Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans (2020)

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126 Project Coordination 7.1 Description “Project coordination” (PC) refers to the various strategies and actions undertaken to coordinate with other projects, utilities, and ROWs. Although they reduce the delays in starting a project or eliminate conflict between agencies, utilities coordination and ROW coordination fall outside the realm of work zone safety and mobility. These activities focus on the effects of a single project, rather than on reducing the combined effect of two or more projects, which more typically defines what is meant by PC. 7.2 When to Use “PC,” as discussed in this section, strictly refers to the coordination within a single project or among multiple projects within a corridor, a region, and possibly across agency jurisdictions, to minimize work zone impacts and produce time and cost savings. PC can occur during project planning and design as well as during the construction stage. In the planning stage, PC typically focuses on scheduling and sequencing projects to minimize project effects to drivers, stakeholders, and the community. During the construction stage, PC activities emphasize identifying and monitoring the day-to-day work activities that adversely affect the transportation network and finding ways to mitigate the combined effects of those activities across multiple projects. FHWA (Theiss, Ullman, and Moinet 2016) developed a matrix that identifies examples of PC activities by project phase (Table 7.1). 7.3 Benefits According to the FHWA Guide to Project Coordination for Minimizing Work Zone Mobility Impacts (Theiss, Ullman, and Moinet 2016), PC provides significant cost savings, ability to identify projects earlier, opportunity to reduce and manage traffic disruptions across projects, and ability to improve road-surface quality. Specific benefits include the following: • Sequencing the order in which multiple projects are completed to incrementally build addi- tional capacity into the travel corridor or network, so that each completed project provides the greatest benefit to travelers during each successive project. • Combining projects or project tasks along a travel route segment, so the effect on traffic occurs for the collective tasks at one time instead of individual effects for each activity. • Scheduling projects or project tasks to avoid significantly restricting capacity on a single travel route or on multiple roadways that serve as convenient alternatives for travelers when they encounter work zone congestion and delays. C H A P T E R 7

Project Coordination 127 7.4 Expected Effectiveness While it is not feasible to measure the safety or mobility effectiveness of PC, this strategy is expected to have a beneficial effect on safety related to all types of work zones by potentially reducing traffic congestion, reducing exposure of highway users to work zones and workers to traffic, and improving emergency response and enforcement of work zone traffic laws. Transportation agencies that focus on improving coordination, planning, and scheduling of work activities have had positive experiences. Agencies should also measure the effect of improving coordination on the changes in processes and the estimated change in the degree of cooperation attained. 7.5 Crash Modification Factor No CMF is applicable for this strategy. 7.6 Implementation Considerations Agencies use different methods and scopes to accomplish PC. Coordination methods include establishing a formal organization that spearheads coordination across a geographic area, using software or mapping to organize project data entered by various agencies so schedules can be coordinated, convening coordination meetings to discuss project activities (e.g., lane closures), Agencies Involved Project Planning and Design Project Delivery Single Compile a database of agency planned projects over the next 3–5 years. Develop a map showing project locations in the region, possibly color-coded to illustrate current, near- term, and long-term schedules. Determine and execute the sequence of the projects that will minimize total delays and disruptions to the Develop and implement a regional plan that encompasses the various ongoing agency projects in a corridor or region. Conduct regular coordination meetings between staff of various projects going on simultaneously in a corridor or region to identify and eliminate potential lane closure conflicts, combine traveling public in the corridor or region. compatible lane closures into a single coordinated lane closure where possible, etc. When possible, establish business processes to coordinate agency maintenance activities with nearby construction project efforts. Link an agency’s lane closure permitting approvals with agency construction- and maintenance-coordination efforts. Multiple Expand project database and mapping tools to include other agencies in region, utility companies, and private sector developer projects that will affect the roadway system. Establish a web-based approach to sharing and providing appropriate access to the database and map. Develop and implement a regional plan that considers and addresses projects being performed by all agencies and other stakeholders in the region. Conduct regular regional coordination meetings between stakeholders to resolve lane closure conflicts as they arise. NOTE: PC = project coordination. SOURCE: Theiss, Ullman, and Moinet (2016). Table 7.1. Examples of PC activities by project phase.

