Work Zone Traffic Management

Managing traffic during construction is necessary to minimize traffic delays, maintain or improve motorist and worker safety, complete roadwork in a timely manner, and maintain access for businesses and residents. Work zone traffic management strategies should be identified based on the project constraints, construction phasing/staging plan, type of work zone, and anticipated work zone impacts. Once these strategies are implemented, they need to be consistently monitored to ensure they are effective in managing work zone impacts. Examples of possible performance measures for monitoring work zone traffic management strategies include volume, travel time, queue length, delay, number of incidents, incident response and clearance times, contractor incidents, community complaints, user costs, and cumulative impacts from adjacent construction activities.

One resource for work zone traffic management strategies is Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones (HTML, PDF 1.4 MB). This document provides information about developing and implementing Transportation Management Plans (TMPs), including information on how and where a TMP fits into project delivery processes and procedures, a list of possible components for a TMP, descriptions of work zone management strategies, and examples and practices of how agencies are currently using TMPs. Other traffic management resources are described below.

Incident Management in Work Zones

Guidebook on Incident Management Planning in Work Zones, Published 2005 (PDF 2MB) - This guidebook is a resource for engineers and construction managers who are interested in developing sound incident management plans for work zones.
Guidelines for Developing Traffic Incident Management Plans for Work Zones (PDF 1.6MB) - This Colorado DOT (CDOT) report discusses best practices, existing CDOT traffic incident management (TIM) programs, and considerations and key components for developing and implementing TIM programs for work zones.
T-REX Incident Response Manual (PDF 787KB) - This manual provided guidance and information to assist in responding to incidents in the T-REX project area. The T-REX project involved reconstruction of Denver's I-25/I-225 Southeast Corridor.
Work Zone Traffic and Incident Management System - Keeping Traffic Moving During Reconstruction of the Big I, a Major Interstate-Interstate Interchange in Albuquerque (HTML, PDF 127KB) - This case study describes how ITS was used during the Big I project to minimize capacity restrictions due to incidents by more quickly identifying incidents and determining an appropriate and effective response to clear the roadway.
Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals (HTML, PDF 2.2MB) - This guide introduces the Incident Command System and its organization and operations to stakeholders who may be called upon to provide expertise, assistance, or material during highway incidents.

Congestion Mitigation

Combining Multiple Work Zone Activities - A presentation given at the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 2005 Technical Conference and Exhibit, Session 27, March 2, 2005.
Reducing Congestion - Good Work Zone Management Strategies that Can Help - Presentations given at the February 17, 2005 Talking Operations Seminar.
Traffic Congestion and Reliability - Linking Solutions to Problems - This report provides a snapshot of traffic congestion in the United States by summarizing recent trends in congestion. The report also provides an understanding of the various sources of congestion, highlights the growing importance of system reliability, and recommends ways to address congestion by targeting the sources of congestion and unreliability.
USDOT Congestion Initiative Web Site
FHWA Congestion Web Site

Work Zone Traffic Control and Management Guidance

Public Opinion and Understanding of Advance Warning Arrow Displays Used in Short-Term, Mobile, and Moving Work Zones (PDF 640KB) - The Center for Transportation Research and Education at Iowa State University has released a report that examines how well drivers may understand or interpret the message conveyed by arrow displays in work zones depending on the display type and quantity of displays used.
Missouri DOT Traffic Control Guidance
- Traffic Control for Field Operations Manual - Contains information on temporary traffic control measures on the state highway system.
- Quality Standards for Temporary Traffic Control Devices (PDF 217KB) - Provides standards to ensure adequate performance and condition of traffic control devices and to aid with compliance with MUTCD Sec. 1A-05.
Ohio DOT Traffic Management in Work Zones - This web page provides a number of Ohio DOT resources for managing traffic in work zones.
Washington State Work Zone Traffic Control Guidelines (PDF 4MB) - This document provides traffic control guidance for common work operations based on principles set forth in part VI of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Michigan State Police Traffic Management Guide (PDF 71KB) - The purpose of this Traffic Management Guide is to assist law enforcement professionals in effectively managing local traffic problems, and to document the results.
Identification of Traffic Control Devices for Mobile and Short-Duration Work Operations - This report examines mobile and short-duration work zone safety with particular attention to the identification of work zone safety devices, information systems for the reduction of safety and congestion, and implementation of innovative techniques to reduce delays and crashes due to work zones.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)
Traffic Control Handbook for Mobile Operations at Night (PDF 773KB) - This is a synthesis of current practices for performing mobile highway operations at night.
Improving Traffic Control for Night Work Zones (HTML, PDF 116KB) - This brochure, produced by the FHWA Office of Safety, describes strategies for enhanced traffic control devices, visibility of workers and work vehicles, controlling speeding and increasing driver awareness, providing good "glare free" illumination, and accommodating pedestrians.
Accommodating Pedestrians in Work Zones (HTML, PDF 296KB) - This brochure, produced by the FHWA Office of Safety, provides some helpful guidelines that can be used to accommodate pedestrians in work zones.

Work Zone Traffic Management Examples

"Holding Down the Fort", by Frank Cippel, article in December 2007 issue of Roads & Bridges, Volume: 45 Number: 12. In 2002, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) began a major reconstruction project on the I-279 Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel in the city of Pittsburgh. With heavy traffic using the bridge and tunnel, closing the structures and detouring motorists would not be easy. PennDOT began studying how to best complete the work and planning detour routes in the early 1980s, well before the project began. PennDOT decided to perform various stages of the project separately in an effort to minimize the impact a total closure would have on the region. The last phase of the project involved work on the main bridge span and the tunnel. Closing of the main span of the bridge and the tunnel required the use of two main detour routes that already carried large volumes of traffic. With this in mind, PennDOT began reconstruction and rehabilitation work on the detour routes almost 10 years before the closures occurred. During the closures, PennDOT implemented many innovative strategies to reduce congestion and delay on the detour routes, including turning off traffic signals to create free-flow routes, expanding lane reversal hours, and opening a hole through an existing concrete barrier to prevent motorists from having to merge into a single lane when exiting a tunnel.

Additional Resources

Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones - ITS can be used to assist with work zone traffic management.
TTI Researchers Recommend Strategies for Slowing Drivers Around Work Zones (PDF 11.9MB) - TxDOT is sponsoring a project to make recommendations on strategies and devices to improve compliance with work zone speed limits. The article describing the project is on page 16 of the PDF.

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