Field and Modeling Framework and Case Study of Truck Weigh Station Operations: Final report

Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems improve the capacity of weigh station operations significantly by screening trucks while traveling at high speeds and only requiring trucks within a threshold of a maximum permissible gross of axle weight to be weighed on more accurate static scales. Consequently, the operation of a weigh station is highly dependent on the accuracy of the screening WIM system. This thesis develops a procedure for relating axle accuracy to gross vehicle accuracy and develops a field and modeling framework for evaluating weigh station operations. The WIM scale operation at the Stephens City weigh station in Virginia is examined to demonstrate how the field and modeling framework can be applied to evaluate the operation of a weigh station. Specifically, the field evaluation evaluated the accuracy of the WIM technology in addition to the operations of the weigh station in terms of service time, system time, and delay incurred at the static scales. During the field evaluation of the Stephens City WIM load cell system, the WIM technology was found to estimate truck weights to within 6 and 7 percent of the static weights 95 percent of the time. The modeling framework provides a methodology that can be used to determine the effects of the truck demand, the WIM accuracy, the system threshold, and the WIM calibration on system performance. The number of vehicles sent to the static scale and bypass lanes as well as the amount of delay experienced were analyzed for various system characteristics. The proposed framework can be utilized to estimate vehicle delay at a weigh station.