M27/M3 Ramp Metering Pilot Scheme-inception and design

Covers the main items addressed in the inception, design and installation of the M27/M3 Ramp Metering Pilot Scheme (RMPS). The paper summarises the results of this work, up to the start of installation. Ramp metering is one example of the techniques now being applied in England by the Highways Agency as part of their toolkit of measures aimed at making better use of the existing road network. The system uses special traffic signals to control traffic on the entry slip-road, allowing vehicles to join the motorway at a measured or metered rate. It is the determination of this rate, and the factors that influence it, that are key elements of the project.