Evaluating and Improving the 14th of July Arterial Corridor

Abstract

The 14^th of July Arterial Road is one of the most important urban roads in western Baghdad, experiencing heavy traffic congestion during rush hour from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. It has become a major traffic congestion problem. It is one of the most attractive main roads in Baghdad due to its location, extending from the north to the city center, and its connection to several major roads. In this research, three links on the 14^th of July Arterial Road were selected: link 1 from Aden intersection to Sana'a intersection, link 2 from Sana'a to Tobji intersection, and link 3 from Tobji intersection to Al-Shaljiya intersection. The performance of the 14^th of July Road and its intersections was analyzed using Synchro11 software under current operating conditions to study the impact of intersections on travel time on the 14th of July Arterial Road. The analysis results showed that the travel time northbound was 860.6 s with a level of service of F, and the travel time southbound was 989.9 s with a level of service of F. To improve the travel time and level of service on the main road, overpasses were proposed at the intersections. The analysis conducted after improving the intersections of 14^th July Road revealed that the travel time to the northbound became 372.5 sec with service level C, and the travel time to the southbound became 249.6 sec with service level B.