ESTIMATING TRAFFIC DELAYS AND THE ECONOMIC COST OF RECURRENT ROAD CLOSURES ON RURAL HIGHWAYS

Prolonged delays to traffic on the Canadian trans-mountain highway sys tem can occur in summer months due to highway maintenance and rehabili tation and in winter months during inclement weather and avalanche sta bilization. Traffic delays are likely to increase substantially over t he next fifteen to twenty years as the trans-mountain highway system u ndergoes major reconstruction. This paper presents a model to estimate the delay to vehicular traffic under controlled conditions, such as h ighway reconstruction and avalanche stabilization. The main model inpu ts are traffic flow rate, duration of closure, traffic composition, an d vehicular occupancy. A numerical example is presented to illustrate how the model can be used to estimate total delay and the economic cos t of delay.