Minimizing Total Cost for Urban Freeway Reconstruction with Integrated Construction/Traffic Analysis

This technical memorandum introduces an innovative approach to development of construction and traffic management plans for the I-15 Devore project, a fast-track urban freeway reconstruction project with high traffic volume in Southern California. The goal of this approach was to determine the most economical reconstruction closure scenario by integrating construction schedule, traffic delay, and agency cost. CA4PRS (Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies) software was used for scheduling analysis. The demandcapacity model (Highway Capacity Manual), and macroscopic (FREQ) and microscopic (Paramics) traffic simulation models were utilized for traffic delay analysis. Based on these analyses, the California Department of Transportation decided to implement eight 72-hour weekday closures with 24-hour operations for the project. This was found to be more beneficial for both the agency and the traveling public than the alternative closures of 1) 55-hour weekend, 2) 10-hour nighttime, or 3) a single continuous. The analysis presented herein concludes that the 72-hour closure scenario requires 77 percent less total closure time, 34 percent lower road user cost, and 38 percent lower agency cost when compared with the traditional nighttime closures.