Chapter 2b (TRAFFIC ENGINEERING BFC 32302)

CHAPTER 2: Highway Capacity
BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENTS

CAPACITY ANALYSIS
Basic Freeway Section-- Freeway segments that

are outside of the influence of ramps or weaving
sections.
Design Conditions-- The physical qualities of a

basic freeway section such as lane width,
shoulder clearances and density of interchanges
(on and off ramps).
Ramp
Weaving Section
The base conditions under which the full

capacity of a basic freeway segment is
achieved are good weather, good visibility,
and no incidents or accidents. For the analysis
procedures in this chapter, these base
conditions are assumed to exist.
If any of these conditions fails to exist, the

speed, LOS, and capacity of the freeway
segment all tend to be reduced.
 Minimum lane widths of 3.6 m,

 Minimum right-shoulder of 1.8 m; Minimum median of
0.6 m,
 Traffic stream composed entirely of passenger cars,
 Five or more lanes for one direction,
 Interchange spacing at 3 km or greater,
 Level terrain, with grades no greater than 2 percent,
 A driver population composed principally of regular
users of the facility.
These base conditions represent a high operating level,

with a free-flow speed (FFS) of 110 km/h or greater.
LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODOLOGY
The methodology does not apply to or take into

account (without modification by the analyst) the
following:
• Special lanes reserved for a single vehicle type, such
as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, truck lanes,
and climbing lanes,
• Extended bridge and tunnel segments,
• Segments near a toll plaza,
• Facilities with free-flow speeds below 90 km/h or in
excess of 120 km/h.
BASIC FREEWAY CAPACITY STUDY
Methodology (according to U.S. HCM 2000)
FFS
BFFS BFFS Adjustment Compute FFS

Lane width
Input
Median type
Geometric data Determine
Interchange density
FFS or BFFS LOS
Lateral Clearance
Volume
Volume Adjustment
Compute flow rate
Peak-hour Factor
Number of Lanes
Driver population
Heavy vehicles
FFS is the mean speed of passenger cars measured during

low to moderate flows (up to 1,300 pc/h/ln). For a specific
segment of freeway, speeds are virtually constant in this
range of flow rates.
Two methods can be used to determine the FFS of a basic

freeway segment: field measurement and estimation.
The field-measurement procedure is provided for users who

prefer to gather these data directly. However, field
measurements are not required for application of the
method. If field-measured data are used, no adjustments are
made to the free-flow speed.
If field measurement of FFS is not possible, FFS can be estimated

indirectly on the measurement is not possible basis of the
physical characteristics of the freeway segment being studied.
The physical characteristics include lane width, number of lanes,
right-shoulder lateral clearance, and interchange density.
FFS = BFFS – fLW – fLC – fN – fID

where
FFS = free-flow speed (km/h);
BFFS = base free-flow speed, 110 km/h (urban) or 120 km/h (rural);
fLW = adjustment for lane width from Exhibit 23-4
fLC = adjustment for right-shoulder lateral clearance from Exhibit 23-5
fN = adjustment for number of lanes from Exhibit 23-6
fID = adjustment for interchange density from Exhibit 23-7
Exercise: FFS adjustment
An existing six-lane freeway in an urban area has

the following physical characteristics:
• 3.5-m lanes
• 0.6-m lateral clearance on outer shoulders
• interchange density of 1 interchange per 0.5 km.
Calculate the free-flow speed for this section of

freeway.
Solution: FFS adjustment
FFS = 110 – fLW – fLC – fN - fID
where
fLW = adjustment for lane width = 1.0
fLC = adjustment for right-shoulder lateral clearance
= 2.6
fN = adjustment for number of lanes = 4.8
fID = adjustment for interchange density = 12.1
FSS =110 – 1.0 – 2.6 – 4.8 – 12.1 = 89.5 km/h

vp = 15-min passenger-car equivalent flow rate (pc/hr/ln)

V = hourly volume (veh/hr)
PHF = peak hour factor
N = number of lanes
fHV = heavy vehicle adjustment factor
fp = driver population factor
Peak-Hour Factor
On freeways, typical PHFs range from 0.80 to 0.95.
Lower PHFs are characteristic of rural freeways or
off-peak conditions. Higher factors are typical of
urban and suburban peak-hour conditions.
Heavy Vehicle Adjustment Factor, fHV
ET , ER = passenger car equivalents for trucks or buses (T) and

recreational
vehicles (RV) in the traffic stream (refer Exhibit 23-8)
PT , PR = proportion of truck/buses and RVs in the traffic
stream
*Note*
In Malaysia there are no recreational vehicles. Therefore,
neglect PR and ER .
A six lane freeway has a flow of 3500 vehicles.

