Highway Capacity & LOS
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Suneth ThusharaHighway Capacity & LOS
Uploaded by
Suneth ThusharaHighway Capacity & Level of Service
Eng. S.A.S.T Salawavidana
CEng FIE (SL), CEng MICE (UK), MCIHT (UK), MEng, BSc.Eng (Hons)
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CAPACITY ANALYSIS
• Capacity Analysis is a set of procedures used to
estimate the traffic carrying capacity of facilities
over a range of defined operational conditions.
• Capacity is defined as the maximum hourly rate
at which vehicles (or persons) can reasonably
be expected to traverse a point or a uniform
section of a lane or roadway during a given time
period under prevailing roadway, traffic and
control conditions.
• Highway Capacity Manual published by the
Transport Research Board (USA) is used to
design and plan highways.
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LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• The concept of Level of Service (LOS) is the
different operational qualities of the traffic
flow.
• Level of Service is a qualitative measure of:
• Speed and travel time
• Freedom to manoeuvres
• Traffic interruption
• Driving comfort
• Convenience
• Safety
• Operating cost.
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Level Of Service (LOS)
Highway Capacity (Passenger
Type vehicle per hour)
Multi- 2000 per lane for 115
lane and 100 K.P.H.
Speeds; 1900 per lane
for 80 K.P.H. speed
Two-lane, 2800 total, both
two- directions.
way
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• Six Levels of Service are categorized from A to F and it
covers entire range of traffic condition which may occur.
• Level of Service A – Free flow with high speed and low
volumes. Drivers can hold their desired speeds without
delays.
• Level of Service B – Reasonably free flow. Stable flow
and drivers have reasonable freedom to select their
speed.
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LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• Level of Service C – Stable flow. Most drivers
are restricted in their freedom to select their own
speed, change lanes, overtake etc... But
operating speeds are still reasonable.
• Level of Service D – Approaches unstable flow
with nearly all drivers restricted. Comfort and
convenience are low but may be tolerated for
short periods. Fluctuations in conditions cause
substantial drops in speed.
• As this service volume corresponds to what is
referred as tolerable capacity, this level of
service should be used to determine the upper
limit of traffic demand which should be tolerated.
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Eng. Suneth Thushara Salawavidana
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• Level of Service E – Unstable flow and there
may be momentary stoppages. This LOS is
obtained with traffic volumes with near or at
capacity.
• Level of Service F – Forced or breakdown
flow operating at low speed caused by the
demand exceeding capacity. There is stop-
start operation with large queues and delays.
In the extreme both speed and volume can
drop to zero.
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LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• New roads are normally designed for LOS C
or even D.
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CAPACITY DESIGN OF TWO
LANE HIGHWAYS
• A two lane highway is a
two lane road having
one lane for use by
traffic in each direction.
• Passing of slower
vehicles require the use
of opposing lanes when
sight distances and gaps
in opposing traffic
stream warrant.
• As volume increases,
the ability to pass
decreases and results in
formation of platoons in 11
the traffic stream.
CAPACITY DESIGN OF TWO LANE
HIGHWAYS
• Three parameters are used to describe
service quality for two lane highways.
– Average travel speed
– Percent time delay
– Capacity utilization
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AVERAGE TRAVEL SPEED
• This reflects the mobility function of two lane
highways and is the length of the highway segment
under consideration divided by the average travel
time of all vehicles traversing the segment over
some designated interval of time.
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PERCENT TIME DELAY
• This reflects both mobility and access function and is defined
as the average percent of time that all vehicles are delayed
while traveling in platoons due to their inability to pass.
• Percent time delay is difficult to measure directly in the field.
• The percent of vehicles traveling at headways less than 5
seconds can be used as a substitute measure in field studies.
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CAPACITY UTILIZATION
• This reflects the access function and is
defined as the ratio of the demand flow rate
to the capacity of the facility
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IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR TWO LANE
HIGHWAYS
• Design speed is greater than or equal to 96kmph
• Lane width is greater than or equal to 3.7m
• Clear shoulder width is greater than or equal to
1.8m
• No ‘No passing zones’ in the highway
• Only passenger cars in the traffic stream
• A 50/50 directional distribution of traffic.
• No impediment to through traffic dye to traffic
control or turning vehicles.
• Level terrain.
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IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR TWO LANE
HIGHWAYS
• The capacity of a two lane highway under
ideal conditions is 2800 pcph total in both
directions.
• A ‘No passing zone’ is defined as one
marked for no passing or any road section
where the passing sight distance is 450m or
less.
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SERVICE FLOW RATE
• Service flow rate is the maximum rate of flow
which can be accommodated by various
facilities at each level of service A to E.
• It is the maximum hourly rate under
prevailing conditions while maintaining the
designed level of service.
• To calculate the service flow rate, following
equations are applied.
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SERVICE FLOW RATE
V
SFi 2800 ( ) f d f w f HV
C
1
f HV
1 PT ( ET 1) PB ( E B 1)
V
v
PHF
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DETERMINATION OF LEVEL OF
SERVICE
• LOS of a given facility under existing
conditions or projected traffic demand can be
determined by above equations and the
tables given below.
• These tables are extracted from Highway
Capacity Manual, Transport Research
Board, National Research Council,
Washington DC, USA
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V/C RATIO
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DIRECTIONAL DISTRIBUTION
FACTOR fD
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ADJUSTMENT FACTOR fW
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AVERAGE PC EQUIVALENTS
FOR TRUCKS AND BUSES
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V/C RATIOS VS
SPEED,
PERCENT
GRADE AND
PERCENT NO
PASSING ZONES
FOR SPECIFIC
GRADES
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ADJUSTMENT FACTOR FOR DIRECTIONAL
DISTRIBUTION FOR SPECIFIC GRADES
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PASSENGER
CAR
EQUIVALENT
FOR SPECIFIC
GRADES ON
TWO LANE
HIGHWAYS
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PASSENGER CAR EQUIVALENT FOR SPECIFIC
GRADES ON TWO LANE HIGHWAYS [CONTD]
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EFFECT OF GRADE
• Effect of grade on two lane roads is
more severe than on multilane
roads because of the need to use
the opposing traffic lane for
passing.
• When the traffic volume increases
passing will become more difficult
and even when there are no heavy
vehicles in the traffic stream, the
effect of grade is experienced by
passenger cars.
• Service flow rates on two lane road
segments on specific grades are
adjusted for any given upgrade
speed, by applying an adjustment
factor fg 30
EFFECT OF GRADE
• Service flow rate for two lane roads on
specific grade segments for any upgrade
speed is given by following equations;
V
SFi 2800 ( )i f d f w f g f HV
C
1
fg
1 ( PP I P )
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EFFECT OF GRADE
1
f HV
1 PHV ( E HV 1)
I P 0.02( E E 0 )
E HV 1 (0.25 PT / HV )( E 1)
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EXAMPLE
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