Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
Photo collage: temporary lane closure, road marking installation, cone with mounted warning light, and drum separated work zones.
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Work Zone and Traffic Analysis Technical Resources
(Reports, Guidance, and Examples)

Work Zone and Traffic Analysis

Developed by FHWA

  • Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume XII: Work Zone Traffic Analysis - Applications and Decision Framework (HTML, PDF 13MB) - Provides guidance to analysts and decision-makers on analytical approaches/methods and related key considerations to perform work zone traffic analysis including alternatives analysis and decision-making.
    • Executive Summary (HTML, PDF 583KB)
  • Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects (HTML, PDF 10MB) - Presents a general approach for work zone impacts assessment and provides examples of how agencies are currently assessing and managing work zone impacts.
  • Work Zone Analysis Leaflet (HTML, PDF 276KB) - Brief overview of work zone analysis and how modeling and simulation can be used as part of the analysis. Includes three short examples.
  • Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume VIII: Work Zone Modeling & Simulation: A Guide for Decision Makers (HTML, PDF 1.9MB) - Provides guidance to decision-makers on the role of analytical tools in work zone planning and management, including what kind of analytical approach may be of most value in light of agency needs, complex data requirements, and staff training.
  • Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume IX: Work Zone Modeling and Simulation - A Guide for Analysts (HTML, PDF 15MB) - Targets practitioners and includes detailed real world information and examples to help guide the selection of a modeling approach. Addresses tailoring the analysis, choosing what type of approach to administer, and selecting the appropriate category of tool(s).
  • Work Zone Road User Costs - Concepts and Applications (HTML, PDF 2.9MB) - Provides information on performing work zone road user cost (RUC) analysis, including possible RUC components that agencies can select depending on work zone scenario being analyzed, step by step RUC computation instructions, and applications in Maintenance of Traffic alternative analysis, project delivery/contracting strategies, and benefit-cost analysis.
  • Strategies for Developing Work Zone Traffic Analysis - This no-cost, interactive, web-based training provides an overview of how traffic analysis tools can be applied specifically to work zone analysis problems.
  • Examples of Assessing and Managing Work Zone Impacts
  • Significant Project Examples

Developed by State Agencies

  • Evaluation of Utah Work Zone Practices (PDF 4MB) - Describes research to review the current state of the art in work zone design and operations in Utah. As a result of this research, an evaluation tool called the Work Zone Safety Assessment Risk Analysis Tool (WZ-SARA) was developed to quantify the safety of work zone setup. The spreadsheet-based tool helps identify areas of concern within a work zone, and issues that should be addressed quickly. It also provides a method to evaluate the impacts that improvements may have on work zone safety overall.
  • Work Zone Lane Closure Analysis Model (PDF 1.9MB) - Alabama DOT (ALDOT) report that presents the results of research done to determine the need for an update of the queue estimation portion of ALDOT's lane closure analysis tool, a Microsoft Excel-based "Lane Rental Model" whose work zone capacity values are based on the 1994 Highway Capacity Manual. The report includes an analysis of the tool's strengths and weaknesses, a comparison to other work zone traffic prediction models, a discussion of the data collected to test and validate the tool, and recommendations for an updated version of the tool.
  • Impact of Lane Closures on Roadway Capacity - Three part Florida DOT report on research to develop new models for planning lane closures on two-lane and arterial roadways.
  • Impact of Trucks on Arterial LOS and Freeway Work Zone Capacity (Part B: Freeway Work Zone Capacity) (PDF 526KB) - Results of a University of Florida study for the Florida DOT to develop analytical models and procedures for estimating the capacity of a freeway work zone considering various parameters.
  • Determining the Major Causes of Highway Work Zone Accidents in Kansas - Characteristics of crashes in Kansas highway work zones, risk factors that contributed to the crashes, and analysis to help develop effective countermeasures.
  • Maryland Work Zone Analysis Guide (PDF 19MB) - Provides guidance on work zone traffic analysis methods for arterials and freeways and includes an impacts analysis report template, examples of analysis reports for several different types of projects, and an analysis checklist.
  • Development of Uniform Standards for Allowable Lane Closure (PDF 2.8MB) - New Jersey DOT report that evaluates procedures for determining allowable lane closure hours to perform maintenance, construction, resurfacing, regional permit, and major access permit work on New Jersey State highways and develops a uniform process that considers the impacts of lane closures on traffic and productivity. QuickZone was used to analyze long term lane closures and the Rutgers Interactive Lane Closure Application tool was used to analyze short term lane closures.
  • New Jersey DOT Road User Cost Manual - Describes work zone and traffic characteristics, explains possible work zone road user cost components, and provides a step by step procedure to calculate road user costs. Includes example problems, default hourly traffic percentages, and computation worksheets.
  • Oregon DOT's Work Zone Traffic Analysis Methodology - Used to estimate and manage project and corridor work zone delays, the methodology predicts the hours of the day when lanes or shoulders can be reasonably closed and the approximate queue length that would develop during such closures.
  • Tennessee DOT (TDOT) Lane Closure Decision Support System (LCDSS) - Tool developed by TDOT to estimate queue length and delay for lane closures on Tennessee roads.
  • Development of a Statewide User Cost Manual for Rural Work Zones in Utah (PDF 615KB) - Documents research conducted to develop a framework for a Utah DOT Statewide Road User Cost (RUC) manual for work zones, focusing in particular on rural work zones. Includes a draft outline for the RUC manual, results of a literature review on how various State DOTs are determining work zone road user costs, research methodology, preliminary results, and conclusions drawn from the study.
  • Predicting Performance With Traffic Analysis Tools - Case Study 2: I-15 Reconstruction in Utah - Describes Utah DOT's use of modeling to evaluate the impact of various reconstruction lane closure scenarios for I-15, as well as to coordinate the timing for multiple construction projects at the system level, guide scheduling decisions and letting timeframes, and determine operational treatments during construction to alleviate impacts.
  • Rapid Pavement Construction Tools, Materials, and Methods (PDF 7.97MB) - Washington State DOT report on its implementation, use, and experience with CA4PRS, portland cement concrete pavement panel replacement, polymer concrete, and traffic closure windows for rapid pavement construction.

