Modeling the Santa Monica Freeway Corridor: Simulation Experiments

The report describes the findings of a study to develop a simulation testbed for the Santa Monica freeway corridor. The study created one of the largest freeway corridor networks coded for the CORSIM microscopic simulation model. The coded network consists of about 10 miles of I-10 freeway and a surface street network with 75 signalized intersections. The results from the simulation experiments indicate that several CORSIM model parameters need to be adjusted in order to accurately simulate freeway facilities for California conditions. The calibrated CORSIM model produced reasonable and consistent results for freeway lane drops, merging areas and weaving sections. Similar results were obtained from the limited experiments with the INTEGRATION simulation model. Recommendations are provided for developing a comprehensive simulation testbed for the study area including data collection requirements, model application, model calibration and validation and analysis of alternative ATMIS strategies.