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Paper No 498 CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDU
Paper No 498 CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDU
Paper No.498
‘‘CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR
TWO-LANE ROADS UNDER MIXED TRAFFIC
CONDITIONS”+
By
DR . SATISH C HANDRA*
CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction ... ... 139
2. Objectives of Research ... ... 140
3. Background Literature ... ... 140
4. Data Collection and Research Methodology ... ... 142
5. Analysis of Data ... ... 146
6. Method of Capacity Estimation ... ... 166
SYNOPSIS
1. INTRODUCTION
+ Written comments on this Paper are invited and will be received upto 31st
December, 2004
* Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology, Roorkee-247 667
140 DR. CHANDRA ON
2. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
3. BACKGROUND LITERATURE
The data for this study were collected at more than 40 sections of
two-lane roads to determine the effect of gradient, lane width, directional
split, shoulder’s condition and pavement roughness on capacity of two-
lane roads. The sections were so selected that the effect of each parameter
could be studied individually. The details of these sections are given in
Tables-1 to 4.
TABLE-1. DETAILS OF SECTIONS SELECTED FOR EFFECT OF GRADIENT
5. ANALYSIS OF DATA
The data were analyzed to study the effect of influencing param-
eters on capacity of two-lane roads. All vehicles were divided into 10
categories as shown in Table-7.
TABLE-7. VEHICLE CATEGORIES AND T HEIR S IZES
Therefore,
V /V
c i
__________
PCU i = (Eqn. 2)
Ac /Ai
The first variable of speed ratio in Equation (2) will be the function
of composition of traffic stream as the speed of any vehicle type depends
upon its own proportion and type and proportions of other vehicles.
Hence speed of any vehicle type will be true representation of overall
interaction of a vehicle type due to presence of other vehicle of its own
category and of other types. The second variable represents the
pavement occupancy with respect to car.
with grade at different sections are given in Table-9. It indicates that each
per cent of upgrade decreases the capacity by 2.61 per cent and each
per cent of downgrade increases the capacity by 3.09 per cent.
TABLE-9. CAPACITY OF SECTIONS WITH GRADE
6. NH-22 8.8 5.64 4.04 2.83 5.87 1.76 0.310 0.52 1.61
7. NH-58 7.4 5.51 3.90 2.68 5.71 1.65 0.284 0.417 1.54
8. NH-31 6.9 5.45 3.86 2.64 5.67 1.49 0.276 0.461 1.52
9. SH-5 6.7 5.40 3.83 2.61 5.64 1.44 0.270 0.451 1.50
10. SH-6 6.6 5.37 3.82 2.60 5.63 1.42 0.268 0.447 1.49
11. MDR-14 6.4 5.31 3.8 2.58 5.61 1.39 0.266 0.44 1.48
12. NH-73 5.5 5.17 3.71 2.49 5.51 1.24 0.250 0.410 1.42
13. SH-12 6.0 5.25 3.66 2.54 5.56 1.32 0.259 0.427 1.45
14. NH-38 8.0 5.56 3.96 2.74 5.77 1.69 0.293 0.504 1.56
15. NH-58 7.0 5.46 3.87 2.64 5.68 1.52 0.278 0.465 1.52
Fig. 5 shows a plot between capacity and the carriageway width. It follows
a second-degree curve relationship of the form given in Equation (3).
Where,
C = Capacity of road (pcu/h)
w = Total width of the carriageway (m)
152 DR. CHANDRA ON
The values given in parentheses are the ‘t’ values of coefficients, which are
significant at 5 per cent level. Thus the capacity of a 7.2 m wide carriageway is 2818
pcu/h, which is quite close to the value suggested in HCM (1994) at equal directional
split. Adjustment factors for other lane widths are given in Table-12.
Serial No. Lane-width (m) HCM, 1994 Swedish, 1977 Present study
Section Car/ Truck Bus LCV 3- 2- Tractor Cycle Rick- Horse- Bullock-
Jeep wheeler wheeler shaw cart cart
NH-30 1.0 4.1 5.0 2.7 1.0 0.26 6.5 0.5 1.5 6.4 *
(km-12)
NH-30 1.0 4.1 5.2 2.9 1.0 0.26 4.5 0.4 1.6 5.8 8.8
(km-26)
NH-31 1.0 3.3 4.1 2.1 1.0 0.26 5.7 0.3 1.7 8.3 *
(km-65)
NH-58 1.0 4.2 5.0 2.6 1.7 0.26 7.7 0.6 2.5 * 12.2
(km-135)
NH-58 1.0 4.3 5.1 2.5 1.9 0.27 6.5 0.6 2.2 5.2 12.5
(km-38)
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 153
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
TABLE-13. PCU FACTORS AS ESTIMATED AT DIFFERENT SECTIONS (CONTD.)
