CSCE 2013 General Conference - Congrès général 2013 de la SCGC Montréal, Québec May 29 to June 1, 2013 / 29 mai au 1 juin 2013 GEN-211-1 Microsimulation-based Impact Assessment of the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) System for Work Zone Safety A. Olia 1 , W. Genders 2 , S.N. Razavi 3 1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University 2 Student, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University Abstract: Work zone is area of a highway or urban network which is under heavy construction to build new facilities or expand or maintain the existing infrastructure. Work zones can potentially cause significant disruptions to local traffic due to the dynamic nature of construction and the uncertainties involved in its related logistics The main focus of this research is to evaluate potential benefits of developing and deploying Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication system, V2V, to improve safety around work zones. To assess the benefits associated with V2V, micro-simulation traffic modeling will be employed to precisely model and implement a Connected Vehicle environment. Micro-simulation can provide construction logisticians, transportation agencies and material suppliers with valuable information on the traffic conditions of the existing networks. Two application programming interfaces have been developed within the model; The first API simulates communication between V2V-enabled vehicles which results in Connected Vehicles taking alternate routes to pass the hazard zone which are affected by the incident or lane closure due to the work zone. The second API simulates random incidents and the third API collects statistics associated with safety indexes. This research is also trying to quantify the benefits associated with developing a Connected Vehicle system and assessing the performance of the system under different congestion levels, rates of market penetration, and lane closure configurations. The outcome of this study would benefit different jurisdictions in construction management, transportation management, supply chain management and construction logistic. 1 Introduction: Connected Vehicle is a US Department of Transportation program to develop and deploy a fully connected transportation system which enables data exchange among vehicles, infrastructure, and mobile devices in order to improve safety, mobility and reduce the environmental impact of transportation systems (USDOT). The initial concept of Connected Vehicle system is to establish a network environment between vehicles. Connected Vehicle’s employs advanced information and communication technologies to prevent traffic congestion, reduce collisions and reduce environmental impact. A construction zone is an area of highway or urban road with heavy construction, expansion or repair. Work zones can remarkably affect safety. According to statistics by Transport Canada, every year approximately 20 fatalities and 1600 injuries occur across Canada. There are different ways to improve safety around construction zones, ranging from signs or pavement markings to using new ITS application. Recent advances in Intelligent Transportation Systems have made it possible to use new technologies to improve the work zone safety. These technologies include, but are not limited to, variable message signs, variable speed limits and dynamic lane merging systems. Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication system, V2V, is one