Utilizing Vissim to Evaluate Ramp Metering Performance

This paper provides an example of using microsimulation tools to examine the impact of using ramp metering on freeway performance. The well-known software package VISSIM has been utilized in this work to determine the effect of various parameters, such as volumes to capacity (v/c) ratio, detector location on the freeway, and the green times on ramp metering performance. The test network for this research is a microsimulation model for apart of Emirates Road, which is one of the major freeways in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The basic model information was exported from the Dubai Strategic Planning Model R1000 (using VISUM software) to VISSIM (microsimulation software). The traffic conditions considered two different downstream conditions (with and without downstream bottleneck). The results showed that the application of ramp metering has a significant positive effect on freeway performance, when the traffic volume levels are moderate to high. On the other hand, the ramp metering application showed a slight improvement under low or very heavy traffic volumes.