Section Car/ Truck Bus LCV 3- 2- Tractor Cycle Rick- Horse- Bullock-
Jeep wheeler wheeler shaw cart cart
NH-73 1.0 4.0 5.2 2.8 1.2 0.3 6.2 0.6 2.3 5.8 12.0
(km-38)
NH-77 1.0 4.0 5.2 2.8 1.2 0.3 6.2 0.6 2.3 5.8 12.0
(km-39)
NH-83 1.0 3.5 4.7 2.4 1.2 0.26 6.5 0.5 2.2 7.7 10.0
(km-5)
SH-26 1.0 4.2 5.0 2.6 1.2 0.26 6.7 0.6 2.5 5.2 12.2
(km-5)
·This category of vehicle was not present at the time of observation / data collection
constant and study the effect of other one. For practical reasons, the
percentage slow moving vehicle (% SMV) from 10.9 per cent to 15.6 per
cent is taken constant while studying the effect of directional split.
Similarly, directional split of 51:49 to 55:45 is considered constant for
studying the effect of SMV on capacity of two-lane roads. The results
are plotted in Fig. 7. The effect of directional split is linear. It is given
by equation (4)
where, C is the capacity in pcu/h and Q P is the per cent traffic in main
direction.
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 155
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
The values given in parentheses are the ‘t’ values of coefficients,
which are significant at 5 per cent level. It gives he capacity of a two-
lane road at 50:50 split as 2790 pcu/h, which is similar to the value given
in HCM (1994). The adjustment factors for different splits are given in
Table-15.
TABLE-15. ADJUSTMENT FACTORS FOR DIRECTIONAL S PLIT
0 2920 1.0
10 2945 1.0
15 2793 0.956
20 2530 0.866
25 2158 0.739
30 1675 0.574
(i) Good: The shoulders on either side are properly maintained and
minor or no settlement of gravel or earthen shoulders (less than
25 mm in depth) with the pavement edge. Shoulders can be used
at reasonably high speed.
(ii) Average: Drop at pavement edge is 25-50 mm. Broken portion of
the shoulders is less than 25 per cent. Shallow potholes are present
but the shoulder can be used at low speed.
(iii) Poor: Drop at pavement edge is 50-100 mm. 25-50 per cent shoulders
are either broken or removed. Deep potholes are formed in the
surface. The shoulder can be used at considerably low speed only.
(iv) Bad: Drop at pavement edge is greater than 100 mm and more than
50 per cent shoulders are broken. Deep potholes in the shoulder
surface are present. It cannot be used by vehicle even at low speed
due to danger of overturning of vehicles.
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 157
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
Based on the above classification, the categories of various sections
selected for study are given in Table 17.
Section Per cent loss in Per cent loss in effective with of Shoulder
No. effective width of carriageway during passing/ Condition
carriageway of overtaking
single vehicle
Sec- Pave- Per cent reduction Per cent reduc- Per cent reduc- Shoulder
tion m e n t in speed of car tion in speed tion in speed condi-
No. width during crossing a of LCV during of HV during tion
(m) crossing a crossing a
25. 7.0 1.3 2.7 7.0 3.1 4.3 8.0 9.6 11.4 15.0 Average
26. 7.0 2.2 4.8 8.3 4.6 7.2 12.0 9.6 10.5 16.3 Poor
27. 7.0 5.3 5.7 10.7 10.0 11.4 14.0 10.5 14.7 24.3 Bad
28. 7.0 2.0 3.8 7.8 3.7 6.2 11.9 9.3 14.8 17.3 Average
29. 7.0 5.0 7.2 12.2 4.0 6.2 13.7 13.4 17.9 24.0 Poor
30. 7.0 6.4 11.4 15.3 7.8 9.8 14.6 15.8 19.6 28.4 Bad
31. 7.0 2.4 4.2 8.8 2.2 4.2 8.7 10.0 14.2 18.6 Average
32. 7.0 4.7 7.2 11.9 5.0 7.4 13.4 11.1 14.5 20.0 Poor
33. 7.0 10.7 11.5 15.7 6.8 10.4 17.0 12.9 17.8 27.2 Bad
TABLE-20. MEAN FREE SPEED AND CAPACITY FOR DIFFERENT CONDITION OF SHOULDERS
The mean free speed of traffic stream changes from 64.2 km/h to
55.7 km/h as the shoulder condition changes from average to bad. The
capacity values as calculated for 3 sections are also given in Table-20.
