Traffic characteristics of Marina Coastal Expressway

• Main Author: Tai, Matthew Sheng Xiong
• Other Authors: Gopinath Menon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering::Transportation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63653
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Traffic incidents and accidents are undesirable occurrences as they cause congestions and pose a hazard to other road users. This issue is further compounded if it occurs in an undersea tunnel expressway where the ramifications are magnified compared to an open expressway. Returning traffic flow to normality and ensuring the safety of road users is ensured by the constant monitoring of the expressway from a control centre and deploying vehicle recovery crew to assist affected vehicles. Occurrences are defined as incidents and accidents. Incidents entail vehicle-related causes such as mechanical fault, flat tyre; owner-related causes such as no petrol, unattended/abandoned vehicle and other causes such as road debris and unwell drivers. Accidents include collisions between vehicles, self-skidded and other types of accidents such as hitting cones laid out in the tunnel during service works. Relevant traffic data for the month of April 2014 obtained from the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) Operations Control Center (OCC). The report employs this data to statistically analyse and examine the occurrences of the MCE and determine the effectiveness of the MCE OCC in dealing with such occurrences. Results of the study revealed that approximately one-fifth of occurrences in the MCE are accidents and a futher one-fifth of these accidents involve injuries. It is also determined that there are no differences in the mean response time of the recovery crew between weekdays and weekends, as well as between peak and off-peak period. The ratio of availability of the MCE for the month of April 14 is 0.93, indicating that the MCE is operating more than 90% of the time in ideal conditions. Analysis has also ascertained that there are no particular types of vehicle that are more prone to an accident/incident on the MCE. Measures which prevent occurrences from recurring include campaigns that remind road users to ensure that their vehicles are road-worthy.