The report attempts to deliver a proof of concept that optimal planning and management strategies can be formulated through applying robust optimization methodology such that limited resources could be allocated more rationally, and reliability of a highway network improved more efficiently.

The report focuses on two applications: the network design problem under demand uncertainty, and fleet allocation for freeway services patrols. Their corresponding decision-makings are formulated as several optimization models. By solving these models robust optimal strategies can be obtained. Numerical examples and simulation tests are presented to demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the proposed models.

The report has proved that through applying robust optimization methodology, robust optimal improvement strategies can be obtained to improve substantially the capacity of a highway system against high-consequence scenarios incurred by fluctuations in travel demand or irregular incidents.

This report presents the results of its investigation into deployment planning for bus rapid transit systems. In this study, we conducted a macro-scale examination of bus rapid transit systems from technical, operational, institutional, and planning perspectives. We then developed the theoretical foundation for a deployment planning framework for bus rapid transit systems that specifically takes into account the unique features of bus rapid transit that differ from other transit alternatives. The planning process of a BRT system can generally be divided into three inter-related stages initially consisting of a feasibility study or major investment study in which bus rapid transit is investigated compared with other transit alternatives to find out the most cost-effective investment over a corridor; second, deployment planning that determines what BRT elements will be included in the BRT system and their deployment sequence; and finally, operations planning including designing routes and stations, setting timetables, scheduling vehicles, and assigning crew. While the first and third stages are essentially planning-specific for any transit service, the second stage deals with the special features associated with a bus rapid transit system due to its flexibility in incremental deployment of elements. The report focused on this second stage in the planning process for bus rapid transit systems in the development of the deployment planning framework, in which a systems optimization approach was used. We then demonstrated how the framework may be used in the context of a site-specific case study by focusing on the Metro Rapid Wilshire corridor in Los Angeles.

In this project, a traffic data collection system based-on the iDEN wireless network has been developed, lab tested and preliminarily tested in the field. The objective of the system is to provide a cost-effective and easy-to-maintain system that could still reliably provide traffic data over the wireless link.

The project team developed an arterial performance measurement method that is based on the signal infrastructure data collected at PT2 Lab, U.C. Berkeley. The performance of the proposed model is illustrated by using a simulation study. The six-signal simulation network covers both heavily congested and light traffic intersections. The proposed model works well at both the intersection level and the arterial level. Estimation errors of travel time, number of stops and travel time reliability are insignificant.

A general approach for robust signal optimization under demand uncertainty or flow fluctuations has been developed. The approach has been demonstrated in two different settings. The first one deals with the problem of synchronization of actuated signals along arterials along arterials. The other demonstration is to optimize the signal settings including the cycle length, green splits, offset points and phase sequences in an integrated manner, taking into account the day-to-day demand variations or uncertain further demand growth. The robust timing plans resulted from both models have been demonstrated in numerical tests to perform better against high-consequence scenarios without losing optimality in the average sense. Although the robust signal timing approach is applicable more widely, this report has been focused on timing models for pre-timed arterials.

A big segment of the traffic signal control systems in California and United States are closed-loop systems. Because wide-scale deployment of advanced adaptive control systems may be many years away due to the associated high costs, there is a significant need to improve the effectiveness of the state-of-the-practice closed-loop systems. To address the need, this project focuses on: 1) developing an integrated micro-simulation/signal optimization tool to enhance the capability of generating efficient signal timing plans, and 2) developing a systematic approach to make closed-loop systems be more robust and traffic responsive.

An integrated simulation/signal optimization tool can generate, evaluate and fine tune signal timing plans in a cohesive manner. This report presents an approach for integrating Paramics with Synchro and TRANSYT-7F. Two sets of Paramics plug-ins are developed to facilitate the two-way data conversion between Paramics and Synchro or TRANSYT-7F. The first set of plug-ins read Paramics network data and traffic volume data and generate Synchro or TRANSYT-7F data files while the second transfer optimized signal timing data back to Paramics. These tools may assist traffic engineers in developing efficient signal timing plans for arterial traffic operations. Step-by-step tutorials are also included in the report to teach how to use the new plug-ins.

The advancement and deployment of telecommunication and ITS technologies make traffic and signal status data more readily available. These high-resolution data provide opportunities to allow closed-loop control systems to operate more adaptively and robustly to the changes in traffic demands and patterns. This report presents a systematic approach to make use of traffic and signal data to further improve the control performance of closed-loop systems. The systematic approach includes three components: timing, monitoring, and fine-tuning. For timing, two innovative models are developed to generate robust optimal signal timings that are less sensitive to fluctuations of traffic flows at the same time minimizing the mean of the delays per vehicle across all possible realizations of uncertain traffic flows. Another procedure is proposed to optimally determine time-of-day intervals for time-of-day controls based on a large set of archived traffic data. For monitoring, a prototype signal performance monitoring system is developed to report performance measures of signal control operations and help traffic operation staffs make the decision whether a retiming or fine-tuning effort is needed or not. Finally, for fine-tuning, an offset refiner is introduced to fine tune signal offsets to provide smoother progression in either one-way or two-way coordination. The offset refiner is easy to implement, and could be run periodically or together with the performance monitoring system. If the signal performance degrades, the refiner can be called to fine-tune the offsets for better progression.

This report presents the results of its performance assessment of the feasibility of applying cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems (CVHAS) to bus transit and freight movements in the metropolitan Chicago area. Cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems are systems that provide driving control assistance or fully automated driving and are based on information about the vehicle's driving environment that can be received by communication from other vehicles or from the infrastructure, as well as from their own on-board sensors.