A Novel Max-Pressure-Driven Integrated Ramp Metering and Variable Speed Limit Control for Port Motorways

Weiqi Yue, Hang Yang, Yibing Wang, Yusheng Zhou, Guiyun Liu () and Pengjun Zheng ()
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Weiqi Yue: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Hang Yang: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Yibing Wang: Institute of Intelligent Transportation Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Yusheng Zhou: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Guiyun Liu: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Pengjun Zheng: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-25

Abstract: In recent years, congestion on port motorways has become increasingly frequent, significantly constraining transportation efficiency and contributing to higher pollution emissions. This paper proposes a novel max-pressure-driven integrated control (IFC-MP) for port motorways, inspired by the max pressure (MP) concept, which continuously adjusts the weights of ramp metering (RM) and the variable speed limit (VSL) based on pressure feedback from the on-ramp and upstream, assigning greater control weight to the side with higher pressure. A queue management mechanism is incorporated to prevent on-ramp overflow. The effectiveness of IFC-MP is verified in SUMO, filling the gap where the previous integrated control methods for port motorways lacked micro-simulation validation. The results show that IFC-MP enhances bottleneck throughput by approximately 7% compared to the no-control case, optimizes the total time spent (TTS) by 26–27%, and improves total pollutant emissions (TPEs) by about 11%. Compared to strategies that use only RM and VSL control, or activate VSL control only after RM reaches its lower bound, the time–space distribution of speed under IFC-MP is more uniform, with smaller fluctuations in bottleneck occupancy. Additionally, IFC-MP maintains relatively stable performance under varying compliance levels. Overall, the IFC-MP is an effective method for alleviating congestion on port motorways, excelling in optimizing both traffic efficiency and pollutant emissions.

Keywords: integrated control; port motorways; ramp metering; variable speed limit control; max pressure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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