COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF FREEWAY MERGING CONTROL

A MULTILEVEL SYSTEM DESIGN CONCEPT WAS USED TO ESTABLISH A HIERARCHY OF CONTROL THAT RESULTS NOT ONLY IN AN EFFICIENT SYSTEM BUT ALSO IN ONE THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN STAGES. EACH SUCCEEDING STAGE RESULTS IN INCREASED SYSTEM SOPHISTICATION AND CONSEQUENTLY INCREASED COST. THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF EACH OF 4 CONTROL STAGES (OR LEVELS) HAS BEEN EVALUATED. THE COSTS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS WERE DETERMINED FOR A SECTION OF THE GULF FREEWAY CURRENTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL. THE MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS REPORTED CONSTITUTE THOSE ACHIEVED DURING THE MORNING PEAK PERIOD FROM 7 TO 8 A.M. THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT AS RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF RAMPS CONTROLLED WAS ALSO INVESTIGATED. THE ANALOG SATELLITE SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE FOR THE 8-RAMP SYSTEM STUDIED ON THE GULF FREEWAY. HOWEVER, WHEN THE NUMBER OF CONTROLLED RAMPS INCREASES, THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING THE CENTRAL DIGITAL SYSTEM WILL EVENTUALLY BE LESS THAN THE COST OF EITHER THE ANALOG OR DIGITAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS. /AUTHOR/