Work Zone Mobility and Safety

1
Work Zone Mobility and Safety

• A Roadmap for
• Making Work Zones Work Better
• Prepared by
• The FHWA Work Zone Mobility and Safety Integrated
  Product Team
• Infrastructure Core Business Unit
• Safety Core Business Unit
• Environment and Planning Core Business Unit
• RDT Service Business Unit
• Operations Core Business Unit
• July 2001

2
Overview

• Why Work Zones Need To Work Better
• Our National Work Zone Agenda
• Vision and Goal
• FHWAs Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
• How You Can Help
• Key Messages for Work Zones

3
Construction Spending is Increasing

• 160,000 miles of National Highway System and
  300,000 miles of arterials reaching middle age
• Over the life of TEA-21, highway construction
  funding will increase nearly 40.
• We can expect MORE WORK ZONES.

4
Traffic is Growing...
1980-1998 Vehicle Travel up 72, Road Miles up 1

• Were traveling more miles without increasing
  highway capacity significantly.

5
Congestion is Growing . . .

• Extremely or Severely congested highway miles
  more than doubled from 1982 to 1997.
• Uncongested miles dropped by almost half.

• Source 1999 Status of the Nations Highways,
  Bridges, and Transit Conditions Performance
  (CP) Report to Congress

6
Cost of Congestion is Growing. . .

• The cost of congestion (in constant 1997 dollars)
  has grown from 21B in 1982 to 72B in 1997.

7
Just as the cost of downtime is real to the
factory

• The cost of transportation system down time due
  to work zones is real to our users

8
Work Zone Fatalities have Increased

• Average 760 fatalities per year, with a high of
  868 in 1999.
• In 1999, approximately 39,000 people were injured
  in work zones crashes.
• 120 to 130 workers die per year in road
  construction activities.

9
Mobility Safety

• Mobility and Safety are closely tied
• As congestion builds, crash rates increase.
• As crashes increase, more congestion occurs.

10
More Work Zones More Congestion More Delay
Driver Frustration

• People are Frustrated!
• 1995 NQI survey
• Only 29 of respondents were satisfied with
  traffic flow through work zones
• delays caused by construction received the lowest
  overall satisfaction rating.
• In the 2000 Omnibus Traveler survey, the top
  reason cited for delays was heavy traffic,
  followed by road work

11
Work Zones Second lowest level of Satisfaction
Percentage of Responses Satisfied and Very
Satisfied
Data not collected in 1995
Source Moving Ahead  The American Public
Speaks on Roadways and Transportation in
Communities (which can be found on the FHWA web
page at http//www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/movingahea
d.htm)
12
Preferred Improvements for Delays
More durable paving materials
Repairs during non-rush hours
Reducing repair time
Improving traffic signal timing
Clearing accidents quickly
More travel lanes
Signs showing expected roadwork delays
Checking traffic signals often
Managing traffic congestion better
Tow trucks at key locations
Signs with emergency phone numbers
Improving public transportation
Re-routing traffic to avoid roadwork
Managing traffic around roadwork
Reversing travel lanes
Installing more left turn signals
Increasing roadside service patrols
Signals on freeway entrances
More HOV lanes
Improving accuracy/timeliness of info
Improving roadway signs and markings
Fewer traffic signals
0
20
40
60
80
Percentage of Great Help responses shown
13
At the same time

• Contractors are experiencing
• Reduced work hours
• Night work / interrupted shifts
• Compressed schedules
• Concerns for worker safety.
• More work is done under traffic
• In 1997, 47.6 of highway capital outlay was
  spent on system preservation (resurfacing,
  restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction).

14
Why Work Zones Need To Work Better

• Trends
• More work zones
• More congestion
• More crashes.
• Which Lead to
• More driver frustration
• Work zone delays that are REAL to travelers.
• Our customers are urging us to find new ways
  to...
• Make WORK ZONES WORK BETTER

15
Overview

• Why Work Zones Need To Work Better
• Our National Work Zone Agenda
• Vision and Goal
• FHWAs Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
• How You Can Help
• Key Messages for Work Zones

16
A National Agenda to Address the Impacts of Work
Zones

• Maximize availability of transportation network
• Minimize user impacts
• Minimize impacts on worker safety

17
Our National Work Zone Mobility and Safety Vision
and Goal

• National Work Zone Vision
• Maximize availability of the transportation
  network through traveler-focused system
  management that maximizes safety and minimizes
  delays due to work zones.
• Plan and conduct maintenance and improvements to
  the network in ways that minimize impacts to
  traffic flow and risks to road users and workers
  using a full life-cycle perspective.
• National Work Zone Goal
• Minimize impacts on user mobility and safety and
  worker safety due to work zones

18
A National FrameworkMaking Work Zones Work
Better
Continuously Track and Analyze Work Zone
Performance
19
A National FrameworkMaking Work Zones Work
Better
Continuously Track and Analyze Work Zone
Performance
20
Continuously Track and Analyze Work Zone
Performance
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Collecting data to
estimate the number of work zones 1.2 Collecting
data to estimate the impact of work zones on
travelers 1.3 Developing work zone performance
measures What You Can Do To Help 2.1 Share
information with state and local transportation
practitioners on performance measures 2.2 Conduct
WZ self-assessments with partners, establish
baseline, target areas for improvement

