For the Colorado DOT
and Louis Berger, Caliper is providing traffic and revenue forecasts and
modeling services to evaluate alternative tolling scenarios for the I-
70 Mountain Corridor. In the current Level 1 analysis, Caliper modified
the 2003 I-70 Mountain Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) Travel Demand Model so that traffic assignment could
support tolling, variable values of time and user classes, and variable
reversible lane facilities. The input demographics were also estimated
for the 2010 scenario year. Once the model updates were performed,
Caliper estimated toll volumes and revenues along the corridor under
several scenarios with various toll networks and values of time. Work is
anticipated to advance to a Level 2 phase, where a traffic
microsimulation model of the corridor will be used to evaluate several
design alternatives, tolling operations for reversible lanes, and use of
shoulder lanes during peak periods. This more detailed, operationally
focused analysis will inform CDOT’s decisions with respect to the future
of the corridor. 
Caliper delivered a
450-square-mile microscopic traffic simulation model spanning most
of Lake County, CA to the Lake County/City Area Planning Council.
The focus of the model is the management of traffic demand between
routes north and south of Clear Lake. The study area includes 720
road miles, 120 of which are on State Routes 20, 29, and 53. The
model also includes considerable local network detail in the towns
through which the routes pass. During the calibration and validation
of the model, simulation-based Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) was
used to test alternative strategies for traffic calming and access
management in the towns with a view to attracting traffic to the
route south of the lake, which impacts local communities to a much
lesser degree. Daniel Morgan was project manager for the LAMM
project, and David Gerstle did much of the hands-on work calibrating
the AM and PM base year scenarios to 15-minute directional and
turning movement count data, developing the future-year geometries,
and generating the performance metrics for various build and
future-year scenarios. 
For the Maricopa Association of Governments, Caliper is
developing the largest, high fidelity microsimulation model ever
attempted. Using TransModeler, vehicle traffic is being simulated
within a 500 square mile area of Phoenix using a microscopic model with
a .1 second time step. The network includes more than 1800 traffic
signals which are being simulated at the same time. The network is
represented at the lane level with accurate intersection placement and
geography. An equilibrium dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) is performed
using the microscopic loading. On a fast PC, the running times are fast
enough to make a microscopic simulation-based DTA a reality. 
Caliper completed the
development of the Inner Loop Traffic Operations model, which serves
as the operations analysis tool in support of MAG’s Central Phoenix
Transportation Framework Study. This study aims to prioritize
projects that have the best chance of delivering mobility and safety
improvements across Central Phoenix. The project is the largest
microscopic traffic simulation model ever completed, covering more
than 500 square miles of Central Phoenix and surrounding cities. The
model was developed with inputs from the regional travel demand
model in TransCAD, calibrated against 15-minute traffic counts, and
validated against bottleneck location and severity derived from
15-minute INRIX speed data. The project also involved the
exploration of multi-resolution simulation and simulation-based
Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) model techniques, such as
mesoscopic and hybrid microscopic-mesoscopic simulation.
Caliper has developed a detailed, geographically accurate
microscopic traffic simulation model of the entire Whatcom County
located in the state of Washington. The model, in Caliper’s TransModeler
traffic simulation platform, covers a geographic extent of nearly 1,000
square miles. The simulation has been calibrated using time-varying
segment and turning movement counts, and a portion of the model has
further been validated against speed measurements. The simulation period
of 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM includes the evening peak of 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM.
Learn more»
Caliper Corporation has developed a
TransModeler traffic simulation of the forthcoming High Occupancy Toll (HOT)
lanes on the Capital Beltway (I-495) in Virginia with Transurban, a
leading toll road owner and operator in Australia and North America. The
Capital Beltway HOT Lanes project is a nearly two billion dollar public-private partnership that is intended to be an innovative
solution to traffic congestion through dynamic, open-road tolling. Sensors will
monitor traffic levels continuously, and a tolling algorithm designed to maintain
a target level of service in the HOT lanes will adjust the price dynamically.
Drivers who choose to use the HOT lanes will pay a toll conveyed to them via dynamic
message signs. Carpools with three or more persons, buses, and emergency vehicles
will be able to use the HOT lanes without charge.
Caliper Corporation developed a pilot TransModeler
micro-simulation model for the I-270 corridor in Montgomery County, MD.
This work was conducted for the University of Maryland’s Center for
Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) and Maryland’s State Highway
Administration (SHA). The objective of this project was to demonstrate
the feasibility and benefits of TransModeler in supporting large-scale
corridor analyses such as the Integrated Corridor Management (ICM)
initiative by the US DOT. The ICM initiative aims to demonstrate the use
of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to plan and manage congested
traffic corridors by assisting decision-makers in identifying gaps,
evaluating strategies, and investing in the best combination of
strategies that would minimize congestion and improve safety. The I-270
corridor in Maryland is one of eight test sites selected by the US DOT.
