José Luis Faubel Cava
Ingeniero Técnico de Obras Públicas
CPS Engineering, Civil Engineering and Environment, SL
(46021 Valencia)

José Manuel López Lita
Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos
CPS Engineering, Civil Engineering and Environment, SL
(46021 Valencia)

ABSTRACT

Spatial planning is a fact that plays a significant role in the planning and management of the road network. The new generators of traffic (large developments, commercial macrocentros) have been reaching increasingly close to high capacity roads that had as main function longhaul mobility. Thus, these routes have been forced to assume the confluence of different types of traffic (agitation and long distance), creating or adding to the problems of congestion and road safety.

A strategy that may help manage this reality on our roads, traffic control is in addition to sections of high capacity roads from such generators centers. With this measure the accesses are used to store vehicles temporarily and thus optimize the entry of such vehicles on the highway. This system, called "ramp metering" (control of access to high capacity roads) can be implemented to: minimize travel times, maximize flows of certain inputs and the ratio of use of the highway, give priority to certain types users ... etc.

This article gives an overview of the issues raised, seeks to explain this management technique and reviews experiences at national and international level.

Keywords: Access control Demand, Access Management, Traffic Congestion Road Safety, Road high capacity.