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Tradeoffs among Free-flow Speed, Capacity, Cost, and Environmental Footprint in Highway Design

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Author Info
Chen Feng Ng () (Department of Economics, California State University at Long Beach)
Kenneth Small () (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine)

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Abstract

This paper investigates differentiated design standards as a source of capacity additions that are more affordable and have smaller aesthetic and environmental impacts than expressways. We consider several tradeoffs, including narrow versus wide lanes and shoulders on an expressway of a given total width, and high-speed expressway versus lower-speed arterial. We quantify the situations in which off-peak traffic is sufficiently great to make it worthwhile to spend more on construction, or to give up some capacity, in order to provide very high off-peak speeds even if peak speeds are limited by congestion. We also consider the implications of differing accident rates. The results support expanding the range of highway designs that are considered when adding capacity to ameliorate urban road congestion.

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File URL: http://www.economics.uci.edu/docs/2008-09/small-04.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 080904.

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Length: 36 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:irv:wpaper:080904

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Postal: Irvine, CA 92697-3125
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Related research
Keywords: Highway design; Capacity; Free-flow speed; Parkway;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General
R42 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Transportation Systems - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Cassidy, Michael J. & Bertini, Robert L., 1999. "Some traffic features at freeway bottlenecks," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 25-42, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Cassidy, Michael J. & Rudjanakanoknad, Jittichai, 2005. "Increasing the capacity of an isolated merge by metering its on-ramp," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 896-913, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Peltzman, Sam, 1975. "The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(4), pages 677-725, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-22.


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