Design and evaluation of a roadway controller for freeway traffic

In this paper, a roadway controller that optimally coordinates speed limits and ramp metering to improve freeway traffic efficiency is designed using the model predictive control (MPC) methodology. The performance of the roadway controller is evaluated using a microscopic model, which is constructed and validated with field data from the Berkeley Highway Laboratory (BHL). Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller reduces traffic congestion and the total time spent (TTS) in the network by up to 12%.