ECG504 HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

LABORATORY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
A Level of Service (LOS) is a letter designation that describes a range of operating
conditions on a particular type of facility. It is defined as a qualitative measures that
characterize operational conditions within a traffic stream and their perception by motorists
and passengers.
The critical point in this definition is the need to define service quality in terms that are
perceived by drivers and passengers. Several key measures are used to describe service
quality in these terms:
i.
Speed and travel time. Drivers and passengers are keenly aware of the amount of
time to get from place to place.
ii.
Density. Density describes the proximity of vehicles to each oter in the traffic stream
and reflects ease of maneuverability in the traffic stream, as well as psychological
comfort of drivers.
iii.
Delay. At intersections, delay is the average stopped time per vehicle traversing the
intersection. Delay times are portions of of travel time that are particularly obvious
to drivers and are particularly obvious to drivers and particularly annoying or
frustrating.
There are six levels of service in junction capacity analysis, represented by A to F, with A is
the best while F is the worst. In this practical analysis, we are using manual calculations to
describe the LOS of an unsignalized junction based on the data obtained from the previous
test.

2.0 OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the test are:
i.
To determine the capacity and the LOS for the unsignalised intersection.
ii.
To ensure all roads are safe for all road users.
3.0 APPARATUS
There is no apparatus needed in this test considering the data used are obtained from the
previous test, junction volume study.

4.0 PROCEDURE

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LABORATORY
i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

vi.

vii.

Identify movements to be served and assign hourly traffic volumes per lane. This is
the only site-specific data that must be provided. The hourly traffic volumes are
usually adjusted to represent the peak 15-minute period. The number of lanes must
be known to compute the hourly volumes per lane.
Arrange the movements into the desired signal phasing plan. The phasing plan is
based on the treatment of each left turn (protected, permitted, etc.). The actual leftturn treatment may be used, if known. Otherwise, the likelihood of needing left-turn
protection on each approach will be established from the left-turn volume and the
opposing through traffic volume.
Determine the critical volume per lane that must be accommodated on each phase.
Each phase typically accommodates two nonconflicting movements. This step
determines which movements are critical. The critical movement volume determines
the amount of time that must be assigned to the phase on each signal cycle.
Sum the critical phase volumes to determine the overall critical volume that must be
accommodated by the intersection. This is a simple mathematical step that produces
an estimate of how much traffic the intersection needs to accommodate.
Determine the maximum critical volume that the intersection can accommodate:
This represents the overall intersection capacity. The HCM QEM suggests 1,710 vph
for most purposes.
Determine the critical volume-to-capacity ratio, which is computed by dividing the
overall critical volume by the overall intersection capacity, after adjusting the
intersection capacity to account for time lost due to starting and stopping traffic on
each cycle. The lost time will be a function of the cycle length and the number of
protected left turns.
Determine the intersection status from the critical volume-to-capacity ratio.

5.0 RECOMMENDATION

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LABORATORY
i.

ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.

Students should wear proper attire when entering the lab such as the lab jacket, long
trousers, and fully covered shoes. The safety vest is compulsory to wear before start
the experiment.
Students are not allowed to play around while they are in the lab to avoid accident
and severe injuries.
Choose the spot for taking the reading wisely and avoid sharp corner spot in order to
prevent dangerous act.
The instructions, objectives of the experiment, and materials were understood before
beginning work in lab.
Use clean sheet for recording data in order to prevent errors.
Communicate wisely among group members.
The student must determine the accurate critical volume per lane on each phase to
get which movement are critical.
Carefully determine the critical volume.
Calculate lost time carefully to determine the cycle length.
Intersection status must be done carefully because it might make the main answer is
wrong.

6.0 RESULT

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LABORATORY

CAPACITY AND LOS FOR UNSIGNALISED JUNCTION

Movement No.
Volume (vph)

551

197

61

252

14

14

8.5

Vol ( pcph)

43.5
Input volume data.

VOLUME
Car/Taxi
Van (LGV)
Van & Lorry
(MGV)
Lorry (HGV)
Bus
Motorcycle

Movement 4
37
0
0

Movement 7
4
0
0

0
0
0
0
13
10
Volume of the conflict movement.

Movement 9
3
0
0
0
0
11

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LABORATORY
Calculation of volume each conflict point :
Movement 4 :
vol ( pcph )=( 37 1.0 )+ ( 13 0.5 )
43.5
Movement 7 :
vol ( pcph )=( 4 1.0 ) + ( 10 0.5 )
9
Movement 9 :
vol ( pcph )=( 3 1.0 )+ (11 0.5 )
8.5

Road volume 4:
Conflicting Traffic Streams ,V c =V 3 +V 2
551+ 197
748 vph

CriticalGap , T c =5.0 RT majo r road

PotentialCapacity , C p=525 pc/hr
Road volume 7 :
1
Conflicting Traffic Streams ,V c = V + V 2+V 4 +V 5
2 3