• User costs
• Exposure
• Safety
• Delay
• Public perception

• FHWA Program Objectives
• Develop national performance measures
• Track performance measures over time
• Increase use of performance measures

21
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Establishing a
Transportation Planning Group to look at how to
better consider work zone impacts and user costs
as a routine part of planning 1.2 Developing a
benefits brochure on planning for work zone
mobility and safety 1.3 Researching/evaluating
existing methods and tools used to analyze work
zone cost impacts including user
costs 1.4 Expanding FHWA life-cycle costing tool
to add user costs What You Can Do To
Help 2.1 Consider user costs during project
planning and programming 2.2 Include work zone
traffic management costs in project estimates
Transportation Planning

• User impacts in TIPs
• User impacts in CLRPs
• Traffic mgmt in corridor planning

• FHWA Program Objectives
• Make work zone considerations a routine part of
  transportation planning
• Institutionalize consideration of user impacts
  over the life cycle
• Promote corridor/network management perspective
  (other road projects, right of way work)

22
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Assembling a database of
recent research on work zone mobility and safety
issues (e.g., life-cycle analysis, reduced
construction time, user cost) 1.2 Developing
QuickZone, an analytic tool to enable
assessment/prediction of traffic
impacts 1.3 Conducting a cross-cutting study on
using total closure of a roadway for repairs
1.4 Conducting research on construction
processes to reduce highway construction project
times What You Can Do To Help 2.1 Do a
life-cycle analysis that considers user costs and
long-life materials 2.2 Look for opportunities to
implement a Get In, Get Out, and Stay Out
approach 2.3 Consider the use of total road
closures 2.4 Look to contractors for innovative
ideas
Project Design for Construction and Maintenance

• Consider user impacts
• Life cycle analysis
• Minimum duration
• Minimum work zones
• Worker safety

• FHWA Program Objectives
• Reduce construction duration (e.g., use of
  time-conscious construction methods)
• Increase use of innovative contracting and
  financing
• Ensure safe working environment
• Increase life cycle (more durable, higher quality
  projects)

23
Traffic Control Planning
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Updating NHI training
courses to better address work zone operations
and safety 1.2 Conducting a synthesis and
research on positive separation for work zone
safety 1.3 Working with NIOSH on model
specifications for work zones 1.4 Looking at
lighting specifications for safer nighttime
work What You Can Do To Help 2.1 Design more
safety into TCPs - for both sides of the barrel

• Consider user impacts
• Work scheduling
• Capacity optimization
• Effective TCPs
• Public information/outreach
• Worker safety

• FHWA Program Objective
• Improve traffic control plans
• Improve worker safety

24
Managing for Mobility and Safety During Work Zones
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Conducting a cross-cutting
study on the use of ITS in work
zones 1.2 Developing a brochure on the benefits
of ITS in work zones 1.3 Initiating a field
operational test (FOT) on the use of variable
speed limits (VSL) in work zones 1.4 Initiating
efforts to update 23 CFR 630, Subpart J on
Traffic Safety in Highway and Street Work
Zones What You Can Do To Help 2.1 Use ITS to
give travelers information about what to expect
in work zones 2.2 Install ITS at the beginning of
a job and use it to manage traffic and provide
traveler information. Leave it in place
permanently. 2.3 Use incident management
techniques in work zones

• Consider user impacts
• Effective traffic control
• Real-time WZ management
• Public information and involvement
• Incident management
• Worker safety

• FHWA Program Objectives
• Maximize worker and road user safety during WZ
• Facilitate use of real-time WZ management to
  minimize delay
• Better inform and involve the public
• Encourage prompt, effective incident response

25
What FHWA Is Doing 1.1 Identifying and promoting
use of work zone best practices 1.2 Co-sponsorin
g National Work Zone Awareness Week 1.3 Speaking
at conferences and committee meetings to promote
new thinking in work zone mobility and
safety 1.4 Developing brochures about FHWAs work
zone program, available resources, and key work
zone topics 1.5 Providing and maintaining a work
zone program web site to make information and
materials available (http//ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/w
orkzone.htm) 1.6 Receiving valuable input from
practitioners outside FHWA through our Work Zone
Senior Working Group. 1.7 Developing a series of
work shops on some key topics for making work
zones work better 1.8 Initiating development of a
new driver education program to educate about
work zones What You Can Do To Help 2.1 Become a
work zone champion 2.2 Within your organization
talk about ways to better consider user impacts
in project decisions 2.3 Share ideas - submit
information on your best practices for work zone
mobility and safety
Communication and Outreach

• Communicate FHWAs vision
• Share FHWAs knowledge
• Promote the sharing of others knowledge

• FHWA Program Objectives
• Share good ideas and information from all areas
  of the work zone program on all aspects of work
  zones

26
Overview

• Why Work Zones Need To Work Better
• Our National Work Zone Agenda
• Vision and Goal
• FHWAs Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
• How You Can Help
• Key Messages for Work Zones

27
Key Messages for Work Zones

• We must take a harder look at BOTH mobility AND
  safety.
• Work zone user costs need to be considered
  throughout the project development process.
• We need to plan and design projects to Get In,
  Get Out, and Stay Out.
• We need to look at the full life-cycle of a
  project and consider all costs when making
  decisions.
• Travelers want to be told what to expect. ITS
  technology can be used to do this.