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

Chen Feng Ng () and Kenneth A. Small ()

No 80904, Working Papers from University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics

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.

Keywords: Highway design; Capacity; Free-flow speed; Parkway (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L91 R42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env, nep-geo and nep-ure
Date: 2008-08
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:irv:wpaper:080904

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