Safety Evaluation of Traffic Merging Control Methods for Freeway Work Zone

Traffic safety in freeway work zones is of keen interest since both crash frequency and severity are much higher than those in general freeway sections. The lane closure in work zones results in greater work load of drivers due to compulsory lane changes and speed reduction. Therefore, traffic merging control is an effective countermeasure for enhancing work zone safety. This study proposed an integrated framework based on driving and traffic simulations to evaluate traffic merging control methods in terms of traffic safety. In addition to the conventional merging method using the taper, joint merge and chicane-type merge were evaluated by the proposed methodology. Chicane-type merge outperformed other methods under level of service (LOS) A and B. On the other hand, it was identified that joint merge showed the best safety performance under LOS C traffic conditions.