A Method for Finding the Shortest Route Through a Road Network

When a new road is being planned it is necessary to assess how much traffic will be diverted to it from various parts of the existing road network. This allocation of traffic has usually been based on a comparison of journey times or journey costs on alternative routes, and has depended on the selection, by trial and error, of the cheapest route through the network.A method is described which determines the shortest or cheapest routes between points on the network and which can readily be extended to show how traffic between the points is distributed and to assess the total cost of vehicle operation on the network.The procedure is quite systematic and independent of the manner in which journey costs are derived, and it could be carried out on an electronic computer with considerable saving in time. It can be applied to any transportation or communication problem that involves finding the most economical routes through a network.