128 Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans or jointly establishing performance goals for a corridor and collaborating to monitor and meet them. Coordination with emergency responders is vital when planning and scheduling work zones. It is important for police, fire, and emergency medical service agencies to be aware of alternative routes around work zones and possible congestion points. These agencies should also have their own plans for how best to respond to incidents in work zones. 7.7 Design Features and Requirements According to the FHWA Guide to Project Coordination for Minimizing Work Zone Mobility Impacts (Theiss, Ullman, and Moinet 2016), establishing a formal PC process typically consists of five major steps, with a feedback loop between the last two steps (Figure 7.1): • Step 1. Establish the vision. The vision needs to begin with, or at least be supported by, agency upper management, as coordination efforts can sometimes require changing contract Figure 7.1. Process flow for steps to establish a regional PC process.

Project Coordination 129 language, reallocating staff resources, and forging a cooperative relationship with other regional agencies and stakeholders. Toward this end, it may be necessary to develop formal memorandums of understanding between stakeholders to obtain their commitment to the PC efforts. A coordination committee that includes decision makers with authority to speak on behalf of their agencies or entities is also needed. These individuals may come from several areas of the organization, such as construction, maintenance, design, operations, traffic engineering, contract administration, and public information. • Step 2. Develop coordination details. Data on expected roadway and traffic conditions, such as travel times, traffic volumes and capacities, and the vehicle and load sizes that can be accommodated, are usually needed. The coordination committee will need to identify tools that allow the committee to plan, monitor, and manage the projects effectively. These may include analytical tools to estimate expected traffic problems, databases to log key information about each project or activity along a corridor or within a region, and visualiza- tion tools such as geographic information system programs that can map the projects in the database and make that map available to the various stakeholders in the region and at regular committee meetings. • Step 3. Educate and inform internal and external stakeholders. It is important that project staff understand the significance of coordination efforts that will occur and why they are being implemented. It is also helpful to explain the decision-making process (and its underlying data and analyses). • Step 4. Implement the project-coordination process. At the corridor/regional level, it will be necessary to schedule regular coordination meetings with all affected stakeholders. For state agencies, this may involve multiple divisions and offices (i.e., planning, construction, maintenance, operations, permitting, and public information). The meetings will assess the various projects in the corridor or region as the coordination committee moves through the project-development process: – Long-range assessment. Stakeholders can compare expected general traffic impacts and anticipated schedules. – Medium-range assessment. Stakeholders discuss and examine the traffic impacts, expected project staging and sequencing, and anticipated letting dates in greater detail. – Short-term or current project assessment. Stakeholders examine and coordinate upcoming day-to-day scheduling of lane closures and other bottlenecks created, to minimize travel impacts as best possible. These scheduled meetings are also an opportunity for the agency to update the tracking databases and tools to ensure information is current. • Step 5. Refine the process. The final step is to refine the PC process as the stakeholders become more comfortable with the efforts, understand what is working well, and identify what needs to be revised. Early on, this refinement may be fairly extensive and involve changes to committee and subcommittee structure and staff involvement. Over time, the refinements may become less frequent and less substantial. 7.8 State of the Practice PC is an innovation promoted by the FHWA’s SWZ, a part of Round 3 of the EDC initiative (EDC-3). Work completed under TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program has yielded an optimization tool to help in the sequencing effort. As of this writing, the Work Zone Impact and Strategy Estimator (WISE) software is currently undergoing demonstration testing and is available to those interested in applying it to their situation. Many resources, including training and outreach materials, peer exchanges, WISE software, and workshops are available on the Smarter Work Zones page at the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse (https://www.workzonesafety.org/swz/).

