Comparison of macroscopic models for control of freeway traffic

This paper presents a unifying review of four independently developed deterministic macroscopic models of multi-lane freeway traffic. It is shown that all models can be deduced from a common set of three basic principles of traffic flow: the conservation equation, the volume-density characteristic and the dynamics of the mean speed. The relationships among the various models with respect to their structural characteristics and accuracy as well as their usefulness for the theoretical development of control strategies are outlined.