Optimization of lane-changing distribution for a motorway weaving segment

The traffic in a weaving segment is subject to lane-changing turbulence in excess of that normally present on basic motorway segments. Empirical studies have observed a lane-changing concentration problem, as traffic flow increases, which can cause flow break down and congestion. This paper focuses on the lane-changing concentration problem in weaving segments. A Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS) advisory has been shown to alleviate such a lane-changing concentration problem. The advisory aims to distribute the lane-changing along the weaving segment. Unlike previous methods in the literature, where weaving vehicles are assigned according to fixed distributions, this paper proposes an algorithm to optimize the lane-changing distribution. The proposed optimization algorithm was developed based on particle swarm optimization. The optimized lane-changing distribution for a one-sided motorway weaving segment using microscopic simulation has been evaluated. The initial results show that the proposed algorithm could be used as a successful optimization technique for the lane- changing concentration problem.