Micro-simulation of urban expressway weaving sections using field data in Shanghai

A major social problem in the developing countries is the traffic congestion. Weaving sections are a typical type to carry out merge and diverge in urban expressways; meanwhile it is usually a traffic congested bottleneck and incident spot and is characterized for intense lane-changing and complicated driver behavior. Four weaving sections are simulated in CORSIM platform using the field data that come from the traffic information collecting system in Shanghai China. Numerous simulation tests indicated that there are differences in the recurring off-peak and peak time traffic flow in the weaving sections. Considering China´s vehicle performance, road status and driver behavior, this conclusion is determined: the main parameters affecting simulation precision are desired free-flow speed, warning sign position, gap acceptance, yield value and time to complete lane-change. Good results are obtained after using the calibrated CORSIM model in simulating the weaving sections.