Abstract
Accurate evaluations of general truck management strategies (GTMS) are required in order to identify positive benefits that can be expected to result from implementation. Most GTMS have been studied with primary or even exclusive consideration of the public sector standpoint. Traffic agencies have primarily focused on addressing operational and safety aspects of GTMS. These are important but insufficient because they do not accurately describe the full effects of GTMS. In our research, multi-criteria performance measures are used to reflect and evaluate overall benefits, including the public and private sector standpoints. This study was performed on an approximately 10-mile section of the I-710 corridor in Southern California. This corridor has one of the highest truck volumes in the US. We considered a truck lane restriction strategy because it is regarded as the most appropriate option for this facility. Three types of scenarios were developed to examine the proper number of restricted lanes. The micro traffic simulation models TransCAD and PARAMICS were the primary analytical tools employed in this research. We concluded that scenario 3, in which two lanes out of four to six are restricted, would provide the maximum positive benefits to the public and private sectors. This study also demonstrated the number of restricted lanes is an important factor in the success of the implementation of this strategy. Our simulation model is fairly general and can be used to evaluate other possible GTMS such as weigh in motion and the addition or conversion of one or more lanes to allow trucks only.