Analysis of Traffic Congestion Mitigating Measures on Mall Road Rawalpindi (GPO to EME Mess Intersection) by Using PTV VISSIM

Abstract

Due to ever expanding population and urbanization, there exists an extreme issue of traffic congestion on major city roads. Similar situation is currently being faced on Mall Road Rawalpindi especially starting from GPO Intersection to EME Mess Intersection due to existence of commercial hub, expansive number of intersections within few kilometers, nonexistence of city bypass and presence of key installations on its outskirts i.e. GHQ, Military Hospital, PC Hotel and various schools and colleges. Despite of various short-term congestion mitigation measures taken by city authorities in the past few years, problem of traffic congestion on this road is still on the rise. With this perspective, this project was undertaken to carry out a detail analysis of selected road section and intersections to propose a permanent viable solution. Necessary traffic data was obtained with the help of traffic police and on-site video recording. PTV VISSIM Software was used to simulate the existing level of service which ultimately helped in identification of key issues as well as finding viable solutions to make the selected road section a signal fee signal free passage, which included flyover, underpass, signal optimization and provision of additional and exclusive lanes. Implementation of this project will not only help in minimizing congestion and improving travel time but will also create an overall positive environmental impact on surrounding