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 Traffic Management Guidance and Examples

Work Zone Traffic Management

FHWA Traffic Management Resources

  • Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones (HTML, PDF 1.4MB) - provides information about developing and implementing Transportation Management Plans (TMPs), including how and where a TMP fits into project delivery processes, possible components of a TMP, descriptions of work zone management strategies, and examples of how agencies are using TMPs.

  • Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects (HTML, PDF 10 MB) - presents a general approach for work zone impacts assessment and provides examples of how agencies are currently assessing and managing work zone impacts.

State-Developed Traffic Management Resources

New Jersey Department of Transportation

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Traffic Mitigation Guidelines for Work Zone Safety and Mobility (PDF 1MB) presents guidance for consistent and comprehensive consideration of traffic mitigation strategies for roadway reconstruction projects implemented by NJDOT. The document lays out a process for integrating traffic management into project development. The document begins by discussing a process to assess the level of traffic mitigation needed for a project and estimate order of magnitude costs for traffic mitigation. It then provides guidelines for selecting traffic mitigation strategies, a description of the components of and responsibilities for various traffic mitigation documents, and suggested evaluation measures and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of traffic mitigation strategies. The document includes tables that describe categories of traffic mitigation strategies for different project types and characteristics. It also includes a flow chart that illustrates traffic mitigation steps by project development phase.

Ohio Department of Transportation

The Ohio Department of Transportation (Ohio DOT) has developed processes and resources for work zone traffic management, such as permitted lane closure times, a maintenance of traffic (MOT) alternatives analysis process, and sample documents. The resources are available from the Ohio DOT Traffic Management in Work Zones web page.

In 2004, the Ohio DOT developed a process to monitor work zone crashes in near real-time. Ohio DOT obtains work zone crash reports in near real-time from local law enforcement and then inputs this information into a database that sorts crashes into one half mile segments for comparison to historical pre-construction average crash frequency. When ODOT finds abnormally high concentrations of crashes in a certain location after implementation of a work zone, ODOT performs a field visit to the construction area to look for causes and potential fixes.

Oregon Department of Transportation

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is in the midst of an historic period of road and bridge work. Funds from ODOT's 10-year, $3 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA) will be used to repair or replace hundreds of bridges, pave and maintain city and county roads, improve and expand interchanges, add new capacity to Oregon's highway system, and remove freight bottlenecks statewide. Keeping traffic and freight moving during this time of unprecedented construction in Oregon is a top priority of the Governor, Legislature, and the ODOT director. To keep Oregon's state highways open for travel and business during this intense construction period, ODOT has instituted a statewide traffic mobility program to forecast, manage, and track potential mobility conflicts, resolve issues, and coordinate efforts. Key components of the program include:

  • Establishing a framework for effective coordination and communication within ODOT, with other agencies, and with key stakeholders. The framework includes one Statewide Traffic Mobility Manager and Mobility Committees at the statewide, region, and corridor levels.
  • Establishing comprehensive mobility-related policies and procedures through development and implementation of a Highway Mobility Operations Manual.
  • Minimizing size and weight restrictions and their impact on the freight industry through enhanced coordination with ODOT's Motor Carrier Transportation Division with the development of a mobility database.
  • Collaboration with the trucking industry to develop project staging and schedule solutions that meet the needs of the industry and ODOT.
  • Minimizing construction-related vehicle delay through the establishment and enforcement of delay threshold limits in key highway corridors.
  • Developing and implementing Traffic Management Plans for the overall program, for key highway corridors, and for individual projects.

ODOT developed its Highway Mobility Operations Manual, which contains all of the mobility requirements for projects on Oregon highways. The manual spells out how traffic delays and size and weight restrictions will be addressed on a statewide basis, which in turn clarifies the requirements for each key corridor. Designers can then use this information to help them create a tailored traffic management solution for any route. ODOT is providing training to agency staff and stakeholders on the purpose and content of the manual.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

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. An article entitled, "Holding Down the Fort", by Frank Cippel, published in the December 2007 issue of Roads & Bridges provides more information.


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