Traffic signal optimization study for urban arterial intersection in the city of Corpus Christi

Traffic in urban cities has become a burden to countless citizens over the last century due to increased congestion in large cities. This thesis presents a study of improving traffic conditions by optimizing signal control timing in arterial intersections. Will optimizing traffic signal timing and coordination be a solution to improve traffic flow or will redesigning the configuration of intersections need to be considered? This research considers the use of traffic signal timing optimization and simulation to reduce congestion at two of the most congested intersections in Corpus Christi, Texas. There are many solutions that can be considered to improve congestion at these intersections without having to reconstruct the street sections. Signal timing is used as the most cost-effective solution although other methods are studied. Different studies focus on drastic changes to an intersection by adding additional turn lanes, charging to use a road during peak hours, and intersection configurations such as the diverging diamond interchange. A solution that is often overlooked is optimizing the traffic signal timing plan which offers a cost-effective solution. The Highway Capacity Software (HCS+) and PTV Vissim, a traffic simulation software, are used to analyze the intersections and demonstrate that changing the signal timing improves the performance of the intersections. A correlation between shorter cycle lengths and smaller delay times can be observed in this research