130 Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans The FHWA Office of Operations, Work Zone Management Program website lists examples of how cities and regions have successfully coordinated projects and their associated benefits (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/construction/crp/index.htm). 7.8.1 DDOT Improving I-295/DC-295 Projects Figure 7.2 shows the five active projects DDOT has as of this writing between South Capitol Street SE and East Capitol Street SE along I-295/DC-295. All of these projects have site-specific TTC plans, which may differ in relation to the main line (I-295/DC-295) by type and time of day. In addition, I-295 varies from two lanes at the southern end to three lanes north of Malcolm X Avenue SE. Thus, daily ongoing roadway restrictions (lane closures, barriers, etc.) and other work zone operations across the entire I-295/DC-295 Corridor present increased risks to roadway users. All of these unexpected conditions, combined with other driver distractions (not related to the work zone) present challenges for the driver to navigate the 5 mi of I-295/DC-295 that will be in a constant state of construction between 2019 and 2021. To improve mobility and safety, DDOT developed a one-stop web site with information on closures and changes affecting motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians (https://www.improving 295dc.com/). DDOT also assigned a project coordinator to conduct weekly PC meetings with all project maintenance of traffic leads and public outreach liaisons to discuss upcoming work activities, lane closures, conflicts, and other project-related issues and concerns. All individual project teams expressed concern about vehicle speeds through their project limits during these meetings; consequently, DDOT lowered the speed limit on the corridor. 7.8.2 Work Zone Impact and Strategy Estimator Through Round 3 of EDC, FHWA encourages adoption of road PC to minimize the effects of work zones. WISE was created to support planning and scheduling of work zones at the regional program (mesoscopic) level along multiple highway routes within a corridor or network. WISE offers a proactive alternative that relies on traffic data in the form of transportation-planning dynamic traffic assignment models—specifically through the simulation-based dynamic traffic assignment DynusT software. WISE is designed to consider projects that create traffic impacts for at least a few weeks; it is not generally intended to consider very short term construction or maintenance projects lasting less than a week. In practice, WISE is a decision-support system for use by planners and engineers to help them evaluate the traffic effects of work zones and better schedule or sequence a set or program of projects and determine other strategies to reduce adverse effects. WISE has the capability to evaluate the regional effect of various strategies, such as day/night operations, accelerated construction techniques, and traveler/community information campaigns. WISE evaluates renewal projects at both the planning and the operations levels. When used as a planning tool, WISE develops an optimized renewal programming schedule that minimizes the total cost of delays to the public and agency construction costs. When used at the operational level, it evalu- ates the effect of individual strategies at the project level and provides results that can then be used as part of an iterative procedure with the planning analysis. 7.8.3 Michigan DOT One Corridor Focus Through its One Corridor Focus initiative, MDOT manages work zones along key corridors as a single unit rather than discrete projects, which enables the DOT to better mitigate travel time

Project Coordination 131 Figure 7.2. I-295 project map (Credit: DDOT).

132 Strategies for Work Zone Transportation Management Plans delay during construction and maintenance activities. The One Corridor Focus began as a result of lengthy travel delays resulting from 19 concurrent reconstruction projects on Interstate 94 in 2010, a corridor that stretches 250 mi through three MDOT regions. MDOT uses several methods to manage and coordinate road projects along key corridors, including establishing goals and measuring performance during construction, applying consistent work zone standards, and coordinating with stakeholders throughout planning and construction. 7.9 Cost The main cost is generally the time involved for the DOT-assigned project coordinator, which can vary from $50,000 to $200,000 per year. Costs tend to be higher when a DOT has five or more complex projects within a short segment of roadway, which may require a full-time coordinator. 7.10 Resources and References Boudreau H., and B. Schroeder. Commonwealth Avenue Analysis and Public Outreach, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Work Zone Safety Conference, September 12, 2018. Brookes, C., M. Kapitanov, and J. Paracha. Michigan Department of Transportation Project Coordination on the I-94 Corridor, Smarter Work Zones Project Coordination Case Study, FHWA, 2010. DDOT. Improving 295 DC, I-295 / DC-295 Corridor Project Limit, District Department of Transportation, 2018. FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiative: Smarter Work Zones, Project Coordination web page. https://www. workzonesafety.org/swz/swzproject-coordination/. Kapitanov, M., and J. Paracha. Importance of Diverse Stakeholder Engagement to Project Coordination Efforts, Smarter Work Zones Project Coordination, FHWA, Year 2011. Luttrell, T. B., and K. A. Duffy. Highway Construction Coordination to Minimize Traffic Impacts. AASHTO, August 2006. Owen, H., D. Morena, and T. Scriba. Work Zone Corridor Management in Michigan, Optimizing Performance Mobility and Safety Making Work Zones Work Better, FHWA-HOP-13-052, FHWA, U.S. DOT, Summer 2013. Theiss, L., G. Ullman, and A. Moinet. Guide to Project Coordination for Minimizing Work Zone Mobility Impacts, FHWA-HOP-16-013, FHWA, U.S. DOT, April 2016.