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REPORT
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Publication Number:  FHWA-HRT-13-026    Date:  March 2014
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-13-026
Date: March 2014

 

Guidance on The Level of Effort Required to Conduct Traffic Analysis Using Microsimulation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE

The purpose of this report is to guide analysts and modeling managers on successfully applying traffic simulation analyses. This report presents systematic ways to determine the appropriate scope and budget for traffic analysis efforts using microsimulation, resulting in better project and program decisions for transportation improvement projects.

This report focuses on traffic analysis for geometric and operation design projects during a typical day (i.e., a day that avoids unusual traffic situations such as weekends, summer vacation, construction, etc.). This analysis is customarily performed during project development by State transportation departments and reviewed by U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) staff for interstate access and other related requirements. This report is consistent with the seven-step process outlined in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) report, Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume III: Guidelines for Applying Traffic Microsimulation Modeling Software.(1) It should be noted that this report is not intended to address traffic analysis for planning studies, regional analysis projects, different operational conditions (i.e., impacts of weather events, high travel demand, and incidents), or multiroute or multimodal projects where route or mode shift may occur.

Considering that each transportation agency has unique needs and resources, this report can be used by agencies to develop their own framework to determine their level of effort. Putting into perspective the challenge of meeting the increasing needs of traffic analyses while keeping up with limited budgets, this report tackles different critical areas of those analyses by pinpointing best practices and identifying ways to tailor the level of effort invested to the analysis.

Analysis and recommendations provided in this report are based on case studies that do not include parallel facilities to the freeway where route choice would need to be engaged or parallel transit facilities where mode shift would need to be taken into account. The introduction of parallel facilities, signalized intersections, and transit into the simulation makes model calibration and application a more complex exercise. The number of intersections and parallel arterials in the network has a major impact on the level of effort required for model calibration and application. It is not recommended to use the levels of effort presented in this report for simulation efforts including parallel arterials, multiple route choice, and mode choice.

The reported labor-hour estimates should be used as a point of reference and not as absolute numbers to apply to projects. Seemingly similar projects may require different levels of effort for many reasons including the following:

REPORT ORGANIZATION

This report has been organized around the traditional seven-step simulation modeling process as follows:

 

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