum amount of traffic that a facility can handle. Capacity analysis will distinguish the amounts of traffic that can be accommodated at various defined levels of operational quality. This study determined the capacity of 3 on-road plazas and 12 toll entrance and exit ramp plazas along a portion of Highway 408, the East-West Expressway in Orlando, Florida. Traffic characteristics for the morning rush hour of August 16, 2000 were used in the capacity calculation. The on-road plazas, maintained and managed by the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), included Hiawassee Main Plaza (HMP), Holland West Main Plaza (HWP) and Holland East Main Plaza (HEP). Toll plaza capacity was formulated by separately calculating the capacity of the single service lanes and the capacity of the mixed service lanes.
Abstract