TRANSIMS Applied for the First Time to the Chicago Metropolitan Area

February 5, 2008

A comprehensive model of the Chicago area transportation network is being developed by TRACC, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Northern Illinois University for use in transportation system and evacuation planning. Researchers have produced a comprehensive network model of the Chicago metropolitan area, covering about 25,000 square kilometers, with 23,000 links and 13,700 nodes. Boundaries include Milwaukee to the north, Rockford to the west, Gary to the south, and the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee corridor. A high-resolution model of the Chicago business district at the local street level is coupled to lower resolution models of the surrounding communities. Daily trip information based on over 25 million trips for the nearly 2,000 traffic analysis zones in the Chicago area is included, as is traveler information on the area’s transit systems, including buses, trains, and subways. For further information, contact Hubert Ley, Traffic Simulation Project Leader.