Real-time optimization at diamond interchanges

Due to the complexity of road traffic movements occurring within urban interchanges and increasing levels of demand, many diamond interchanges on roads are experiencing serious congestion. The closely spaced traffic signals with high volume turning traffic create a complex control scenario. The diamond interchange offers the unique opportunity to integrate many innovative technologies into a system that is small enough to be manageable, yet complex enough to present a challenging control environment. Developing a real time, multi modal, traffic adaptive interchange control system is a research objective of the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) Research Center of Excellence Program of the Texas Transportation Institute. This research effort will integrate a variety of technologies into a single control system that will increase traffic performance and demonstrate IVHS concepts in advanced traffic management systems. Through the use of video imaging equipment, traffic information processing, and real time optimization and control, road users will experience less delay, less congestion and fewer safety problems at diamond interchanges.