Analysis of Islamabad Signal Free Corridor as a Congestion Mitigation Solution

Abstract

The uncontrolled growth in urbanization and motorization generally contributes to an urban land use and transportation system that is socially, economically, and environmentally unsustainable. Pakistan has experienced a rapid motorization in last one decade as motorized vehicle population increased from about 5.3 million in year 2002 to 11 million vehicles of all type in year 2012. Also, the largescale migration of people into cities has resulted into urban sprawl and is incurring huge social cost in term of traffic congestion and higher housing prices. The transportation infrastructure of cities like Islamabad is unable to meet the enhanced traffic demand due to increased motorization. A well-planned, efficient and sensible transportation system is necessary to ensure the better traffic movement and operational condition of road system. This study uses Islamabad as a case study, which is one of the largest urban and economic centers of Pakistan, passing through an uncontrolled phase of rapid urbanization and motorization. This research will evaluate the existing Islamabad Expressway, which is in the process of upgradation to signal free corridor from Zero Point to Rawat, as congestion mitigation solution. The design of this corridor is as per traffic count data to cater for next 15 years according to the policy makers. Therefore, the sustainability of this project will be determined. Growth rate modeling and other image processing techniques will be used to determine the traffic growth rate of this region to forecast the future traffic. Finally, some new strategies are suggested, adoption of which will lead to an efficient and sustainable road network. Key Words: Congestion, Sustainable road network, Traffic growth rate modeling