Abstract:
The freeway and arterial network serving the Bridge of Americas Port of Entry (BOTA) is complex. Several freeways converge in this corridor including Interstate Highway (IH) 110, IH 10, Border Highway and US 54. The international border crossing is the source of considerable congestion and imposed several design and analysis challenges on the corridor. These factors included the high percentage of trucks on some routes, the operations at the border crossing, the directionality characteristics of the traffic, and the US Customs facility operations. Under these circumstances at and near BOTA, there are a number of direct movements that are not possible under the current highway network and others that involve circuitous routing. The Corridor Simulation model (CORSIM) was calibrated using the existing network and was used to analyze the future traffic conditions in the study corridor, as well as to evaluate the impacts on traffic operations due to the construction of proposed future ramps. CORSIM was selected for analysis purposes due to the complexity of the network and also the animation capabilities needed for the public presentations. There were several agencies involved in the process including the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), City of El Paso, El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization, US Customs, the trucking industry, and the Maquiladora (twin plant industry). The results of the study were presented to TxDOT and concerned entities and finally to the Federal Highway Administration for their approval of these ramps for construction.
