Department of Civil and Urban Engineering
CE 2323 Traffic Engineering I
Solutions to Homework Set #1 Fall 2013
1. The rate of flow is computed as V/PHF. The spreadsheet table below shows the results of
these computations for the values of PHF cited; a plot of the results is also shown.
Volume
(veh/h)
1500
1500
1500
1500
PHF
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
Flow
Rate
(veh/h)
1500.0
1666.7
1875.0
2142.9
2. Flow rate can be found from the average vehicle headway as:
3600 3600
1,241 veh / h / ln
hav
2 .9
Density can be found from speed and flow rate:
v S*D
D v 1241 20.7 veh / mi / ln
S
60
3. Density is computed from occupancy as follows:
5,280 * O 5,280 * 0.22
55.3 veh / mi / ln
Lv Ld
17 4
4. A spreadsheet showing these computations is shown on the next page. In each case, the
monthly ADT is found by dividing the total monthly volume (Col 4) by the number of days in
the month (Col 3). The AWT for each month is found by dividing the total weekday volume
(Col 5) by the number of weekdays in the month (Col 2). AADT is found by summing the
monthly volumes and dividing by 365 days (assuming that this is not a leap year). AAWT is
found by summing the monthly weekday volumes and dividing by the total number of
weekdays in the year.
1
Month
2
No. of
Weekdays
In Month
(days)
3
Total
Days in
Month
(days)
4
Total
Monthly
Volume
(vehs)
5
Total
Weekday
Volume
(vehs)
6
ADT
(veh/day)
7
AWT
(veh/day)
22
20
22
22
21
22
23
21
22
22
21
22
31
28
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31
150,000
155,000
173,000
197,000
200,000
205,000
225,000
232,000
195,000
192,000
182,000
171,000
130,000
142,000
164,000
188,000
190,000
192,000
190,000
195,000
183,000
180,000
168,000
159,000
4,839
5,536
5,581
6,567
6,452
6,833
7,258
7,484
6,500
6,194
6,067
5,909
7,100
7,455
8,545
9,048
8,727
8,261
9,286
8,318
8,182
8,000
5,516
7,227
260
365
AADT
AAWT
2,277,000
6,238
2,081,000
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
8,004
From the data given, this is a commuter route (AAWT>AADT) with most of the traffic
occurring on weekdays. There is, however, likely significant recreational traffic, as there are
strong peaks occurring during the summer months.
5. The flow rate in the lane can be computed as:
v 3600
hav
3600
3.2
1,125 veh / h / ln
The density can be computed as:
D 5280
d av
5280
280
18.86 veh / mi / ln
Speed can then be computed from flow rate and density, as follows:
v S *D
Sv
1125
18.86
59.7 mi / h
6. The spreadsheet table below computes hourly volumes as the sum of four consecutive 15minute intervals.
Time
Period
4:00-4:15
4:15-4:30
4:30-4:45
4:45-5:00
5:00-5:15
5:15-5:30
5:30-5:45
5:45-6:00
a)
b)
c)
d)
15-Min
Vol
(vehs)
425
455
490
502
503
510
475
445
Hourly
Vol
(veh/h)
1872
1950
2005
1990
1933
The peak hour occurs between 4:30 and 5:30 PM.
The peak hour volume is 2,005 vehs/h.
The peak flow rate with the peak hour is 510*4 = 2,040 vehs/h.
PHF = 2005/2040 = 0.983
7. The hourly volume is computed as:
V
4 *1200
V 4 *1,200 * 0.85 4,080 vehs / h
PHF 0.85
8. The density is computed as:
v S*D
D v 1150 35.9 vehs / mi / ln
S
32
9. The directional design hour volume is estimated as:
DDHV AADT * K * D
From Table 5.2, for an urban radial route, K = 0.07-0.12 and D = 0.55-0.60.
DDHVhigh 52,000 * 0.12 * 0.60 3,744 vehs / h
DDHVkow 52,000 * 0.07 * 0.55 2,002 vehs / h
10. The TMS is found by computing the individual speed of each vehicle (d/t) and finding the
average of these speeds. The SMS is found by taking the distance (d) and dividing it by the
average travel time for these vehicles (tav). The spreadsheet table below illustrates these
computations.
Veh.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Sum
Ave
Distance
d
(ft)
2500
2500
2500
2500
2500
2500
2500
2500
Time
t
(s)
29.3
28.2
31.1
30.3
32.5
28.5
29.0
32.5
241.4
30.2
Speed
d/t
(ft/s)
85.3
88.7
80.4
82.5
76.9
87.7
86.2
76.9
664.6
83.1
82.9
Speed
(ft/s)/1.47
(mi/h)
58.0
60.3
54.7
56.1
52.3
59.7
58.6
52.3
452.1
56.5
56.4
TMS
SMS
The TMS is 83.1 ft/s or 56.5 mi/h.
The SMS is 82.9 ft/s or 56.4 mi/h.
11. The graph for the demand and capacity rates specified is as follows:
Queue sizes at various times are computed using the areas between the demand curve and
the capacity curve during the periods when demand > capacity:
At 8:30 AM:
At 9:30 AM:
At 10:00 AM:
Q = (5,200-5,000 veh/h)*(0.50 h) = 100 vehicles
Q = 100 + (5,800-5,000 veh/h)*(1.00 h) = 900 vehicles
Q = 900 + (5,400-5,000 veh/h)*(0.50 h) = 1,100 vehicles
Note that the queue begins to dissipate at 10:00 AM. We subtract the number of vehicles that
are dissipated between 10 11 AM from the queue size at 10:00 AM:
At 11:00 AM:
Q = 1,100 (5,000-4,600 veh/h)*(1.00 h) = 700 vehicles
When does the queue dissipate? The queue reduces in size at a rate of 5,000-4,000 veh/h
after 11:00 AM. There are 700 vehicles left in queue at 11:00 AM. Therefore:
Time to dissipate = 700/1,000 = 0.7 h. The queue dissipates at 11:00 + (60*0.7) = 11:42
AM.
12. The solutions are illustrated on the graph below:
The capacity of the facility is represented by the departure rate during the period when demand
exceeds capacity, i.e. anytime between 60 and 330 minutes. Using the hour between 240 and 300
minutes (blue lines), 19,500 15,000 = 4,000 vehicles are discharged, or a rate of 4,000 veh/h.
Maximum queue size occurs anytime between 180 and 210 minutes. Using the 180 minute point (red
lines), the maximum queue size is measured as the difference in vehicles arrived and departed at this
time: 14,500 11,500 = 3,000 vehicles.
The maximum waiting time occurs to any vehicle arriving when the queue is at its maximum size, i.e.,
anytime between 180 and 210 minutes. It is measured as the difference between the arrival time and
the departure time of any vehicle arriving within this period. Illustrated by the green lines, this is: 220
180 minutes = 40 minutes.
