Pittsburgh – Public Works officials had consulted with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to predict where traffic would be the worst. Sean Qian, the head of CMU’s Traffic21 Mobility Analytics Center, used congestion data from PennDOT and private research from INRIX in a computer model to simulate where traffic would head without the bridge.
The first report focused on the morning commute from 5 to 10 a.m. The model predicted an 88 percent increase in traffic along Murray Avenue likely would be the heaviest congestion. It predicted a 23 percent increase in traffic heading south along Beechwood Boulevard at Forward Avenue.
Qian said the results are meant to help inform planners about traffic problems they may need to address, such as where to re-time signals. It’s the first time, to his knowledge, the computer model has been used with city planners.
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