Impacts of road closures on travel times

Halton Borough Council in the UK closed the Daresbury Expressway for road works in September 2023 and wanted to know how these closures affected drivers. Using a combination of custom data science services and the Road Intelligence platform, they were able to see:

• How the closure impacted journey times
• Alternative routes used by drivers and
• Confirmation of increased congestion.

The origin-destination study on the platform analysed data on the section of road outside of the detour (i.e. Mersey Gateway and Chester Road).

Data showed that the closure of the expressway increased journey times to 10 minutes (i.e. an 8-minute increase). The reopening of the trips was also analysed and data showed that speeds decreased to 1 minute and 40 seconds.

The O-D study also showed most drivers taking the same alternative route.

Custom data services also showed how trips were distributed before and after the closure. In the image, you can see that trips through the expressway during the closure are almost non-existent.