Local On-ramp Queue Management Strategy with Mainline Speed Recovery

Ramp metering is an effective motorway control tool beneficial for mainline traffic, but the long on-ramp queues created interfere with surface traffic profoundly. This study deals with the conflict between mainline benefits and the costs of on-ramp and surface traffic. A novel local on-ramp queue management strategy with mainline speed recovery is proposed. Microscopic simulation is used to test the new strategy and compare it with other strategies. Simulation results reveal that the ramp metering with queue management strategy provides a good balance between the mainline and on-ramp performances.