Suppressing shock waves on the A1 in The Netherlands – Model calibration and model-based predictive control

We now apply the model predictive control (MPC) of speed limits that we have presented in previous publications [1], [2] to a calibrated METANET model of a 19 km stretch of the real-world freeway A1 in The Netherlands. This freeway regularly suffers from shock waves originating mainly from onramps, and speed limits are now used to suppress these shock waves. First, we calibrate and validate the extended METANET model with data from the A1 freeway, and we use the Delft OD method to estimate the origin-destination patterns that are needed for the simulation of the destination oriented traffic. Next, we verify from data whether the necessary conditions for applying speed limits against shock waves are satisfied. We show that the MPC controller performs well even under the assumption that the traffic demand is not known on the on-ramps and is known for only a few kilometers upstream and downstream of the controlled stretch. This approach results in an improvement of the total time spent in the network with about 15%.