PERFORMANCE OF OPTIMISED FIXED-TIME SIGNAL CONTROL DURING DRY AND WET WEATHER CONDITIONS USING VISSIM SIMULATION (CASE STUDY: THIRD EAST CIRCULAR JUNCTION, BENIN CITY)

Traffic congestion is a widespread urban problem with significant economic, environmental, and social consequences. It occurs when the demand for road space exceeds its capacity. Key contributors to congestion include increased vehicle ownership, insufficient road infrastructure, poor traffic management, and traffic incidents like accidents and breakdowns. The impacts are severe, leading to economic losses from wasted fuel and lost productivity, environmental degradation through increased emissions, and social issues such as stress and reduced quality of life. Congestion also reduces the overall efficiency of road networks. To mitigate these issues, various strategies are employed, including infrastructure improvements, the implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and enhancements to public transportation (Rao and Rao, 2015). Traffic congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) of Benin City, Nigeria, is a significant issue driven by rapid urbanisation, inadequate road
infrastructure, limited parking spaces, roadside trading, and outdated town planning. The CBD, a commercial hub with high vehicle volumes on roads, experiences severe socioeconomic impacts including delayed arrivals, time wastage, increased transport costs, and reduced productivity (Awere and Eghareuba, 2022)