Managed Motorways
Managed Motorways, or smart freeways, prevent congestion by continuously monitoring traffic flows and control access to the freeway with state-of-the-art ramp metering signal technologies that are more precise and sophisticated than applications currently in use. By applying contemporary and proven algorithms (i.e., ramp signal control formulas) that consider the system as a whole, traffic becomes more consistent and helps prevent congestion.
Managed Motorways prevent congestion by using more sophisticated ramp metering algorithms and more precise vehicle detection.
Managed Motorways prevents congestion in order to improve travel time reliability and safety. In a modeling simulation used to evaluate the potential effect of Managed Motorways on the evening peak period traffic conditions for southbound I-15 from the I-80 West interchange (eastbound I-80 to southbound I-15 ramp) to the 9000 South interchange, Managed Motorways reduced system delay 5% when applied only to arterial entry ramps. Implementing Managed Motorways for all entry ramps, including freeway-to-freeway interchange ramps, resulted in a total system delay reduction of 37%.
Another consideration for managed motorways is a decrease in breakdowns and accidents. The existing traffic flow breakdowns occurring on the freeway mainline result in lost throughput capacity, unreliable travel times, and hazardous congested conditions.