Zhang's Second Order Traffic Flow Model and Its Application to the Kisii-Kisumu Highway within Kisii County

Most highways experience traffic jams as a result of various reasons and hence need for a practical solution. Traffic flow models play an important role in both today-s traffic research and in many traffic applications such as traffic flow prediction, incident detection and traffic control. In this project report, I considered the macroscopic Zhang-s second order traffic flow model. Macroscopic modeling approach is most suitable for a correct description of traffic flow. Macroscopic traffic flow variables like traffic density and average traffic velocity, which reflect the average state of the road traffic, were considered. It is the variables that define the order of any traffic flow model. The Zhang-s second-order macroscopic traffic flow model was applied to the Kisii-Kisumu highway within Kisii County. The viscous continuum traffic flow model was studied numerically using the finite difference approximation method. The flow problem was solved to show that it was stable and efficient. The graphical presentation of numerical results produced verified some well understood qualitative behavior of traffic flow. This model was tested using the Kisii-Kisumu highway and may be extended to other roads.