An optimal control model for traffic corridor management

Traffic congestion arises in metropolitans are common problems due to insufficient traffic facilities and major bottlenecks occur on main urban arterials, freeways and expressways. This research aims at proposing an optimal control model for corridor management, including freeway segments, on-ramps, off-ramps, and arterial streets, to relieve possible congestion. Traffic control strategies for corridor management include ramp metering, signal control, and route guidance. Based on the concept of the store-and-forward method, the problem is formulated as a linear optimal control model; and the objective function is to minimize total queue length for considered traffic corridors. Numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the proposed models.