Evaluation of Effect of Median U-Turns on Multilane Primary Highway Capacity in Thailand through Traffic Micro-Simulation Models

Authors

  • Ladda Tanwanichkul Khon Kaen University
  • Wuttikrai Chaipanha Khon Kaen University
  • Jumrus Pitaksringkarn King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4186/ej.2018.22.5.227

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the effect of median U-turns and estimate the capacity of primary highways in Thailand using a traffic micro-simulation model. Six-lane and four-lane primary highways were selected for the study. The base condition results determined that the maximum capacity of a six-lane primary highway was 2,130 passenger cars/hour/lane, while the four-lane primary highway capacity was recorded as 2,194 passenger cars/hour/lane. Both results were slightly higher than those of the HCM2010 approach. Under prevailing conditions, both sections exhibited lower capacities than the HCM results by approximately 33.7% and 19.8% for the six-lane and four-lane primary highways, respectively, causing the impact of the median U-turn and highway characteristics in Thailand to directly affect traffic and driving behavior. Using the micro-simulation results, an equation was also regressed for estimating the capacity resulting from the impact of the median U-turns and heavy vehicles. These results may be used as guidelines for the design and analysis of multilane highways in Thailand.

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Author Biographies

Ladda Tanwanichkul

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, KhonKaen, 40002, Thailand

Wuttikrai Chaipanha

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, KhonKaen University, KhonKaen, 40002, Thailand

Jumrus Pitaksringkarn

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand

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Published In
Vol 22 No 5, Sep 30, 2018
How to Cite
[1]
L. Tanwanichkul, W. Chaipanha, and J. Pitaksringkarn, “Evaluation of Effect of Median U-Turns on Multilane Primary Highway Capacity in Thailand through Traffic Micro-Simulation Models”, Eng. J., vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 227-241, Sep. 2018.