This flow consists of 180 trucks per hour, 200
RVs per hour, 350 passenger buses per hour
and the remainder of passenger. Calculate the
heavy vehicle adjustment factor for a 1.8 km
section of this freeway that has a +4% grade.
The percentage of trucks is 5% [(180/3500) x 100],

buses is 10% [(350/3500) x 100] and RVs is 6%.
ET = 3.0 (Exhibit 23-9)

ER = 3.0 (Exhibit 23-10)
PT, = 5 + 10 = 15%
PR = 6%
Therefore,
1+0.15(3-1)+0.06 (3-1)
= 0.704
Driver Population Factor

The traffic stream characteristics that are the basis of
this methodology are representative of regular drivers in
a substantially commuter traffic stream or in a stream in
which most drivers are familiar with the facility.
In this case, the driver population factor is 1.00.
Ranges between 0.85 to 1.00.

1. Define and segment the freeway facility as appropriate.

2. Estimated or field measured FFS, an appropriate speed-flow
curve of the same shape as the typical curves (Exhibit 23-3) is
constructed. On the basis of the flow rate, vp, and the
constructed speed-flow curve, an average passenger-car
speed is read on the y-axis of Exhibit 23-3.
3. Calculate density using following formula;
D = Vp/S
where
D = density (pc/km/ln),
vp = flow rate (pc/h/ln), and
S = average passenger-car speed (km/h).
4. LOS of the basic freeway segment is then determined by

comparing the calculated density with the density ranges in
Exhibit 23-2.
Existing four-lane freeway, rural area, very restricted

geometry, rolling terrain, 110-km/h speed limit.
Given information:
 Two lanes in each direction with 3.3-m lane width
5 percent trucks and Rolling terrain.
0.92 PHF,
0.6-m lateral clearance,
0.6 interchanges/km
2,000-veh/h peak-hour volume and commuter traffic,
What is the LOS during the peak hour?
New suburban freeway is being designed. How

many lanes are needed to provide LOS D
during the peak hour?
Given information:
4,000 veh/h (one direction), 0.85 PHF,
Level terrain, 0.9 interchanges per kilometer,
15 percent trucks, 3 percent RVs, and
3.6-m lane width, 1.8-m lateral clearance.
The Freeway Existing six-lane freeway in a growing urban

area with the following information:
√ 5,000 veh/h (one direction, existing);

√ 6 lanes, Level terrain,10 percent trucks
√ 5,600 veh/h (one direction, in 3 years); and
√ Beyond 3 years, traffic grows at 4 percent
√ FFS = 110 km/h (measured in field) and 0.95 PHF;
(i) What is the current LOS during the peak hour?

(ii) What LOS will occur in 3 years?
(iii) When should a fourth lane be added in each direction
to avoid an excess of demand over capacity?
New urban facility being planned with a forecast

opening-day AADT of 75,000 veh/day.
i) What is the minimum number of lanes needed to

provide at least LOS D during the peak hour on
opening day?
ii) What are the speed and density of traffic for the
proposed number of lanes?
Given information:
75,000 veh/day (both directional), K=0.090,
Directional Split (55/45), FFS = 110km/h (field), PHF =
0.9, Rolling terrain, 10 percent trucks.

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CHAPTER 2: Highway Capacity

BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENTS

Basic Freeway Section-- Freeway segments that

Design Conditions-- The physical qualities of a

The base conditions under which the full

If any of these conditions fails to exist, the

 Minimum lane widths of 3.6 m,

These base conditions represent a high operating level,

LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODOLOGY

The methodology does not apply to or take into

Methodology (according to U.S. HCM 2000)

BFFS BFFS Adjustment Compute FFS

FFS is the mean speed of passenger cars measured during

Two methods can be used to determine the FFS of a basic

The field-measurement procedure is provided for users who

If field measurement of FFS is not possible, FFS can be estimated

FFS = BFFS – fLW – fLC – fN – fID

Exercise: FFS adjustment

An existing six-lane freeway in an urban area has

Calculate the free-flow speed for this section of

Solution: FFS adjustment

FFS = 110 – fLW – fLC – fN - fID

FSS =110 – 1.0 – 2.6 – 4.8 – 12.1 = 89.5 km/h

vp = 15-min passenger-car equivalent flow rate (pc/hr/ln)

Heavy Vehicle Adjustment Factor, fHV

ET , ER = passenger car equivalents for trucks or buses (T) and

A six lane freeway has a flow of 3500 vehicles.

The percentage of trucks is 5% [(180/3500) x 100],

ET = 3.0 (Exhibit 23-9)

Driver Population Factor

In this case, the driver population factor is 1.00.

Ranges between 0.85 to 1.00.

1. Define and segment the freeway facility as appropriate.

4. LOS of the basic freeway segment is then determined by

Existing four-lane freeway, rural area, very restricted

New suburban freeway is being designed. How

The Freeway Existing six-lane freeway in a growing urban

√ 5,000 veh/h (one direction, existing);

(i) What is the current LOS during the peak hour?

New urban facility being planned with a forecast

i) What is the minimum number of lanes needed to

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