SOLVING A TIME-DEPENDENT ARC ROUTING PROBLEM UNDER DIFFERENT TRAFFIC DYNAMICS

This paper investigates a metaheuristic approach for solving the Time-Dependent Windy Rural Postman Problem (TDWRPP) under varying traffic patterns. This problem accounts for travel times that vary with both direction and time of day. To reflect distinct traffic dynamics, classes of instances are generated. Initial solutions are generated using a constructive heuristic, while an adaptive approach, employing genetic algorithms with biased random keys, then seeks to optimize these solutions. For each class of instances, the improvement in solution quality is evaluated using nonparametric tests. Significant differences were found across the different traffic patterns. Specifically, in more adverse traffic conditions, the metaheuristic approach yielded a more substantial improvement over the initial solution.