Service delay and merging time evaluation at median openings

Abstract

Studies have been carried out on delays at unsignalized intersections but there is hardly any report is available on delays at unsignalised median openings on multi-lane divided urban roads. The present study estimates the average service delay to vehicles and proposes service delay models based on microscopic analysis of delay data under highly heterogeneous and unruly traffic conditions. The data for the study were collected by video recording at seven different uncontrolled median openings on multi-lane divided urban roads in India. The conflicting traffic was measured as the exact number of conflicting vehicles (n) as seen by a particular U-turning vehicle. The number of conflicting vehicles and the opposing through traffic were found to affect the service delay and mathematical models have been proposed. The merging time was also estimated for different categories of vehicles. Furthermore, the effect of opposing traffic volume and delay on merging time is studied. � 2019 Institute for Transport Studies in the European Economic Integration. All rights reserved.