Testing Daganzo's Behavioral Theory for Multi-lane Freeway Traffic

In this report, the authors present a preliminary study of traffic on stretches of two different freeways that are plagued by merge bottlenecks. Using traffic data a site on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Canada, and a site on westbound State Route 24 near the Caldecott Tunnel in Berkeley, California, the authors tested Daganzo's behavior theory of drivers. In addition to verifying Daganzo's theory the authors found that discharge flows increased when changes in traffic conditions caused the bottleneck to move upstream of the merge.