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TTI Report 1745-2, "User's Manual for QUEWZ-98"

QUEWZ-98 available for planning lane closures

Computer models can be a big help with work zone road closures. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), has developed a microcomputer analysis tool, QUEWZ-98, that estimates traffic impacts, emissions and additional road user costs resulting from short-term lane closures in work zones. The program and manual provide critical information to personnel responsible for planning and scheduling freeway work zone activities.

QUEWZ-98 is the latest version of QUEWZ (Queue and User Cost Evaluation of Work Zones), a mainframe program developed for TxDOT to simulate traffic flows through freeway segments (both with and without a work zone lane closure) and estimate changes in traffic flow characteristics and added costs due to closures.

The model can be applied to freeway facilities or multilane divided highways with as many as six lanes in each direction and can analyze 24 consecutive hours of operation. Output comes in two different forms: (1) road user cost output and (2) lane closure schedule output.

The road user cost output is the estimate of traffic conditions (volumes, capacities, speeds, queue length, etc.) and the additional road user costs for each hour that traffic conditions are affected by the lane closure. Estimates of excess emissions due to the closure are also available as part of the road user cost output. The lane closure schedule output summarizes the hours of the day during which a given number of lanes can be closed without causing excessive congestion. With these projections, transportation personnel can create more efficient, cost-effective plans for lane closures on roadway work zones.

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