# Presentation: 342508

## 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*
*RD&T Service Business Unit *
*Operations Core Business Unit*
***July 2001***

## Overview

**Why Work Zones Need To Work Better **
**Our National Work Zone Agenda**
**Vision and Goal**
**FHWA’s Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program**
**How You Can Help**
**Key Messages for Work Zones**

## 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.**

## Traffic is Growing...

**Traffic is Growing...**

**1980-1998**
**Vehicle Travel up 72%, Road Miles up 1%**

**We’re traveling more miles without increasing highway capacity significantly.**

**Notes:**
From 1980 to 1998, vehicle travel increased 72 percent while miles of public roads increased only 1 percent.  

## Congestion is Growing . . .

**Source: *****1999 Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions & Performance (C&P) Report to Congress***

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

**Notes:**
More traffic and few new roads means more congestion.

46% of peak period travel is congested
4.3 billion hours are wasted 
Growing congestion is no longer a phenomenon of the big city.  The largest increase in travel time delay in the last 15 years (between 1982 and 1997) occurred in small urban areas, with 400% growth.
Congestion has been predicted to increase by 50% in the next 10 years.

## Cost of Congestion is Growing. . . 

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

## 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**

## 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.**

## Mobility & Safety

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

## 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**

**Notes:**
From Meeting the Customer’s Needs for Mobility and Safety During Construction and Maintenance Operations (September 1998):

“The key to minimizing motorist delays during construction and maintenance operations is recognizing the impacts that the proposed work can have on traffic and/or adjacent residents and businesses in sufficient time to develop and implement the appropriate cost effective mitigative measures prior to the delays occurring.  Traffic management in the work zone is proactive as opposed to reactive.”

## Work Zones: Second lowest level of Satisfaction

**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/movingahead.htm)

**Notes:**
Recently the Federal Highway Administration carried out a number of national telephone surveys of  our surface transportation customers.  The results showed that while there had been remarkable improvement  since l995 of the satisfaction level with the physical condition of our infrastructure, there is growing concern with traffic.

Infrastructure QA7-14: how satisfied are you with the specific characteristics of . . . ?

This isn’t surprising because we all know that traffic growth in the U.S. has been booming right along with the booming economy – while capacity growth has pretty much flatlined over the the last decade or so.

TTI report released March 20, 2001. 
SIDEBAR:  The full traveler’s survey can be found on the FHWA Operations web page (www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov)

## Preferred Improvements for Delays

- Fewer traffic signals

- Improving roadway signs and markings

- Improving accuracy/timeliness of info

- More HOV lanes

- Signals on freeway entrances

- Increasing roadside service patrols

- Installing more left turn signals

- Reversing travel lanes

- Managing traffic around roadwork

- Re-routing traffic to avoid roadwork

- Improving public transportation

- Signs with emergency phone numbers

- Tow trucks at key locations

- Managing traffic congestion better

- Checking traffic signals often

- Signs showing expected roadwork delays

- More travel lanes

- Clearing accidents quickly

- Improving traffic signal timing

- Reducing repair time

- Repairs during non-rush hours

- More durable paving materials

- 0%

- 20%

- 40%

- 60%

- 80%

**Preferred Improvements for Delays**

***Percentage of “Great Help” responses shown***

**Notes:**
Operations  Q14:  How much do you think the following would help to overcome the problems that you experience?
What was interesting, is when we asked citizens what should we do about it,  or where should we spend our transportation dollar,  their answers showed a remarkable sophistication :  
The Top Three suggestions concern how we do work zones
Use more durable paving materials
Make repairs during non-rush hours
Reduce repair time.
 The message is: “get in, get out and stay out”
Other notable suggestions are:
Post signs showing expected roadwork delays
Re-route traffic to avoid roadwork
Manage traffic around roadwork.

## 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).**

## 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***_

**Notes:**
From the FHWA Mobility & Safety Product Team - Proposed Charter:
Data reveals that the impacts on motorist and worker mobility, safety, and productivity by highway construction and maintenance work zones are significant.  These conditions coupled with the increase in the number of work zones brought about by increased highway funding and an aging infrastructure have raised concerns by highway program managers as well as those who use and work on the roadways.  Current best practices must be implemented and new technologies must be discovered in order to prevent escalating user delays, crashes that result in fatalities and injuries, and incidents affecting traffic flow.

## Overview

**Why Work Zones Need To Work Better **
**Our National Work Zone Agenda**
**Vision and Goal**
**FHWA’s Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program**
**How You Can Help**
**Key Messages for Work Zones**

## A National Agenda to Address the Impacts of Work Zones

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

## 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**

## A National Framework:“Making Work Zones Work Better”

- Continuously Track and Analyze Work Zone Performance

## A National Framework:“Making Work Zones Work Better”

- Continuously Track and Analyze Work Zone Performance

## FHWA Program Objectives

_***FHWA Program Objectives***_
- Develop national performance measures
- Track performance measures over time
- Increase use of performance measures

_*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

**Notes:**
Basic data on work zones and their impacts are lacking.  FHWA has undertaken an effort to quantify the number of work zones and their impacts on travelers. These data have not been collected previously and will give us valuable information with which to better target our programs and activities. The initial analysis is expected in late 2001.

