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A basic freeway section is a segment where there are no interruptions to the flow of traffic.
Interruptions to traffic flow occur when vehicles enter or leave the freeway. Therefore, a basic
freeway section is one where on or off ramps are not present for at least 1500 feet upstream and
downstream of the section.
In addition to uninterrupted conditions, the "ideal" basic freeway section is defined as having the
following characteristics:
Together, these conditions represent the "highest" (ideal) type of freeway section, which is one
with a free-flow speed of 70 mph or higher and a capacity of 2400 passenger cars per hour per
lane (pcphpl).
An understanding of the relationship between speed and flow rate is the key to determining
capacity and LOS for a specific freeway section. In general, freeways are designed to
accommodate relatively large numbers of vehicles at higher speeds than other roadways.
Free-flow speed is the term used to describe the average speed that a motorist would travel if
there were no congestion or other adverse conditions (such as bad weather). The "highest" (ideal)
type of basic freeway section is one in which the free-flow speed is 70 mph or higher. Flow rate
is defined as the rate at which traffic traverses a freeway segment, in vehicles per hour or
passenger cars per hour.
Free-flow speed is actually defined as the speed that occurs when density and flow are zero. Of
course, observing zero density and flow doesn’t make much sense. The following scenario
illustrates the relationship between Free-flow Speed and Flow Rate.
Imagine that you are the only motorist on a section of freeway that you travel frequently, the
weather is good and you are driving at a speed that is comfortable for that particular section, say
70 mph. Studies have shown that as long as the number of vehicles traveling per hour per lane on
your section of freeway does not exceed a flow rate of 1300, you will likely continue traveling at
70 mph. (This assumes all passenger cars - no trucks, buses or recreational vehicles). Your speed
will start to decrease once the flow rate exceeds 1300 passenger cars per hour per lane
(approximately 22 cars per minute, or about 1 car every 3 seconds). If you were traveling at 65
mph, your speed wouldn’t decrease until a flow rate of 1450 passenger cars per hour per lane
(pcphpl) has been reached. The relationship is shown below.
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Level of Service Criteria
Six levels of service have been defined for roadways and have been given letter designations of
A through F. LOS A represents the best level of service and LOS F represents the worst. *See
Terms and Definitions
To illustrate where each LOS falls with respect to speed and flow rate, the chart below shows
speed versus flow rate with corresponding levels of service A through E. LOS F lies beyond
LOS E. The value of the slope of each line that separates the levels of service is the maximum
density for that level of service.
For example, the line drawn for LOS E extends from the end of the free-flow speed lines to the
origin and has a slope of 45.0 pc/mi/ln. Service flow rate E is the value that corresponds to the
maximum flow rate, or capacity. Service flows C or D are usually used for most design or
planning purposes because these levels of service are more acceptable to roadway users. Note
that the flow rate at capacity for a free-flow speed of 70 mph is 2400 pcphpl. This capacity
represents ideal traffic and roadway conditions. Also note that the value of capacity varies with
the free-flow speed.
Determining the LOS for a basic freeway section involves two steps:
1) Adjusting a count or estimate of the hourly volume of vehicles to account for the effects of prevailing
traffic conditions. This module addresses step one.
2) Adjusting the free-flow speed for the prevailing design conditions of that section.
The hourly volume (in vehicles per hour) is changed to an equivalent passenger-car flow rate by allowing
for the effects of heavy vehicles (buses, trucks and recreational vehicles) on traffic flow, the variation of
traffic flow during the hour, and the characteristics of the driver population. The passenger-car equivalent
flow rate is then reported on a per lane basis. Passenger-car equivalents in passenger car per hour per lane
(pcphpl) are determined using the following equation:
Where
Values for the driver population factor, fp, range from 0.85 to 1.0. In general, the value of 1.0 is used to
reflect commuter traffic. Use of a lower value reflects more recreational traffic. The peak hour and heavy-
vehicle adjustment factors are described in their respective modules. The demonstration for this module
uses values derived from the peak-hour and heavy-vehicle adjustment factor modules.
