DO BOTTLENECK IMPROVEMENTS REALLY REDUCE CONGESTION

A database of measurements at sites where the Texas Department of Transportation has taken steps to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks on urban freeways provides data on how effective different measures are over time. A re-striping project in the Dallas district in the City of Richardson helped reduce a bottleneck caused by merging and weaving at a junction with a recently constructed turnpike. By measuring the gains from such projects, planners may be able to justify more of them, because cost-benefit ratios tend to be high, averaging around 20:1.