Global Optimization for Transport Network Expansion and Signal Setting

This paper proposes a model to address an urban transport planning problem involving combined network design and signal setting in a saturated network. Conventional transport planning models usually deal with the network design problem and signal setting problem separately. However, the fact that network capacity design and capacity allocation determined by network signal setting combine to govern the transport network performance requires the optimal transport planning to consider the two problems simultaneously. In this study, a combined network capacity expansion and signal setting model with consideration of vehicle queuing on approaching legs of intersection is developed to consider their mutual interactions so that best transport network performance can be guaranteed. We formulate the model as a bilevel program and design an approximated global optimization solution method based on mixed-integer linearization approach to solve the problem, which is inherently nnonlinear and nonconvex. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the model application and the efficiency of solution algorithm.