Disruption and Recovery: Initial Assessment of COVID-19 Traffic Impacts in North Carolina and Virginia

Abstract

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every aspect of peoples' lives, including their mobility. In this study, the impact of closures related to the pandemic on traffic patterns is assessed for the state of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The results of the initial assessments indicated that the average reduction in traffic volume was 27% across North Carolina and Virginia. Findings suggest that a slight increase in traffic at the beginning of the stay-at-home orders was followed by at most a 40% reduction after closures. The changes in traffic volumes in terms of road and vehicle classification are most substantial in Interstate routes and for passenger cars and buses. The average recovery rate of traffic volume after the occurrence of the maximum reductions was between 2.3% and 3.4% per week.

How Does COVID-19 Affect Traffic on Highway Network: Evidence from Yunnan Province, China

“…e time needed for recovery varies from region to region. For example, in North Carolina and Virginia, the average weekly recovery rate of traffic volume was in a range of 2.3%-3.4% per week [28]. However, by the time, the study has been finished, and the average traffic still had not entirely returned to normal [28].…”

“…For example, in North Carolina and Virginia, the average weekly recovery rate of traffic volume was in a range of 2.3%-3.4% per week [28]. However, by the time, the study has been finished, and the average traffic still had not entirely returned to normal [28]. erefore, although the traffic has trended back after the policy was eased, it is hard to return to preoutbreak status within a few months.…”

“…Since the impacts of the COVID-19 occurred in 2020, many studies chose 2019 traffic data as the historical baseline data for comparison. For example, equation (1), which calculates the percentage of change in traffic from 2019 to 2020, was applied to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on traffic in North Carolina and Virginia [28]. Some similar studies in different countries also adopted similar metrics to evaluate traffic reduction [6,25].…”

An Improved STL-LSTM Model for Daily Bus Passenger Flow Prediction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…They predicted that the demand would not fully recover to that in the period before COVID-19. Goenaga et al [ 38 ] assessed the impact of closures related to the pandemic on traffic patterns for the state of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Chen et al [ 39 ] established a dynamic programming model based on nonlinear integer programming to study the problem of boarding and alighting planning at various customized bus stops under the influence of COVID-19.…”

Using a digital twin to explore water infrastructure impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Changes in daily patterns associated with social distancing and working from home led to changes in the use of infrastructure, as people avoided places of business, industries, and institutions ( Xie et al., 2021 ). Impacts of the pandemic on infrastructure and the environment have been reported for transportation systems ( Goenaga et al., 2021 ), the construction industry ( Alsharef et al., 2021 ), air quality ( Berman and Ebisu, 2020 ), natural water systems ( Braga et al., 2020 ), and water utilities ( Berglund, Thelemaque, Spearing, Faust, Kaminsky, Sela, Goharian, Abokifa, Lee, Keck, et al., 2021b , Spearing, Thelemaque, Kaminsky, Katz, Kinney, Kirisits, Sela, Faust, 2021 ). This research focuses on the consequences for drinking water distribution infrastructure due to changes in the timing, types, and magnitude of water demands.…”