Automating a procedure for processing traffic volume data for use in HCM

Abstract

The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) has been used worldwide for evaluating the performance of highways, by calculating the level of service. To use HCM, it is necessary to determine the traffic volumes for the time scenario analysis in all homogeneous segments of interest. Acquiring such information on-field can be costly, depending on the size and complexity of the study area. In order to meet the economic aspects of the projects, some traffic counting make partial observations and then expand them based on traffic pattern similarity analysis between stations. In addition, plans for data acquisition do not necessarily follow a pattern, and different data structures are used, such as vehicle classifications and time aggregations. Thus, it requires great effort from the processing of the data up to determining the projected demand volumes that will be used in the analysis. The objective of this work is to present an automated procedure to assist in this process. As a result, the development and application of a system capable of carrying out the necessary procedures to obtain these intended variables, including the execution of volumetric expansion, are shown, based on heterogeneous data.