Optimizing Work Zone Conditions to Maximize Safety and Mobility

Details

• Creators:
  Kay, Jonathan J. ; Gates, Timothy J. ; Savolainen, Peter T.
• Corporate Creators:
  Michigan State University. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Mobility Temporary Barriers Traffic Flow Traffic Safety Work Zone Safety Work Zone Traffic Control
• Publication/ Report Number:
  SPR-1752
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Michigan
• Edition:
  Final Report, 6/27/2023 to 6/26/2025
• Corporate Publisher:
  Michigan Department of Transportation. Research Administration
• Abstract:
  Despite the fact that highway work zones represent a required element of maintaining and improving the transportation network, the resulting changes in traffic patterns, narrowed right-of-way, and other construction activities can lead to an increased risk for traffic crashes and related injuries or fatalities. This research sought to identify the critical work zone attributes that are related to improved (or degraded) work zone safety and/or mobility, and ultimately identify cost effective treatments that can achieve high levels of both safety and mobility. The outcomes of the research include a synthesis of prior research and best practices used by other agencies, a benchmark of statewide work zone safety performance, new tools and resources to conduct safety analyses specific to freeway work zones, and recommendations to improve the department’s work zone program. This research began with a review of the literature as well as the identification and review of relevant MDOT policies and guidance. Next, a statewide analysis of historical work zone crash data was conducted to quantify recent trends with respect to work zone safety within Michigan along with a comparison to nationwide work zone crash data. Historical models were developed for 25 recent freeway work zones across the state of Michigan to evaluate the safety and mobility impacts associated with implementation of temporary traffic control for long-term construction projects. The work zone projects were selected to provide a distribution of common work zone types, temporary traffic control configurations, types of work, area types, traffic volumes, work durations, and lengths among other factors. These models were used to quantify the safety performance impacts associated with each of the selected freeway construction projects via the Empirical Bayes (EB) method, including the estimated change in crashes at the project-level as well as the estimated change in crashes for each area within the work zone (e.g., advance warning, transition, and activity). Findings from these tasks were aggregated to support the development of recommendations to optimize safety and mobility within Michigan work zones, including recommendations for MDOT’s Work Zone Safety and Mobility Manual, a revised Safety & Mobility Decision Tree, and a Microsoft Excel tool.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2023-0498
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:67bd287fd2396e86a7acce76a79f9459e0defceaf3699cc33bed6eaab77086a9f566ccd0dd8fbf3c463919356a8c019cd79ebfb9593b927681b85b031b24179d
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86945/dot_86945_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 72.74 MB ]