Automated Truck Lanes in Urban Area for Through and Cross Border Traffic
Overview
Automated Vehicles and Highway Capacity
In the current driving system, a significant amount of lateral and longitudinal space between vehicles is required for safety and psychological reasons. The longitudinal separation increases as the speed of the vehicle increases, and larger spaces are required for trucks. This driving behavior limits highway capacity. One way to increase it is to have autonomous vehicles traveling smaller distances apart at high speed, or in platoons.
Designing Dedicated Autonomous Truck Lanes
This research project will investigate the design and operations of dedicated lanes for fully automated trucks, the suitability of existing infrastructure to accommodate these novel technologies, and the potential economic ramifications on the surrounding region. The project will use the I-10 Freeway in El Paso, Texas, from the New Mexico border in the west to milepost 55 in the east, as the testbed.
Research Objective
The objective of this project is to recommend infrastructure design and demonstrate, by means of microscopic traffic simulation, the Concept of Operations (ConOps) of automated truck lanes in future highways in urban areas. The testbed for this project is a 55-mile section of the I-10 Freeway with the Texas Department of Transportation El Paso District. Based on the results of the ConOps, a preliminary economic impact study will be conducted to assess the potential impacts of bringing autonomous freight vehicles to the region.
This is the first year of a multi-year project. The ultimate goal of this research is to recommend vehicle management, infrastructure design and policy guidelines for state and local agencies in preparation of the transition from the existing vehicle-infrastructure system to one that accommodates fully automated trucks.
Deliverables
The primary deliverables for this project are:
- Five task reports detailing project progress
- Videos of traffic simulations, which will be made available online for public viewing
Final Report
Jeffrey Weidner
CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Jesus Vizcaino
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Tania Licon
PROJECT MANAGER
Ximena Jauregui
Ph.D. RESEARCH ASSISTANT
| Principal Investigator | Kelvin Cheu, University of Texas at El Paso |
| Funding Source | C2SMART Center |
| Total Project Cost | $135,000 |
| USDOT Award # | 69A3551747124 |
| Start and End Dates | 03/01/2018-05/31/2019 |
| Implementation of Research Outcomes | This is the first year of the multi-year project. The ultimate goal of this research is to recommend vehicle management, infrastructure design and policy guidelines for state and local agencies in preparation for the transition from the existing vehicle-infrastructure system to one that accommodates fully automated trucks, while focusing on maximizing the positive impacts on the regional stakeholders including the City of El Paso, El Paso County, and the El Paso MPO. The products of the first year may be considered as guidelines for engineers and policymakers when planning and designing infrastructure that will in the near future have to set aside an autonomous truck lane. |
| Impacts/Benefits of Implementation | Potential impacts/benefits of implementation include: – Optimum utilization of existing right-of-way. – Savings in future construction cost. – Moving freight faster and safer. |
