Simulation Test-bed and Evaluation of Truck Movement Concepts on Terminal Efficiency and Traffic Flow

i Disclaimer The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Transportation assume no liability for the contents or use thereof. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the State of California or the Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. ii Abstract Marine terminals are in need of additional capacity in order to handle increasing demands. In metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles/Long Beach, the scarcity and high cost of land forces the terminals to increase capacity by using advanced technologies rather than expanding in square footage. Higher efficiency within the terminals however could imply more truck traffic in and out of the terminal that will lead to congestion on the roadway network adjacent to the terminals. This traffic congestion will, in turn have a negative effect on the efficiency of the terminals, in addition to increased pollution. It is therefore clear that the efficiency and capacity of the terminals cannot be decoupled from the effect on congestion on the traffic network outside the terminals. In this study we develop a simulation test bed that allows us to investigate the impact of various technologies and concepts on the terminal capacity and cost as well as on the traffic network outside the terminals in an integrated manner. The test bed is of general use and could be employed to evaluate a wide range of concepts and technologies associated with terminals and ports and the traffic network surrounding them. The test bed is used to evaluate and analyze truck movement concepts that include the use of an inland port with dedicated truck lanes; empty container reuse strategies; and centralized processing and use of chassis. The test bed consists of three modules: TermSim, TrafficSim and TermCost. The TermSim module includes the simulation of operations within the terminal and at the interfaces. The TrafficSim module includes the simulation of trucks, vehicles and traffic flow on the roadway network outside the terminals. TermSim interacts with TrafficSim at the interfaces. The TermCost module is a cost model developed by the authors for cost evaluation of terminals and is used to evaluate the concepts under consideration. The TermCost module interacts with TermSim. An inland port concept and empty container reuse …