Today we have no measures to evaluate the mobility and safety effectiveness of work zones.  FHWA is exploring ways to evaluate work zone performance in ways that could lead to national performance goals.
1.1 This will help us establish a baseline estimate for work zone exposure
1.2 One way we are dong this is through our SWAT program where we are collecting data before and during construction to use in a model for assessing delay (QuickZone)
1.3  Performance measures are being explored for both the national level and project level.  Project level measures may include a work zone performance index such as a delay index that considers several factors (delay, exposure, durability) together and operates on a scale to provide a relative “Hassle Index”  for a work zone.

## Transportation Planning

- 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)

_*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

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

**Notes:**
1.1 This is an outgrowth of our Work Zone Senior Working Group and will be chaired by a member of the Senior Working Group.

1.4 The costs analysis tool will assist transportation practitioners and decisionmakers in more fully analyzing the cost of transportation decisions both during planning and project design. This tool will consider design costs, construction and  maintenance/repair costs, traffic control costs, costs for other work zone impact mitigation measures, and the so-called “soft costs” including user costs and costs to businesses.  

2.2 Better coordinate projects within a corridor- starting during planning. Include work zone mitigation costs in project estimates

2.3 This includes working with utilities early and regularly. 

## Project Design for Construction and Maintenance

- 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)

_***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

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

**Notes:**
1.1  The synthesis includes work related to topics such as long-life materials, reduced construction times, life-cycle analysis, traffic control planning, worker safety, and contracting techniques, and covers all phases of a road project from planning through maintenance.

1.3 The cross-cutting study will look at aspects such as when total closure is feasible, when it may be beneficial, what issues need to be considered in deciding to use the method and how to go about implementing such a project (e.g., public relations/outreach needs).  

1.4  This is an MIHE study that should be completed in mid to late 2001.

2.2 This means get in and do the work continuously and with durable materials and quality work, so that we can get out quickly and stay out for a long time.

2.3 Total road closures can be for part or all of a project, for full time or for weekends or nights only. This method has been used successfully in each of these types of applications.

2.4 Look to contractors for innovative, creative approaches that improve mobility and safety.

## Traffic Control Planning

- Improve traffic control plans
- Improve worker safety

_***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

**Notes:**
1.3 Model specifications for worker safety may include traffic control plans for within the work zone where workers are side-by-side with heavy construction equipment and many large vehicles in what may be tight spaces.

2.1 TCPs need to serve to guide and protect drivers, as well as workers internal to the work zone. We should design defensive work zones to protect workers from normal driver behavior. Defensive work zones could include features such as positive separation, intrusion alarms, and better lighting.

## Managing for Mobility and Safety During Work Zones

- 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

_***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

## Communication and Outreach

- Share good ideas and information from all areas of the work zone program on all aspects of work zones

_***What FHWA Is Doing***_
- 1.1	Identifying and promoting use of work zone “best practices”
- 1.2	Co-sponsoring 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 FHWA’s 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/workzone.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

- Communicate FHWA’s vision
- Share FHWA’s knowledge
- Promote the sharing of others’ knowledge

**Notes:**
1.1 We are sharing best practices through the Best Practices Guidebook, a growing catalog of highway community best practices submitted form across the nation.  We are also sharing best practices through a series of fact sheets that showcase particular projects that have implemented best practices.  FHWA has developed a training module to encourage use of the Best Practices Guidebook.

1.7 The “Making Work Zones Work Better Workshops” are intended to both get out and take in information from practitioners on some key work zone mobility and safety-related topics.

2.3 FHWA has forms for use in submitting best practices.  These are available in the Best Practices Guidebook (paper version, CD-ROM, or Web site).

## Overview

**Why Work Zones Need To Work Better**
**Our National Work Zone Agenda**
**Vision and Goal**
**FHWA’s Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program**
**How You Can Help**
**Key Messages for Work Zones**

## 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.**

**Notes:**
I leave you with a shortlist of key messages for work zones.  These are reflected in the activities that FHWA is undertaking now as its first priorities.  
Traveler mobility and safety and worker safety are all important and need to be seriously considered.  Work zone mobility and safety are closely related and have an impact on one another.
User costs need to be considered starting at planning, through design, into construction and maintenance/repair.
Get In, get out, stay out means get in and do the work continuously and with durable materials and quality work, so that we can get out quickly and stay out for a long time.
This includes considering construction costs, maintenance and repair costs, and user costs when making decisions on materials, design, and construction processes.
If travelers know to expect delays, they are often less frustrated and more satisfied with our road system, and safety is increased. They need accurate, real-time information. We can use ITS technology to gather and share the information with travelers.

Become a work zone champion. Talk about work zone mobility and safety impacts and share your ideas.  Create a buzz about work zones. Our customers have given us a charge to make work zones work better. Now it’s up to us to respond.