The sensitivity of transportation networks criticality to demand variation, level of supply degradation, and network abstraction

Abstract

Criticality assessment constitutes a major step towards the vulnerability analysis of transportation networks, enabling the identification of crucial infrastructure elements the unavailability of which provokes significant impacts. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which criticality in transportation networks is sensitive to several factors, including demand variation, level of capacity degradation, and network abstraction. A case study takes place in Sioux Falls, assuming that road users follow the user equilibrium routing behavior. Results showcase that criticality is sensitive to all mentioned factors, highlighting the need for transportation planning authorities to incorporate these factors in the preparation of adaptation plans to unexpected events and the enhancement of road networks robustness.