Feasibility study of highway project in the environment sensitive area of Western China -- Based on the magic cube model of construction necessity and ecological friendliness

Abstract

Under the background of the strategy of “strong transportation country”, the feasibility study of highway network construction is a hot topic in academic fields such as highway line selection. It is also an important means to promote development of eco-sensitive regions such as Sanjiangyuan in Qinghai-Tibet plateau. We selected 17 indexes of construction necessity and 9 indexes of ecological friendliness to evaluate the feasibility of highway network construction. The indexes were weighted by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and expert scoring method. Furthermore, we used comprehensive factor evaluation model to quantify the construction necessity and ecological friendliness of planning highways in Sanjiangyuan. Finally, we used the magic cube model to calculate the score of construction feasibility. The result shows the number of planning highways with high, relatively-high, medium, relatively-low and low construction feasibility is 16, 11, 11, 11 and 1, respectively. The feasibility of planning highway construction in the eastern and western region of Sanjiangyuan is similar generally, which don’t have big interregional difference. Results of this study can provide technical support and theoretical basis for regional highway network construction and traffic route planning in underdeveloped areas in the West China.