This investigation was a part of a project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic engineering applied to problems of traffic movement on the U.S. 52 bypass in Lafayette, Indiana. The specific purposes of this research were to determine the significant factors which influence travel speeds and delays and to develop statistical models for the estimation of these travel characteristics. The movement of traffic on the highway were classified as uninterrupted flow between intersections and as interrupted flow at the signalised intersections. Factor analysis and multiple linear regression techniques were applied to express overall travel speeds and delays as functions of factors and variables that were descriptive of the traffic stream, roadway geometry, and roadside development. The most significant factors in accounting for the variations in travel speeds of uninterrupted flow were the types of roadside development (commercial, urban, and rural) and stream friction. Vehicular delays at traffic signals were largely dependent on the signal timing, traffic volume, and the chance of whether or not stops occurred.
Abstract