Overview of the AMS Process

The overall methodology for analysis, modeling, and simulation of the I-210 corridor looks like this:

As the diagram illustrates, the high-level process is:

Step
Description
1

Assess operations on the corridor. This information is drawn from the Corridor Description document and other corridor data. This step includes:

  1. Select the study area.
  2. Collect and organize traffic data.
  3. Assess data quality and data gaps.
  4. Perform additional studies to fill data gaps.
  5. Synthesize holistic view of corridor characteristics, challenges, capabilities, and needs.
2 Select a modeling approach and create a model to capture existing corridor operations.
3 Select scenarios that are representative of relevant transportation challenges. (Based on project scope, the current AMS effort focuses on incidents and incident management.)
4 Select feasible management strategies and control interventions to address the scenarios, using ramp meters, intersection signals, and the managed routing of travelers.
5 Run simulations to calculate performance metrics and measure effects of scenarios and interventions identified in steps 3 and 4.
6 Assess the infrastructure costs (capital, operations/maintenance) of implementing the selected strategies.
7 Evaluate the benefits gained from the various strategies against the costs of implementing them.

In practice, the execution of AMS is not a linear process; many of the key steps are performed in parallel. For example, model calibration is an iterative process composed of several steps:

  1. Run the simulation as in step 5.
  2. Compare with data obtained in step 1.
  3. Reassess the trustworthiness of the data.
  4. Make adjustments to the model in step 2.
  5. Repeat.