National Academies Press: OpenBook

Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans (2020)

Chapter: Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25929.
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1 Periodic work zones are necessary to build, maintain, rehabilitate, enhance, and reconstruct this nation’s roadway network. Over the course of 1 year, it was estimated that 26.5 percent of the National Highway System has at least 1 day with a work zone in place. In the peak summer months, it is estimated that 7.9 percent of the National Highway System has a work zone in place on any given workday (Ullman et al. 2018). 1.1 Work Zones’ Effect on Safety Unfortunately, work zones can mean daily changes in traffic patterns, narrowed rights-of-way (ROWs), and other construction activities that create a combination of factors resulting in crashes. According to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, from 2010 through 2018, an average of 680 people died each year as a result of crashes in work zones. In 2017, the last year for which complete crash data are available, work zone crashes resulted in 809 fatalities and 37,000 injuries.1 Table 1.1 shows the work zone fatality and injury data for 2010–2018. Additionally, work zone crashes occur in a constrained driving environment and cause congestion and excessive delays. Estimates are that work zone crashes account for 10 percent of overall congestion and 24 percent of nonrecurring freeway delays nationwide.2 Reducing these crashes and delays—and their negative effects on lives and the economy— requires a better understanding of the effectiveness of work zone transportation management strategies. Transportation management plans (TMPs) are coordinated strategies designed to help agencies achieve their work zone project goals related to traffic mobility, efficient system operation, motorists’ and workers’ safety, and other operational targets. State departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies currently develop and implement TMPs, which typically involve coordinated strategies related to temporary traffic control, transportation operations, and public awareness. TMPs also help road users traverse work zones safely by understanding project effects, alternatives, scheduling, and anticipated benefits. State DOT practices, however, vary considerably with respect to what the agency considers when selecting strategies to integrate into a TMP. Practitioners can be uncertain of the effectiveness C H A P T E R 1 Introduction 1 National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, Work Zone Fatal Crashes and Fatalities. (https://www.workzone safety.org/crash-information/work-zone-fatal-crashes-fatalities/#national, accessed May 12, 2020). 2 Data from congestion are from Cambridge Systematics and Texas Transportation Institute (2004); Data on nonrecurring freeway delays are from Chin et al. (2004).

2 Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans of their safety solutions and the value of their economic benefit. As a result, transportation agencies may not understand the application, its effectiveness, or the cost-efficiency of their TMP decisions. 1.2 Project Objective NCHRP Project 03-111, “Effectiveness of Work Zone Transportation Management Plan Strategies,” had two objectives: 1. Provide information in the form of a guidebook on a wide range of TMP strategies for work zone practitioners. 2. Conduct field evaluations of selected TMP strategies—truck-lane restrictions, ramp metering, and reversible lanes. The field evaluation results are provided in the final report for NCHRP Project 03-111, which is published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 276 and is available on the TRB website. 1.3 Guidebook Purpose Although there is a wealth of information on transportation management planning, it is scattered among published research, DOT handbooks, manuals, and plans, as well as unpub- lished documentation. This guidebook is a resource that synthesizes useful knowledge from diverse sources to provide a compendium of current knowledge on work zone strategies, including suggestions on when to use, benefits, effectiveness, technical issues, design require- ments, state of the practice, and cost. 1.4 Guidebook Target Audience The intended audience for this guidebook includes transportation agency technical staff (e.g., planners, designers, construction and traffic engineers), and management and executive- level staff responsible for setting work zone policy and directing programs; FHWA staff, especially those with oversight responsibilities; and contractors, consultants, academics, and others with interest in work zone operations. Year Total Work Zone Fatalities Total Work Zone Injuries Total Work Zone Crashes 2010 586 36,000 87,000 2011 590 39,000 91,000 2012 619 30,000 76,000 2013 593 25,000 68,000 2014 670 31,000 89,000 2015 718 35,000 97,000 2016 782 61,000a 158,000a 2017 809 37,000a 94,000a 2018 755 NA NA Average 680 36,750 95,000 NOTE: aNHTSA has redesigned the sampling process used to compute these estimates. Therefore, 2016 and later data are not directly comparable to data from 2015 and before. Data for injuries and crashes greater than 500 have been rounded to the nearest 1,000 and values less than 500 have been rounded to the nearest 100 to reflect the level of uncertainty associated with these estimates. NA = not available. Table 1.1. Work zone crash facts, fatalities, and injuries.

Introduction 3 1.5 Guidebook Contents and Organization Many work zone management strategies can be used to minimize traffic delays, improve mobility, maintain or improve motorist and worker safety, and complete roadwork promptly. The strategies presented and reviewed in this guidebook are grouped according to the FHWA TMP classification under the following three categories: 1. Transportation operations – Work zone safety management strategies – Corridor/network management (traffic operations) strategies – Traffic incident management and enforcement strategies – Demand-management strategies 2. Temporary traffic control – Control strategies – Project coordination – Alternative contracting and construction strategies – Traffic control devices (TCDs) 3. Public awareness – Motorist information strategies – Public awareness strategies The guidebook devotes a section to each of these three major categories. The entry for each strategy is organized as follows: • Description. Provides short overview and description. • When to Use. Discusses conditions for use. • Benefits. Discusses typical strategy benefits in terms of improving safety and mobility. • Expected Effectiveness. Describes known effectiveness based on field studies. • Crash Modification Factor. Presents estimated and known crash modification factors (CMFs) based on information presented in NCHRP Research Report 869: Estimating the Safety Effects of Work Zone Characteristics and Countermeasures—A Guidebook (Ullman et al. 2018). • Implementation Considerations. Discusses how the strategy functions and if there are any installation concerns, potential difficulties, maintenance issues, and so on. • Design Features and Requirements. Provides information on the appropriate design criteria, and hardware and software requirements if any. • State of the Practice. Provides examples where a strategy has been used with special provisions and standard typical drawings, as applicable. • Cost. Reviews estimated installation cost. • Resources and References. Presents related resources and cited materials. Figure 1.1 shows how the strategies are grouped to help users find relevant practices. In addition to the category and subcategory designations, strategies are cross-referenced as shown in Appendix A (Appendices A through N can be found on the TRB website by searching on “NCHRP Research Report 945.”). The cross-references allow practitioners to identify these strategies based on traffic conditions in the work zone, the type of roadway involved, geographic or demographic characteristics, and when in the project life-cycle stage they are used. Another category—best practices—was introduced to account for those strategies that do not have a measurable value for effectiveness. The best practices include emerging technologies, decision-making tools, case studies, and the successful policies and procedures of a few state DOTs.

