Multi-period location of flow intercepting portable facilities of an intelligent transportation system

•The role of the variable message signs (VMS) for urban traffic management is discussed.•The portable VMS dynamic location problem is studied.•We formulate the VMS location problem as a multi-period facility location problem (MP-FIFLP).•We propose two different approaches (sequential and integrated) for the MP-FIFLP.•Several hints about the applicability of the proposed approach are given.

Intelligent transportation systems are of great importance in urban traffic management. In this context variable message signs (VMS) play a major role in providing drivers with useful information during their trips.In this paper we consider the problem of finding the optimal location of a set of portable VMS on an urban network where flow patterns change during a time horizon.We propose two original solving approaches based on flow intercepting facility location ILP models.The paper presents an application of the proposed approaches to real-like test networks and discusses the results obtained providing some indications on their practical applications.