Accounting for Induced Travel in Evaluation of Urban Highway Expansion

00780098https://doi.org/10.21949/14033731998PDFProceedingsTransportation corridorsTraffic engineeringTravel patternsHighway corridorsHighway planningHighway capacityComputer modelsSpreadsheetsHighway expansionInduced travelSpreadsheet Model for Induced Travel Estimation (SMITE)United StatesDeCorla-Souza, PatrickCohen, H. S. (Harry S.)United States. Federal Highway AdministrationWashington (State). Department of TransportationNational Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research BoardNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATIONNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-DesignNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Economic ImpactsNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-PLANNING AND POLICYNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-Travel DemandFederal Highway AdministrationThis paper demonstrates application of the principles of economic analysis toevaluate highway capacity expansion in an urban setting, using asketch-planning model called Spreadsheet Model for Induced Travel Estimation(SMITE). The application takes into account new travel that may be induced byhighway expansion over and above that which is simply diverted from otherregional highways. The paper demonstrates how the effects of induced travel canbe incorporated into the evaluation process at a sketch planning level ofanalysis, especially in cases where four-step urban travel models are eitherunavailable or are unable to forecast the full induced demand effects, such asin small and medium-sized urban areas. The methodology and the SMITE spreadsheetcan be used to provide useful information to assist policy makers in evaluatingproposals for specific additions to highway capacity for corridor studies. 12p