Review Reports - Evaluation of Different Work Zone Road-Occupation Schemes for Monorail Construction

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper presents a very interesting and current topic, which is essential for the traffic control. However, before publishing the paper, I suggest a minor revision.

The paper analyzes the impact of work zones on traffic operations. Most of the research in this area focuses on various capacity theoretical models or traffic flow control strategies. Unlike that, this paper primarily investigates the influence of work zone layout on intersections during the construction of monorail systems. This study selects the monorail work zone at an intersection as the research subject.

In the literature review, it can be noted that some authors have dealt with analyzing the effects of construction work zones on traffic efficiency. Additionally, there are studies in which the authors were involved in developing different approaches to choose the optimal plan to reduce travel delays and improve road capacity. Additionally, existing research results mostly focus on management strategies, strategies for controlling traffic flow, establishment of various models, and the impact of work areas on roads.

In the continuation of the paper, the analyzed problem is described, the methodology applied, the sensitivity analysis carried out, and the final results are presented.

The suggestions are primarily of a technical nature, you can find them below:

-        Standardize the column title format in the tables throughout the manuscript,
-        Avoid starting sentences with references, e.g., line 116, 118...,
-        Define abbreviations when they are first mentioned in the text,
-        It would be good to include higher quality images within Figure 4,5, if possible.

Author Response

Please check the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript investigates three schemes for work zone locations upstream and intersection. The authors used VISSIM software in their investigation. In my opinion, the manuscript misses some major points that should be addressed before the final acceptance.

1. In the literature section, the reference writing style is not appropriate; we should not say [35] analyzed. Instead, in [35], the safety impact was analyzed. Correct all the similarities.

2. At the end of the literature, you should state your contribution clearly, not just focus on the gaps.

3. Figure 1 should accompanied by a detailed drawn layout.

4. The calibration program references and at least abstract details should be mentioned.

5. A reference is needed for the accuracy threshold of 15%.

6. The inaccuracies for left turn and right turn that reached 38% should be discussed.

7. Sensitivity analysis should be presented in a mathematical form, see Owais, Mahmoud. "Analysing Witczak 1-37A, Witczak 1-40D and Modified Hirsch Models for asphalt dynamic modulus prediction using global sensitivity analysis." International Journal of Pavement Engineering 24.1 (2023): 2268808. For more reference on how to introduce sensitivity analysis in a general form.

8. The indicators should be written on the vertical axes in Fig. 4.

9. The entropy weight evaluation method needs a separate subsection in the methodology to describe its theoretical basis to justify its use in the research.

10. Some apparent typos should be addressed mainly in the conclusion section.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Some apparent typos should be addressed mainly in the conclusion section.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Due to the growing demand for transportation, road repairs are inevitable, and the emergence of work zones has become a common problem in traffic management. The location of these work zones often cannot be changed, and the current gap is the selection and evaluation of work zone location. Therefore, this paper studied and investigated the traffic flow distortion situation caused by the installation of work zones at an intersection.
To determine the optimal location of the work zone in different traffic situations, the authors used the entropy weight method to assign weight to several indicators, which allows for a comprehensive evaluation of different schemes. The results showed that the highest level of improvement among the six indicators was 50.2%, and different schemes adapted to different traffic situations.
Thus, in order to reduce the traffic pressure caused by the construction zone at the intersection, different forms of lane occupancy in the overhead rail work zone were analyzed for different traffic volumes. This study applied a unique multi-objective decision-making method to evaluate the impact of different work zones on intersection operations. To ensure the accuracy and completeness of the modeling results, 5 typical performance indicators and 1 safety indicator were selected for simulation modeling.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Moderate editing of English language required

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Research is an engineering work. This character represents a positive aspect. The works that are the basis of the research can be found in the first two chapters. The software tool is PTV VISSIM. The authors did not abuse the information provided by them, but perhaps more information would have been necessary. The conclusions are useful for the researcher to understand how the authors concluded the research. However, I think that solving the following shortcomings would improve the paper:

- the authors can present several aspects related to the way they built and set the microsimulation model from PTV VISSIM

-Table 1 contains statistics from which time interval?

- Table 3 is totally incomprehensible. I can't understand what information it contains?

-The same thing for Table 6

-Figures 4 and 5 are extremely beautiful. However, it is difficult for me to understand what they contain. I recommend more reader-friendly uses.