Assigning on-ramp flows to maximize highway capacity

In this paper, we study the capacity of a highway with two on-ramps by using a cellular automata traffic flow model. We investigate how to improve the system capacity by assigning traffic flow to the two ramps. The system phase diagram is presented and different regions are classified. It is shown that in region I, in which both ramps are in free flow and the main road upstream of the ramps is in congestion, assigning a higher proportion of the demand to the upstream on-ramp could improve the overall flow, which is consistent with previous studies. This is explained through studying the spatiotemporal patterns and analytical investigations. In contrast, optimal assignment has not been observed in other regions. We point out that our result is robust and model independent under certain conditions.