Significant Project Examples

Transportation Management Area: 1) All urbanized areas over 200,000 in population, and any other area that requests such designation. 2) An urbanized area with a population over 200,000 (as determined by the latest decennial census) or other area when TMA designation is requested by the Governor and the MPO (or affect local officials), and officially designated by the Administrators of the FHWA and the FTA. The TMA designation applies to the entire metropolitan planning area(s). (23CFR500)

Section 630.1010 of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule defines a significant project as one that, alone or in combination with other concurrent projects nearby, is anticipated to cause sustained work zone impacts that are greater than what is considered tolerable based on State policy and/or engineering judgment. The Rule also states that, in addition to projects meeting the agency's own definition of significant: "All Interstate system projects within the boundaries of a designated Transportation Management Area (TMA) that occupy a location for more than three days with either intermittent or continuous lane closures shall be considered as significant projects." More information about significant projects can be found in Implementing the Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility.

The following examples are meant to assist agencies with developing their own significant project definitions, and are not meant to advocate a "one size fits all" approach.

Maryland State Highway Administration

The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) has developed a qualitative approach to define significant projects. This approach was based on the findings of a working group that determined that a quantitative definition, such as one based on project cost, did not seem to fit because smaller dollar value projects may still have significant work zone impacts or require additional coordination. They felt that a qualitative approach allows for engineering judgment to play a role in determining significant projects. MDSHA's significant project guidelines explain the purpose for identifying significant projects, identify when the identification should be done, and lay out a process for identifying the projects. The guidelines apply to all work performed on SHA maintained roads.

Two flow charts have been created to use in defining significant projects. One flow chart is for projects that fall under the Planning and Design Central Offices, which tend to be larger, more complex projects. The other flow chart is for District-initiated projects and minor projects. The major criteria used by the Planning and Design Office flow chart to define significant projects are project location, anticipated mobility and safety impacts, and project and/or work zone characteristics. According to the flowchart, if the project meets a certain number of criteria and is considered to be significant, the next step is to perform a Maintenance of Traffic Alternatives Analysis (MOTAA) to try identifying a solution to reduce impacts below thresholds defined in the MDSHA Work Zone Lane Closure Analysis Guidelines (PDF 53KB). If the MOTAA does not identify a solution that will reduce impacts, then the project is considered significant and a Transportation Management Plan containing traffic operations and public information and outreach strategies must be developed. The District and minor projects flow chart is based on whether or not the work will involve continuous or intermittent lane closures on a freeway/expressway for more than three days, if the project falls under the "Blanket Exceptions" category, and if the project complies with the Work Zone Lane Closure Analysis Guidelines.

Montana Department of Transportation

Appendix A of the Montana Department of Transportation's (MDT) Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy (PDF 537KB) includes criteria for determining whether or not a project is considered significant.

MDT identifies three levels of impact - Levels 1, 2, and 3. All projects identified as Level 1 impact are considered significant projects. These projects typically impact the traveling public at the metropolitan, regional, or interstate level; have a high level of public interest; directly impact a large number of travelers; have high user cost impacts; and are of long duration.

Level 2 projects impact the traveling public at the city or regional level; have a moderate level of public interest; directly impact a moderate level of travelers; have low to moderate user cost impacts; and can include lane closures for a moderate duration if not during peak hours.

Level 3 projects impact the traveling public to a small degree; public interest is low and AADT is low; duration of work is short to moderate; construction zones can be mobile; and typically this work is recurring (such as mowing, pothole patching, etc.).

MDT's policy includes a list of corridors in Montana that are automatically of Level 1 and Level 2 significance. It also includes a checklist to help identify significant projects.

North Carolina Department of Transportation

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) includes a definition for significant projects in their Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy. This definition expands on the definition included in the Rule by stating: "'Significant' project/activity is one that, alone or in conjunction with other projects/activities, is anticipated to cause sustained work zone impacts to the road users, businesses, or local communities during construction or one that will substantially relieve existing congestion on the highway network upon its completion. Additionally, all Interstate projects/activities within the boundaries of a Transportation Management Area (areas with populations greater than 200,000) that occupy a location for more than three days with either intermittent or continuous lane closures shall be considered a 'Significant' project/activity. Projects/Activities classified in the 'Statewide' and 'Regional' Tiers of North Carolina's Long-Range Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan may also be designated as 'Significant.'" The policy further explains what significant projects or activities require, at a minimum, to ensure the safety and mobility of workers and road users on North Carolina’s transportation network.

The Draft NCDOT Guidelines for Implementation of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy identify criteria for determining significant projects. Based on these criteria, projects are categorized into one of four levels. Projects that are level 1 and level 2 are considered "significant". These projects will receive additional scrutiny and have additional measures implemented in an effort to reduce their overall impacts to safety and mobility. The level of the project also determines what components are to be included in the transportation management plan (TMP).

NCDOT Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy, dated July 12, 2007 (PDF 528KB) - Information about significant projects can be found on pages 4-5.
NCDOT Guidelines for Implementation of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy (DRAFT) (PDF 134KB) - Criteria for determining significant projects can be found on pages 17-22.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has developed a process for identifying significant projects. The process begins by scoping the project and defining impacts. The next step is to determine if anticipated delay from the project is greater than, equal to, or below a pre-defined threshold for freeway and arterial project. PennDOT's work zone policy states that the District responsible for the project may use spreadsheet tools, QuickZone, Synchro, HCS or similar programs to model the expected added travel time that will be generated. The policy also states that the District should use discretion in determining how added delay will impact the surrounding community. Following the impacts analysis, the next steps will depend on whether or not the determined delay exceeds the threshold. PennDOT has developed a set of flow charts that describe these next steps. The presentation found in the link below provides an example application of the significant project determination process.

Presentation: PennDOT's Work Zone Safety and Mobility Policy (PDF 500KB) - Information about identifying significant projects begins on page 5.
PennDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Manual (PDF 5.91MB) - The process for identifying a significant project begins on page 352.

You will need the Adobe Reader to view the PDFs on this page.