The capacity of a two-lane road with average condition of shoulder
(section 31) is 2654 PCU/h. It reduces to 1831 PCU/h (section 33) when
shoulder was in bad condition.
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 161
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
5.6. Effect of Road Roughness
Free flow speed of a vehicle was measured using radar gun at every
100 m interval of a kilometre and the average speed for the entire kilometre
was determined. Only 2 categories of vehicles viz. car and heavy vehicles
(bus & truck) were considered for this part of study. About 10 vehicles
of each category were observed for speed on each location.
Sec- UI PCU
tion (mm/ Bus Truck LCV MAT Tractor 2- 3- Cycle ADV
(km) Trailer wheeler wheeler
I 2890 5.38 4.88 4.2 14.00 13.49 0.36 1.59 0.72 8.66
II 3490 5.16 4.31 3.78 12.00 9.73 0.38 1.58 0.75 8.26
III 4580 5.62 4.45 3.17 8.62 6.64 0.28 1.33 0.54 8.48
IV 4910 4.63 3.51 2.68 4.54 6.30 0.26 1.4 0.65 6.60
V 5670 4.72 3.74 2.78 4.68 6.20 0.27 1.42 0.72 7.20
VI 3050 5.47 4.75 3.91 13.32 11.85 0.38 1.57 0.71 8.56
VII 4200 5.24 4.29 3.22 9.06 8.86 0.33 1.48 0.67 7.98
VIII 5150 5.00 3.92 2.65 5.50 6.39 0.29 1.41 0.63 7.44
Fig. 14. Variation in PCU for small vehicles with road roughness
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 165
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
TABLE-22. C APACITY FOR TWO-LANE R OADS WITH D IFFERENT ROUGHNESS V ALUES
I 2890 3017
II 3490 2868
III 4580 2667
IV 4910 2263
V 5670 2204
VI 3050 2940
VII 4200 2635
VIII 5150 2350
where,
Ca = actual capacity under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions
Cb = basic capacity (3100 pcu/h)
fg, fw, fds, fsmv, fs, and fUI are the adjustment factors for gradient, lane width,
directional split, slow moving vehicles, shoulder conditions and unevenness
CAPACITY ESTIMATION PROCEDURE FOR T WO-LANE R OADS UNDER MIXED 167
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
index. These adjustment factors are given below:
(i) Adjustment for grade: Every one percent upgrade decreases the
capacity by 2.60 per cent (fg = 0.974) and one percent downgrade
increases the capacity by 3.0 per cent ((f g = 1.03)
(ii) Adjustment for lane width: Substandard lane width will reduce the
capacity as given in Table-A.
TABLE -A. RECOMMENDED C APACITY R EDUCTION F ACTORS FOR SUB-STANDARD L ANE W IDTH
(iii) Directional split: If the flow is not balanced in two directions, the
capacity of the road reduces as per Table-B.
SMV (%) £ 10 15 20 25 30
Good 1.0
Average 0.85
Poor 0.77
Bed 0.58
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
REFERENCES
21. Sarna, A.C., Jain, P.K. and Chandra, G. (1989), “Capacity of Urban Roads
- A Case Study of Delhi and Bombay”, Highway Research Bulletin, No. 4,
Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, pp. 1-38.
22. Shivananda, M. (1994), “Private Sector Participation in Development of
Highway Network of India”, Indian Highways, Indian Roads Congress, New
Delhi.
23. Taragin, A and Eckhardt. H.G. (1953), “Effect of Shoulders on Speed and
Lateral Placement of Motor Vehicles”, HB Proceedings, Vol. 32, pp. 371-82.
24. Turner, D.S., Rogness, R.O. and Fambro, D.B. (1982), “Shoulder Upgrading
Alternatives to Improve the Operational Characteristics of Two-lane Highway”,
TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
25. William, R. and Reilly, P.E. (1992), “Operational Aspect of Highway Capacity”,
Traffic Engineering Hanbook, 4 th Edition, Institute of Transportation Engineers,
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, pp. 117-153.
26. Yagar, S. and Aerde, M.V. (1983), “Geometric and Environmental Effects on
Speeds of 2-Lane Highways”, Transportation Research-A, Vol. 17A, No. 4,
pp. 315-325.