Evaluating the Vulnerability and Impact Zones of Urban River-Crossing Corridors: A Case Study of Wuhan, China

What the paper says

Urban river-crossing corridors, such as bridges and tunnels, are critical yet vulnerable links in metropolitan transportation networks, where disruptions can cause severe system-wide impacts due to limited redundancy and concentrated traffic flows. This study proposes a novel dual-indicator framework integrating vehicle detour efficiency and public transportation substitution capacity to comprehensively evaluate the vulnerability and substitutability of urban river-crossing corridors. The methodology is empirically applied to Wuhan, China—a megacity characterized by a dense network of river-crossing infrastructure. Using extensive ride-hailing trajectory data, multitemporal travel simulations, and spatial analysis of traffic analysis zones (TAZs), we systematically assess the vulnerability patterns and substitution dynamics of nine key Yangtze River crossings. Our findings reveal significant heterogeneity in vulnerability levels: peripheral corridors exhibit markedly higher vulnerability and wider impact zones than central corridors due to lower bridge density and insufficient public transit alternatives. The study also identifies spatially contiguous strip-shaped vulnerability impact areas and highlights that residents in peripheral zones face greater challenges in shifting from private vehicle to public transit during corridor disruptions. These insights provide critical implications for enhancing the resilience of river-crossing networks while also informing strategic urban transportation planning in riverine cities.