QUEWZ is a computer analysis tool for planning and scheduling freeway work zone lane closures. It analyzes traffic conditions on a freeway segment with and without a lane closure in place and provides estimates of the additional road user costs and of the queuing that will result from a work zone lane closure. The calculated road user costs include travel time, vehicle operating costs, and excess emissions. Through a literature search and methodology review, this project will collect information about the computation methods used by QUEWZ and will determine how key QUEWZ formulas and algorithms are derived, including assumptions used and field data sets that were inputs to the process. The researchers will describe how key formulas of QUEWZ compare to equations found in other tools commonly used by agencies to provide similar functionality. They will also determine whether and how WSDOT staff can potentially tune or update QUEWZ methods to produce more current and Washington-specific estimations for road user costs associated with work zone delays.
Principal Investigator: Mark E. Hallenbeck, Washington State Transportation Center, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Natarajan Janarthanan
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: December 2018