Analysis of Traffic Congestion Factors in Typical Sections of Expressways Using Structural Equation Model

Urban expressways serve as the main arteries of urban transportation. Congestion and traffic disruptions on expressways can easily lead to the paralysis of the entire regional transportation system. Accurately understanding the patterns of congestion formation and influencing factors on expressways is beneficial for improving traffic efficiency and reducing travel costs. This study takes typical sections of expressway diverging and exit sections as examples, introducing traffic data provided by navigation systems to explore the potential influencing factors and formation processes of urban expressway traffic congestion. This study explores the effects of operating conditions, control facilities, road properties, weather, and other factors on the smoothness of exit sections based on navigation and field survey data. The traffic congestion index is used as an indicator of congestion degree to evaluate the smoothness of typical area of urban expressways exit sections and the overall safety of urban roads. A structural equation model is used to construct a traffic congestion impact model. The results show that traffic facilities ( β = 0.462, p < 0.001), road conditions ( β = 0.177, p < 0.001), road location ( β = 0.129, p < 0.001), spatiotemporal characteristics (time of day: β = 0.295, p < 0.001; day of week: β = −0.105, p < 0.001), environment ( β = 0.021, p < 0.001), and driving behavior ( β = 0.326, p < 0.001) have a significant impact on traffic congestion. And driving behavior can be used as an intermediate variable to affect the relationship between transportation facilities, road conditions, road location, spatiotemporal characteristics, environment, and traffic congestion. The research contributes to a precise understanding of the formation patterns and influencing factors of urban expressway traffic congestion, laying the groundwork for the adoption of targeted traffic management measures to improve traffic flow efficiency and reduce accident occurrences.