A Dynamic Transportation Planning Support System for Hurricane Evacuation

In this paper, we describe a dynamic network optimization-based solution framework that effectively integrates the management of complex information with traffic strategies and logistics support. This framework is composed of a transportation management function, a logistics support and capacity refinement function, and a validation function. The transportation management function is central to this solution framework and is mainly composed of four modules; a rough-cut capacity plan (RCCP), a detailed capacity plan (DCP), a restricted evacuation plan (REP) and an enforced evacuation plan (EEP). This research has been motivated by the challenges experienced during the hurricane Rita evacuation of the City of Houston. This tool is expected to provide an intelligent systematic methodology that can be used by transportation planners and emergency agencies to improve traffic management during hurricane evacuation, enhance public safety, and mitigate the overall economic impact of evacuation