Study of lane utilization on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway

The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is vastly different from expressway or freeways in other countries due to its varied roadway and traffic conditions. It is a multi-lane urban road connecting nearby urban areas (Delhi and Gurgaon) with divided carriageway for high speed travel having partial control of access at frequent locations via basic, weaving, merge and diverge segments (at grade or grade separated). Relatively, limited research has been done on the lane utilization behavior of different vehicle types on multilane urban roads. The lane utilization is affected by several factors such as vehicle composition, traffic flow rate and vehicular speeds. In the present study, eight hours of video graphic data was collected from a road stretch on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, incorporating both peak and off peak hours. The lane discipline behavior is studied for five different vehicle categories. SPSS software is used for multivariate analysis in connection with lane utilization factor over a wider range of traffic flow rates. A structural equation model has been established for all the four lanes separately and the influence of the vehicles on lane utilization is studied ultimately. The results of the present study in the form of lane utilization and lane discipline behavior by different vehicle types may help in differentiating the characteristics of traffic on expressways in relation to the other roads in India. It may be also helpful to refine the microscopic simulation models and its parameters in order to validate them at micro-level, under traffic conditions prevailing on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.