NOTE: Caltrans = California Department of Transportation; DOT = Department of Transportation; ITS = intelligent transportation system; PA = public awareness; TMA = truck-mounted attenuator; TMP = transportation management plans; TO = transportation operation; TTC = temporary traffic control. Figure 1.1. Guidebook strategy organization.

Introduction 5 In addition, Chapter 13 provides information on the typical work zone crash characteristics, as well as methods to estimate the crashes expected to occur during a particular work zone compared with when the work zone is not present or when a particular countermeasure is included. Examples illustrate how the methods can be applied to answer different what-if questions. The chapter also includes a catalog of available work zone CMFs (WZCMFs) and presents the commonly used work zone performance measures. Information presented in this chapter is based on findings in NCHRP Research Report 869 (Ullman et al. 2018). 1.6 Guidebook Limitations A large number of TMP strategies were identified in a TMP guide, Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones, developed by FHWA in 2005. Note, however, this guidebook does not address all individual strategies listed in the 2005 TMP guide. TCDs, such as warning signs, arrow panels, and channelizing devices, are required for all work zones, irrespective of work zone type or duration. Part 6 of the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and state manuals govern TCD standards, guidance, and other site-specific information. Therefore, this guidebook does not address these common TCDs; however, this guidebook does cover new TCDs, revisions to the application or manner of using existing TCDs, and provisions not specifically described in the 2009 MUTCD. Crash cushions and temporary traffic barriers have proved effective in increasing driver and worker safety in work zones, and the 2009 MUTCD and the 2011 AASHTO Roadside Design Guide provide guidelines for their use. Because these two strategies have proved so effective, they are not documented in this guidebook. Likewise, practices, such as project task force meetings, work zone inspections, and surveys, are also targeted to reduce effects on motorists, businesses, contractors, and other road-user groups. While DOTs use some or all of these practices on almost every project, no studies were found that documented their effectiveness quantitatively. Likewise, control strategies, such as construction phasing/staging, lane shifts, reduced lane/ shoulder widths, flagging operations, and ramp closures, are project-specific strategies and are included as part of the traffic control plans. The design of traffic control plans is governed by the 2009 MUTCD, the AASHTO Green Book, and agency manuals. Quantitative evaluations of the previously mentioned control strategies were not found in the literature. Corridor/network management strategies, such as retiming traffic signals, parking and turning restrictions, bus turnouts, temporary traffic signals, and street improvements, are frequently used in work zones—usually with positive results. However, quantitative evaluations of these strategies were not found in the literature. Similarly, several strategies are infrequently used in work zones, thus evaluations, whether quantitative or qualitative, are absent. Examples of these strategies include call boxes, total station units, photogrammetry, and aerial surveillance using helicopters. Finally, to prevent duplication and using best judgment, the guidebook fits individual strate- gies into a single category, even though they may fall under two separate categories. For example, in the TMP guide, reversible lanes fall under both control strategy and corridor/network management strategy. However, in this guidebook, reversible lanes are included only once, under corridor/network management strategy. 1.7 Resources and References A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th ed. AASHTO, Washington, D.C., 2011. [Green Book] Roadside Design Guide, 4th ed. AASHTO, Washington, D.C., 2011.

6 Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans Cambridge Systematics, Inc. and Texas Transportation Institute. Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Linking Solutions to Problems, Final Report prepared for FHWA, July 19, 2004. https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion_ report_04/congestion_report.pdf. Chin, S.M., O. Franzese, D.L. Greene, H.L. Hwang, and R.C. Gibson. Temporary Losses of Highway Capacity and Impacts on Performance: Phase 2. Prepared by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, November 2004. https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub57300.pdf. FHWA. Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones. Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility, 23 Cfr 630 Subpart J. U.S. DOT, 2005. [TMP guide] Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. FHWA, U.S. DOT, 2009. http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/. [MUTCD] Ullman, G. L., M. Pratt, M. D. Fontaine, R. J. Porter, and J. Medina. NCHRP Research Report 869: Estimating the Safety Effects of Work Zone Characteristics and Countermeasures—A Guidebook. Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.17226/25007.

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One of the ways a state department of transportation or other transportation agency can address work zone safety and other impacts is to develop and implement a transportation management plan (TMP).

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 945: Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans provides a practitioner-ready guidebook on how to select and implement strategies that improve safety and traffic operations in roadway construction work zones.

Supplemental materials to the report include NCHRP Web-Only Document 276: Evaluating Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans; fact sheets on ramp meters, reversible lanes, and truck restrictions; and guidebook appendices.

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