Simulation of alternative approaches to relieving congestion at locks in a river transportion system

We construct a discrete-event simulation model to investigate the impact of alternative decision rules and infrastructural improvements to relieve traffic congestion in a section of the Upper Mississippi River navigation system. The model covers a series of five locks that serve commercial tows with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Operational Research Society 2009-04, Vol.60 (4), p.519-533
Main Authors: Smith, L D, Sweeney, D C, Campbell, J F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Barges
Business and Management
Canal locks
Case-Oriented Paper
Case-Oriented Papers
Decision theory. Utility theory
Efficiency
Exact sciences and technology
Integer programming
lock operations
Management
Modeling
Mooring buoys
Navigation systems
Operational research and scientific management
Operational research. Management science
Operations research
Operations Research/Decision Theory
Portfolio theory
Queuing theory. Traffic theory
River networks
Rivers
Scheduling
scheduling and sequencing
series of queues
Ships
Simulation
simulation application
Simulations
Studies
Traffic congestion
Traffic estimation
Traffic simulation
Water traffic
water transportation
Waterways
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Summary:We construct a discrete-event simulation model to investigate the impact of alternative decision rules and infrastructural improvements to relieve traffic congestion in a section of the Upper Mississippi River navigation system. The model covers a series of five locks that serve commercial tows with widely different barge configurations, as well as private recreational vessels. Mixes and intensities of vessel activity are highly dependent on the time of year, day of week and time of day. The model reveals that some improvement in performance (especially in peak periods) can be achieved by scheduling lock activity with priority given to vessels with shortest average processing and lock set-up times (tempered by the time that vessels have spent in queue). Greater improvement occurs with the use of helper boats and greatest improvement occurs with enlarged locks. The alternative remedies must be evaluated with consideration of their dramatically different capital costs.
ISSN:0160-5682
1476-9360
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602587