1
(197 ) +551+ 61+ 252
2
962.5 vph
CriticalGap , T c =6.5 RT minor road( STOP)

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LABORATORY
PotentialCapacity , C p=248 pc /hr

Road volume 9 :
1
Conflicting Traffic Streams ,V c = V 3+ V 2
2
1
(197)+551
2
649.5 vph

CriticalGap , T c =5.5< minor road (STOP)

PotentialCapacity , C p=520 pc/hr

Impedence factor , P4 =

VP
CP

P4 =

61
100
525

11.6
0.94

Actual capacity , C m =C P P4
7

248 0.94
233 pcph

Shared Capacity ,C SH =
7

V 7 +V 9
V7
V
+( 9 )
Cm
Cm

( )
7

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LABORATORY

14 +14
14
14
+(
)
248
520

( )

335.8 pcph

Shared Capacity ,C SH =
4

V4
V4
Cm2

( )

61
61
525

( )

525 pcph

Movement
no.

Volume ,
V(pcph)

Cm
(pcph)

Shared
capacity,
C SH

V4

43.5

(pcph)
525

V7

V9

8.5

Reserve
Cappacity , C R
=

C SH V

Level of
Service,
LOS

481.5

335.8

326.8

335.8

327.3

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LABORATORY
LOS Criteria for Unsignalised Intersections
RESERVE CAPACITY
EXPECTED DELAY TO
(PCPH)
LOS
MINOR ROAD TRAFFIC
400
A
Little or No Delay
300-399
B
Short Traffic Delays
200-299
C
Average Traffic Delays
100-199
D
Long Traffic Delays
0-99
E
Very Long Traffic Delays
*
F
*
Adopted from: A Guide to the Design of At-Grade Intersections in Arahan Teknik( Jalan ) 11/87,
Kuala Lumpur : Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia.
Level of Service Criteria for Unsignalised Intersection
AREAS

CATEGORY OF ROAD
LOS
Expressway
C
Highway
C
Primary
D
RURAL
Secondary
D
Minor
E
Expressway
C
Arterial
D
URBAN
Collector
D
Local Street
E
Adopted from: A Guide to the Design of At-Grade Intersections in Arahan Teknik( Jalan ) 11/87,
Kuala Lumpur : Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia.

7.0 DISCUSSION
Capacity analysis was carried out to identify the ability of the roadway to accommodate
traffic. Level of Service (LOS) is used to classify the varying conditions of traffic flow that
takes place on highway. Previous calculated values from Traffic Volume Study are used in
order to determine LOS of the selected location.Traffic volume study was carried out to
count the number of vehicles passing a specific reference point on a road section within a
specified period of time. Each mechanical hand tally counter represents each flow.
The study shows that the number of each type of vehicles passes from each direction, as
well as the number of each vehicles passes from each direction in every 15 minutes within
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an hour, from 0915 a.m. up to 1015 a.m. Throughout the observation, the traffic volume
increases from 09:15 to 09:30 and from 10:00 to 10:15. While, the traffic volume decreases
from 09:30 to 10:00. Direction 3 recorded as the highest number of vehicles travelled the
selected location which is 587 vehicles in total. At the same time, Direction 1 recorded 267
vehicles in total which falls under the second highest vehicle volume passes the location. In
contrast, both Direction 5 and Direction 6 recorded as the lowest vehicle volume travelled
the same location throughout the study, which are 18 and 17 in total respectively. This
indicates that there are more vehicle travelled in the main road (from Gate 1 and Gate 2)
compared to the minor road (from Laboratory of Civil Engineering).
8.0 CONCLUSION
Based on the data collected and analyzed from traffic volume study, the traffic volume
observed in the selected location can be considered falls under LOS B. From the analysis of
the data collected, the most critical time period is from 10:00 to 10:15 a.m., where the
traffic volume in the intersection increases.
In conclusion, after completed the analysis on traffic volume, the final Level of Service
were obtained. For all lane, the LOS are A and B which this indicate stable flow with
operating speeds with little or no restrictions and short traffic delays . The traffic will hardly
delayed and did not affect the intersection operations. Speeds and volume can drop to very
low and also stoppages still can occur due to busses stopping in the road with single lane.

9.0 REFERENCES
i.
ii.
iii.

iv.

Tey Li Sian, S. Z, & Yusof, M (200%). Highway and Traffic Laboratory

Manual.Shah Alam: FKA UITM Malaysia.
J.Garber, N, & A.Hoel, L (2003). Traffic and Highway Engineering. Virginia,
US:Brooks/cole.
Currin, T. R. 2001. Turning Movement Counts. In Introduction to Traffic
Engineering: A manual fo Data collection and Analysis, ed. B. Stenquist. Stamford,
Conn: Wadsworth Group. PP. 13-23
FHWA. 201. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Millennium Edition.
Washington, D.C: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation
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10.0

APPENDIX

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LABORATORY

Site layout

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