UFC 4-022-01
25 May 2005
The design capacity is based on the peak hour traffic volume that the entry control point
would handle without unreasonable congestion. Consider both current and future traffic
demands, where the design demand is the peak hour traffic volume, such as the
morning rush hour. If the rate of vehicles arriving at an entry control facility exceeds the
rate of processing, then congestion will occur (Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety
Bulletin: Traffic Engineering For Better Gates.) As discussed in paragraph 2-5, the
FPCON has a great effect on the processing time per vehicle and the traffic volume due
to changes in the inspection procedures and the number of authorized vehicles. The
traffic design of the ECF will consider the operations at all FPCONs. However, since
some disruption in the level of service is expected at high FPCON(s) (Charlie or Delta),
design the ECF to eliminate congestion at FPCON Bravo and below.
At FPCON Charlie and Delta, some congestion may occur but this is sometimes offset
by the installation also reducing the population seeking to enter the installation to
mission essential personnel only. Where possible, minimize the congestion during
FPCON Charlie or Delta. If the final capacity achieved at an entry control point is below
the expected peak hour traffic volume, congestion can also be reduced by implementing
staggered work hours, encouraging carpooling, adding lanes, and/or tandem processing
(multiple identification checks per lane) (Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety
Bulletin: Traffic Engineering For Better Gates.) Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety
Bulletin: Gates Revisited estimates that tandem processing may improve capacity by up
to 50% per lane. Therefore, design all entry control points to support tandem
processing. It may also be possible to design lanes to be reversible such that outbound
lanes can be used for incoming traffic during periods of peak volume. However, give
priority to maximizing the number of lanes prior to utilizing reversible lanes.
6-7.2
Adequate Lanes
The number of lanes planned for an entry control point should be sufficient to handle the
expected volume of traffic, especially during times of peak demand such as morning
rush hour. If necessary and possible, increase the number of lanes to increase the
throughput of the entry control point. To aid in the determination of the required number
of lanes, Table 6-1 provides reference information concerning the approximate
throughput of entry control points during different levels of identification.
6-20
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