Question

(15 points) During morning peak hours, the average flow rate of eastbound traffic (2 lanes)on l-20/1-59 in Tuscaloosa is 5000 veh/hr with speed of 45 mph. Due to a fatal

crash, the police must close all eastbound lanes. A half-mile queue of 400 vehicles forms very quickly .Estimate the shockwave speed.

Fig: 1

Fig: 2