Developed by Other Organizations

  • New Item 3/6/13 Strategic Approaches at the Corridor and Network Level to Minimize Disruption from the Renewal Process - The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Renewal Project R11 has released a prepublication version of a report titled Strategic Approaches at the Corridor and Network Level to Minimize Disruption from the Renewal Process. The report documents the development of the work zone impact and strategy estimator (WISE) – a decision support software system designed to help evaluate the impact of work zones and determine strategies to reduce those impacts. Project R11 also produced a WISE User Guide, which explains how to use the software.
  • Behavior Study of Merge Practices for Drivers at Work Zone Closures (PDF 3MB) - Describes the findings of a study to identify which driver behaviors are the most detrimental to work zone traffic flow and safety during work zone lane closures. The report concludes with recommendations on traffic control techniques to prevent these behaviors, such as late merge to prevent queue jumpers and longitudinal rumble strips to discourage vehicles from straddling the closing and merging lanes.
  • Treating Potential Back-of-Queue Safety Hazards (PDF 3.4MB) - Highlights methods to analyze work zone impacts and queue lengths and provides strategies that can help mitigate potential back-of-queue hazards.
  • Construction Project Administration and Management for Mitigating Work Zone Crashes and Fatalities: An Integrated Risk Management Model (PDF 1.4MB) - Examines ways to mitigate the risk of highway accidents and fatalities in work zones and presents a formal risk management mode that can be used to identify, assess, and respond to risks across all stages of a project.
  • AASHTO/FHWA Domestic Scan on Work Zone Assessment, Data Collection, and Performance Measurement (NCHRP 08-04) - Results of March 2010 scan looking at how 14 State agencies are planning for, monitoring, and managing work zone performance.
    • Final Report (PDF 3.8MB) - Provides detailed information about what was learned during the scan, key findings and recommendations, and an implementation strategy.
    • Summary Report (HTML, PDF 66KB) - - Summarizes the scan findings, recommendations based on the findings, and potential ways to disseminate the scan results.
    • Brochure (HTML, PDF 1.9MB) - Shares information on practices found during the scan and provides the key findings, challenges, and recommendations from the scan.
    • Webinar recording - Provides an overview of the findings and recommendations from the scan as well a presentation on some of the Ohio Department of Transportation's practices that were encountered during the scan.

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