ASSESSING NETWORK CHANGES ATTRIBUTED TO OPENING A NEW 67 MILE SEGMENT OF I-69 USING FIELD DATA FROM BLUETOOTH PROBE VEHICLES

摘要

The highway planning process invests substantial effort in predicting how networks will behave once a project is completed, but rarely measure the performance of a road network after a facility is constructed. However post-construction feedback can provide feedback to the public on the impact of their investment, as well as feedback to the highway traffic planning models. Perhaps the biggest impediment to this post-construction assessment was the lack of cost effective technology for performing that assessment. In November 2012, a 67 mile segment of 1-69 opened in southwest Indiana. Bluetooth probe vehicle sampling was used to assess the overall travel time improvements associated with a new interstate highway segment opening. At the same time, the data from the MAC address matching was used to examine the effects the interstate had on previously traveled routes as well as shorter segments. The overall network saw an improvement in travel time; however the impact on the local segment travel times varied, depending on the changes in congestion and the distribution of traffic. Several figures are provided to illustrate those changes and can serve as a model for other agencies seeking to perform their own post-construction assessment of significant projects.