Procedure for Determining the Deployment Locations of Variable Speed Limit Signs to Reduce Crash Risks at Freeway Recurrent Bottlenecks

The effectiveness of the variable speed limit (VSL) control is affected by the deployment locations of VSL signs. In this paper, a procedure was proposed to help determine the deployment location of VSL signs to reduce collision risks at freeway recurrent bottlenecks. The procedure is started from determining the hazardous recurrent bottleneck section by constructing the profile of the collision risks. The length of the hazardous section was determined according to the pre-selected threshold of crash risks. Various scenarios were considered for different lengths of VSL controlled sections with various densities of VSL signs. A modified cell transmission model (CTM) was used for modeling the traffic flow at the freeway bottlenecks under the VSL control. The VSL control factors were optimized by using the genetic algorithm. The safety effects of VSL were greatly affected by the placement of VSL signs. In general, the scenario with a longer VSL controlled section and more speed limit signs was more effective in reducing rear-end collision risks. The cost–benefit analyses showed that the placement of VSL signs in scenario C2 with the controlled section length of 11.7 mi and average VSL density of 1.0 mi had the best benefit/cost effect. Using 12 VSL signs, the collision risks were reduced by 69.16% and the total travel time was increased slightly by 7.73%. The procedure can help determine the optimal deployment of VSL signs on freeways, considering both the safety benefits and the cost.