How Effective Are Toll Roads in Improving Operational Performance?

University Transportation Centers Program2019PDFTech ReportMathew, SonuPulugurtha, Srinivas S.San Jose State University. College of Business. Mineta Transportation InstituteUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramUnited States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and TechnologySan Jose State University. College of Business. Mineta Transportation InstituteNorth CarolinaUnited StatesToll roadsTraffic dataTransportation corridorsTravel demandTravel demand managementTravel timeTransportation system management19-2869A3551747127Final ReportThe main focus of this research is to develop a systematic analytical framework and evaluate the effect of a toll road on region\u2019s traffic using travel time and travel time reliability measures. The travel time data for the Triangle Expressway in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States was employed for the assessment process. The spatial and temporal variations in the travel time distributions on the toll road, parallel alternate route, and near-vicinity cross-streets were analyzed using various travel time reliability measures. The results indicate that the Triangle Expressway showed a positive trend in reliability over the years of its operation. The parallel route reliability decreased significantly during the analysis period, whereas the travel time reliability of cross-streets showed a consistent trend. The stabilization of travel time distributions and the reliability measures over different years of toll road operation are good indicators, suggesting that further reduction in performance measures may not be seen on the near vicinity corridors. The findings from link-level and corridor-level analysis may help with transportation system management, assessing the influence of travel demand patterns, and evaluating the effect of planned implementation of similar projects.140