Evaluation of Work Zone Mobility by Utilizing Naturalistic Driving Study Data

US Transportation Collection2019PDFTech ReportZhou, Huaguo HugoTurochy, Rod EXu, DanAuburn UniversitySoutheastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE)University of Florida. Transportation InstituteUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramSoutheastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE)United StatesAutomatic data collection systemsData analysisDriversEvaluation and assessmentHeadwaysHighway capacityLane closureMobilityTraffic flowWork zone traffic controlWork zones69A3551747104Final ReportThe objective of this research is to evaluate work zone mobility by utilizing naturalistic driving study (NDS) data. More specifically, this one-year proof-of-concept project is to ascertain if the existing NDS work zone database can be reused to develop new (or update existing) capacity and traffic flow models for work zones. In this study, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to summarize the past study results on work zone capacity, work zone simulation models, and NDS application in work zone safety studies. It concluded that no past studies were found on application NDS data in relation to work zone mobility. The complimentary NDS data set was collected, including time-series data and forward-view videos, for a total of 420 baseline events and 256 safety-critical events. Forward-view video was reviewed to ensure that it is related to a work zone, which includes a lane or shoulder closure, the presence of barriers, the presence of construction equipment or workers, etc. Time-series data includes variables such as vehicle speed, acceleration, and pedal position at 0.1 s intervals. In addition, radar data and driver risk perceptions were collected for these events. Finally, researchers identified a total of 38 safety-critical events and 64 baseline trips for data analysis based on a set of criteria. Based on the sample size, the analysis focused on three types of freeway work zones (two-toone lane closure, two-to-two, and three-to-three shoulder closure). The fundamental traffic flow theory, Greenshield\u2019s model, and work zone capacity method in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) were applied to identify the speed-flow-density relationship for different work zone configurations. The time headway and space headway distributions were further analyzed with driver characteristics such as driver\u2019s gender, age group, risk perceptions. The results concluded that NDS data can be used to develop car-following models at work zones with consideration of driver population factor, which can be applied to improve work zone capacity methods and other work zone planning and simulation tools. Further study is recommended to collect more complete NDS trip data at different work zone configurations.120