2
Peak Hour Factor
Traffic engineers focus on the peak-hour traffic volume in evaluating capacity and other parameters
because it represents the most critical time period. And, as any motorist who travels during the morning
or evening rush hours knows, it’s the period during which traffic volume is at its highest. The analysis of
level of service is based on peak rates of flow occurring within the peak hour because substantial short-
term fluctuations typically occur during an hour. Common practice is to use a peak 15-minute rate of
flow. Flow rates are usually expressed in vehicles per hour, not vehicles per 15 minutes. The relationship
between the peak 15-minute flow rate and the full hourly volume is given by the peak-hour factor (PHF)
Where
V = peak-hour volume (vph)
V15 = volume during the peak 15 minutes of flow (veh/15 minutes)
Typical peak-hour factors for freeways range between 0.80 and 0.95. Lower factors are more typical for
rural freeways or off-peak conditions. Higher factors are typical of urban and suburban peak-hour
conditions.
Determining the adjustment factor for the presence of heavy vehicles is a two-step process:
2) Using the equivalent values and the percentage of each type to compute the adjustment factor, using
the following equation:
where
fHV = heavy-vehicle adjustment factor
ET = passenger-car equivalents for trucks and/or buses
ER = passenger-car equivalents for recreational vehicles
PT, PR = proportion of trucks or buses and RVs in the traffic
stream.
Finding ET and ER
There are two methods for finding values of ET and ER and the choice of methods depends on the
freeway grade conditions.
Method 1: If an extended length of freeway contains a number of upgrades, downgrades and level
segments, but no one grade is long enough or steep enough to have a significant impact on traffic
operations, finding ET and ER is relatively straightforward. ET and ER are shown in the following table
for extended general segments where no one grade equal to or greater than 3 percent is longer than 1/4
mile, or longer than 1/2 mile for grades less than 3 percent.
TYPE OF TERRAIN
CATEGORY LEVEL ROLLING MOUNTAINOUS
ET (Trucks and
Buses Combined) 1.5 3.0 6.0
Method 2: There are three tables you can use to find ET and ER for isolated specific up and down grades:
1. The first table is used to find the passenger car equivalent for trucks and buses on upgrades that are more than 1/2 mile
for grades less than 3 percent or 1/4 mile for grades of 3 percent or more.
2. The second table is used to find the passenger car equivalent for recreational vehicles on upgrades that are more than
1/2 mile for grades less than 3 percent or 1/4 mile for grades of 3 percent or more.
3. The third table is used to find the passenger car equivalent for trucks and buses on downgrades that are more than 4
miles for grades of 4 percent or more.
3
Free-Flow Speed Adjustment
Determining the LOS for a basic freeway section involves two steps:
1) Adjusting a count or estimate of the hourly volume of vehicles to account for the effects of prevailing
traffic conditions. See the module "Determining Flow Rate" for information on Step One.
2) Adjusting the free-flow speed for the prevailing design conditions of that section. This module
addresses the second step.
The free-flow speed of a freeway section can be obtained directly by field measurement. If field
measurements are not feasible, the free-flow speed can be estimated by the following equation, which
accounts for the effects of physical characteristics:
Where
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Table 4. Adjustment Factors for Interchange Density
Reduction in Free-Flow
Interchanges per Mile
Speed, fID (mph)
<=0.50 0.0
0.75 1.3
1.00 2.5
1.25 3.7
1.50 5.0
1.75 6.3
2.00 7.5
Once you have made the appropriate adjustments to the free-flow speed and have calculated the
equivalent passenger-car flow rate, determining LOS for a basic freeway section is as simple as looking at
the table given in the module "Level of Service Criteria and Capacity", or at the graph below.
If your free-flow speed calculation resulted in a speed other than 70, 65, 60 or 55 mph, you would
construct the appropriate curve on the graph below. The curve would have the same general shape as
those shown and would intersect the y-axis at the estimated (or measured) free-flow speed. The red line in
the figure below presents an example of a curve drawn for an estimated free-flow speed of 63 mph.
D = vp/S
where
D = density (pc/mi/ln),
vp = flow rate (pcphpl), and
S = average passenger-car speed (mph).