IICSD-2015 Page 1 International Conference on Recent Innovation in Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development (IICSD-2015) Department of Civil Engineering DUET - Gazipur, Bangladesh A Study on the Congestion Level and Delay of Mirpur Arterial using ArcGIS T. Ahamed 1 , Md. M. Rahman 2 Abstract At present, traffic congestion problems in major corridors of Dhaka city are getting worse day by day. The objective of this study is to represent the severity of traffic congestion on a major arterial (Mirpur Road) of Dhaka city (Bangladesh) using ArcGIS. The congestion level of Mirpur arterial was evaluated in terms of travel rate. The study compared vehicle speed, delay, and travel time, in a free-flow condition and actual condition found on the roadway and congestion level were plotted using ArcGIS. Also, different sectional as well as intersectional delay were computed. For delay measurement, twelve sections and thirteen intersections were surveyed. Traffic volume data, speed data, cycle time, effective green time etc. were collected. Intersectional delay was calculated using Webster’s delay model. From the study, it is evident that majority of the segments on Mirpur arterial have a congestion level between Very High to High. Due to over saturated condition of signalized intersection, delay per vehicle is piling up. Elimination of signal system like Shaymoli and Shishu Mela intersections might be very useful. Currently, these intersections are experiencing very little delay due to banning of right turn traffic. However, grade separation would be potential solution for severe congested sections. Keywords: ArcGIS, congestion level, travel rate, Webster’s delay model. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background Traffic congestion is now becoming a frequent phenomenon in Dhaka city. The increase in population over the years and high rural to urban migration has led to a situation where transport services are no longer able to respond efficiently. The two arterials in Metropolitan Dhaka that are providing with mobility and access are Mirpur Road and Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue. They are experiencing congestion and thus fail to provide their primary function of giving mobility to through traffic, like other streets in Dhaka City. Therefore, there is a need to undertake a study that will assess congestion level and delay based on some established measure of effectiveness. 1.2. Purpose and scope of the study The main purpose of this study was to evaluate congestion levels on Mirpur Arterial. Congestion levels were evaluated in terms of travel rate. Moreover, some traffic parameters such as: Free flow speed, Actual speed, Actual delay, Free flow time, Actual delay, Travel rate, Delay rate, Relative delay rate were also measured and compared. 1 In this study, uniform delay was evaluated by Webster’s delay model in different intersections. For computing the sectional delay, the lowest possible travel time on a particular segment was determined from the recorded running time. Then the average travel time on that particular 1 Tanvir Ahamed, BUET, tanvir.ahamed@hotmail.com 2 Md. Mizanur Rahman, Professor of BUET, mizanur@ce.buet.ac.bd