Evaluation Of Traffic Control Devices For Rural High-Speed Maintenance Work Zones

Details

• Creators:
  Carlson, Paul J. ; Fontaine, Michael D. ; Hawkins Jr., H. G.
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas Transportation Institute ; Texas. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Work zone traffic control
  • Work zone safety
  • Rural areas
  • Two lane highways
  • Multilane highways
  • Lane closure
  • Evaluation
  • Research
  • Traffic control devices
  • Flaggers
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-00/1879-1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  This report documents the first year activities of a two-year project in which various work zone traffic control devices, treatments, and practices were implemented and evaluated. The focus was on rural high-speed work zones. Nine work zones were studied. Four work zones were on two-lane highways with flagger operations and the remaining five were on a multilane highway with a single lane closure. The devices evaluated in the flagger-controlled work zones included fluorescent orange signing, radar drones, fluorescent yellow-green worker vests and hard hat covers, handheld strobe light attached to flagger vest, visibility improvement attachments for cones, and high-visibility retroreflective magnetic strips on flagger vehicles. The devices evaluated in the lane closure work zones included fluorescent orange signing, radar drones, fluorescent yellow-green worker vests and hard hat covers, visibility improvement attachments for cones, speed display trailers, advisory speed signing, and high-visibility retroreflective magnetic strips on work vehicles. Speeds, conflicts, driver surveys, maintenance crew surveys, and recorded CB conversations were used to evaluate the different devices. Preliminary analyses show that the most promising devices include the fluorescent orange signing, fluorescent yellow-green worker vests, radar drones, and speed display trailers. Recommended research activities for year two include further evaluation of these promising devices along with other innovative devices such as portable rumble strips and portable stop bars.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/14369/dot_14369_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.74 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:91b3f7ae11773b0c754a312e3ef90792b4bd8c21e1217135d120400cded83d2f9e404512d4c4b579202b1460fe19002334507f6fb5639f2a0e1df6c2efecab9e