Short-Term Improvements To Increase Capacity of Highly Congested Mainline Toll Plazas in Puerto Rico

In 1993 the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico (DTPW) implemented toll gates at expressway toll collection plazas because of significant losses in revenue caused by failure of motorists to pay the established fee. However, it was presumed that the use of toll gates as an enforcement device for effective traffic control might create additional delays, particularly during peak hours in already highly congested toll plazas near metropolitan areas. The lack of additional open space to expand the existing toll facilities combined with the negative public image associated with high levels of congestion, attributed to implementation of the toll gates, triggered the need to explore cost-effective, short-term alternative solutions. DTPW efforts to address the issues of congestion and negative public image in the highly congested toll facilities are described. A series of experimental studies were performed to assess the effectiveness of toll gates and automatic vehicle identification (AVI) technology in increasing the capacity of low-volume and highly congested toll facilities. The findings were analyzed for significant differences in delays and for potential changes in driver behavior that could assist in mitigating delays at the toll plazas. The results of the first study revealed that the implementation of toll gates creates additional delays for users. The second study found that AVI technology is fast, efficient, and reliable in the detection of vehicles when used in low-volume toll plazas; however, it is not efficient in highly congested toll plazas because of the additional delays generated from the queue. In the third study it was demonstrated that the use of ushers to collect coins from drivers and deposit them in the toll basket resulted in a significant increase in capacity at toll plaza stations, time savings, and fuel economy for users.