The traffic and behavioral effects of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse

The collapse, on August 1, 2007, of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, abruptly interrupted the usual route of about 140,000 daily vehicle trips and substantially disturbed the flow pattern on the network. It took several weeks for the network to re-equilibrate, during which period, travelers continued to learn and adjust their travel decisions. A good understanding of this process is crucial for traffic management and designing mitigation schemes. A survey collected behavioral responses to the bridge collapse. Traffic data were also collected to understand the traffic conditions experienced by road users. Data from both resources are analyzed and compared. Findings of behavioral effects of capacity changes could have significant implications for travel demand modeling, especially of day-to-day travel demand.