Caliper completed a wide-area simulation project for Caltrans District 1
that covered the entire city of Eureka, CA (16 square miles) and
portions of US Highway 101 beyond Eureka’s city borders (17 miles in
total). The project was a critical demonstration of the feasibility of
city-wide microsimulation and integration with a regional travel demand
model. Calibration of the simulation model very nearly met or exceeded
FHWA standards for link flows and travel times. Calibration methods
included incorporating GIS data (e.g., land use classification data)
into the origin-destination matrix estimation process, and estimating
dynamic trip matrices and route choices using simulation-based Dynamic
Traffic Assignment (DTA) techniques. These innovative calibration
methods have since become routine in TransModeler projects performed by
Caliper. Caliper developed a microscopic
traffic simulation model of Whatcom County, WA. The existing
microsimulation database in TransModeler was expanded to the scope of
the regional travel demand model, with a detailed representation of
highway geography and traffic signal control in the region. Time-varying
origin-destination (OD) demand were estimated to match available field
data, and a Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) based on TransModeler’s
microscopic traffic simulation was used to estimate a consistent set of
congested travel times. The high prevalence of truck traffic and the
crossings along the Canadian border caused further challenges to
accurately modeling dynamic trip patterns, route selection behavior and
vehicle interactions. The completed large-scale model will be used to
assist planning and traffic operations staff with conducting scenario
analyses and evaluating traffic management strategies for informed
decision-making.
Caliper assisted Old Dominion
University in the development of a microsimulation model of Virginia
Beach, VA for the City of Virginia Beach. The project required the
calibration of a city-wide model for the morning, midday, and
evening periods. The study region spans 250 square miles of land
area–500 square miles total–and has over 300 traffic signals, each
with a distinct timing plan for each study period. The model
required the use of simulation-based Dynamic Traffic Assignment
(DTA) and other innovative traffic simulation and model calibration
methods to analyze traffic on alternative routes through the
congested city. Old Dominion University researchers and City of
Virginia Beach staff were trained to use the model and are presently
applying the model in the study of various major roadway projects
and evacuation studies with continuing support from Caliper.
For the
North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (NFTPO) and HNTB
Corporation, Caliper developed a Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA)
model that links with the NFTPO’s activity-based model (ABM) in
DaySim and, for truck and external trips, with NFTPO’s regional
trip-based travel demand model. The simulation-based DTA model
relies on a high-fidelity microscopic traffic simulation of the
entire six-county NFTPO service area. The model is designed to serve
the NFTPO as an operational and visualization tool for the study and
evaluation of managed lanes and other proposed projects. The DTA
model can read trips from the DaySim and trip-based model scenarios
and perform a dynamic assignment. In the future, the DTA model can
be integrated with the ABM as a dynamic substitute for the current
static traffic assignment. In parallel with the project, Caliper
developed state-of-the-art network conflation and GIS tools to
create a master network that combines the geographic accuracy of the
HERE street network with the functional class and model attributes
of the travel demand model network, giving the NFTPO a more accurate
basis for the highway and transit assignments in their current ABM
framework.
The Poughkeepsie-Dutchess County Transportation Council (PDCTC) is
working with Wilbur Smith Associates to develop a Corridor Management
Plan that identifies and recommends policy and project actions to
improve vehicular and non-vehicular movement along CR 93 in the Town of
Wappinger, New York. The Town of Wappinger sits in the southern part of
Dutchess County, which has experienced a large increase in population
over the past ten years. This increase in population has contributed to
increased traffic volumes on the CR 93 corridor and, in turn, resulted
in poor levels of service during peak periods. Dutchess County and the
Town of Wappinger expect future population growth and the continued
appeal of CR 93 to intensify already poor traffic conditions. The CR 93
Corridor Management Plan will inform decision-makers, the public, local
agencies, and other stakeholders about the causes of traffic congestion
on CR 93 and recommend potential solutions. As part of the analysis,
Wilbur Smith Associates will use TransModeler to prepare
micro-simulations of the corridor, including current year and future
year base scenarios as well as several future year alternatives
implementing various land use and transportation strategies. The
TransModeler micro-simulations will allow the PDCTC, the project’s
Advisory Committee and the public to visualize alternatives for the
corridor and understand trade-offs between the alternative scenarios.
CLR Analytics is
developing, calibrating, and validating a traffic microsimulation model
for the State Route 91 (SR-91) Corridor System Management Plan (CSMP)
study in Orange County, CA. The calibrated model will be used as the
base model for testing alternative build scenarios under future
conditions. The Orange County section of the SR-91 is 25 miles long
from the Los Angeles County line to the Riverside County line and
includes interchanges with 5 different freeways. SR-91 contains both
HOV, Toll, and mixed use lane facilities. All freeway facilities as
well as most major arterials and their signalized intersections are
included in the model. This model focuses on both the morning and
afternoon rush hours from 6:00 to 10:00 AM and 2:00 to 8:00 PM,
respectively, in order to cover all periods of congested travel.
ENTRAN, PLC is evaluating the impacts
of the Downtown Owensboro Master Plan, a comprehensive set of
recommendations that will change and revitalize the face of downtown in
this western Kentucky city. The recommendation to convert downtown
streets from one-way flow to two-way operation is a keystone of the
entire plan. The simulation model in TransModeler will be integrated
with the TransCAD county-wide travel demand model to predict changes in
travel patterns that would result from the conversion and to evaluate
the associated operational impacts. From the analyses, improvements to
the street system, including the addition of turn lanes and
modifications to traffic signals, will be identified. The study also
will involve a complete street analysis using methods from the recently
completed National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report
616, Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets. The methods
predict level of service from the perspective of the traveler for the
four modes most commonly found on urban streets – autos, buses, bicycles
and pedestrians. Finally, the project includes a parking inventory and
analysis that will be used to develop a downtown parking management
plan. Home | Products | Contact | Secure Store
Call Us 
