An application of the AHP method for evaluation of level crossing design in a congested urban area: case study LC Sokolska in Zagreb, Croatia

The AHP method(Analytic Hierarchy Process), as a part of the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) process, is one of the most used methods worldwide for dealing with the complexity of transport project evaluation. A level crossing (LC) is a place where road and rail cross. Therefore, LC is a place where there isa high risk of accidents.The aimof this study is to develop an AHP model for evaluating the alternatives for the reconstruction of LC in a congested urban environment through the weighting of various interdisciplinary criteria and sub-criteria. The AHP model considers six criteria:safety, traffic indicators of the functional efficiency, costs, social benefits, ecology, the time required for reconstruction of LC and their 15 sub-criteria. The model has been tested on LC Sokolska, located in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. Three possible alternatives were proposed to suit the location and the traffic conditions. The alternatives were evaluated according to the developed AHP model and the Expert Choice software package.Asensitivity analysis was performed to confirm the acceptability of the optimal solution.