Optimized Speed Harmonization with Connected Vehicles for Work Zones

The effectiveness of speed harmonization relies on the accuracy of traffic data to predict state of congestion and determine a proper traffic control strategy. Connected Vehicles technology can be deployed to increase the accuracy of data and enhance the effectiveness of speed harmonization. This study develops Connected Vehicles Harmonizer (CVH) which is an optimization program to determine advisory speeds for connected vehicles in work zones. The effectiveness of the methodology is tested in a benchmark problem which showed more than 13% delay reduction when the penetration rate is 80% or higher.