A simulation study on prioritizing connected freight vehicles at intersections for traffic flow optimization (industrial paper)

Hairuo Xie, Renata Borovica-Gajic, Egemen Tanin, Shanika Karunasekera, Udesh Gunarathna, Gilbert Oppy, Majid Sarvi

Abstract: Due to the importance of road freight, there is a significant cost of delaying freight vehicles on the road. In this work, we focus on freight vehicle optimization by reducing delays at intersections. Our simulation study evaluates the effectiveness of an autonomous intersection management strategy that prioritizes connected freight vehicles using intelligent traffic lights. We simulate a wide range of traffic scenarios on our microscopic traffic simulator. Our results show that the strategy can help reduce the delay of freight vehicles with a minimal impact on other vehicles in a real road network. Our simulations also reveal the scenarios where the strategy works best and where it should be avoided. Effects of individual parameters are also measured through simulations.