Continued Updating the Lane Closure Guide for Urban Highways in the Kansas City, Kansas, Metropolitan Area

Temporary work zones in the United States continue to be an important and necessary aspect of preserving, expanding, and maintaining the roadway infrastructure network. However, work zones present a unique variable in that depending on the type of work being performed, they may require a reduction in roadway capacity if one or more lanes are closed temporarily. A reduction in capacity may lead to non-recurring congestion and safety concerns. A previous study conducted by the research team established a lane closure guide for the Kansas City metropolitan area where 1,500 passenger cars per hour per lane (pcphpl) was the established threshold for closing a lane based on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). The objective to this follow-up study was to determine if the 1,500 pcphpl threshold was appropriate based on historical work zones and KC Scout traffic operations center data. Data were extracted for work zones, and the 85th percentile and maximum sustained flow were investigated. An analysis of data found significant errors in the data where the sensor data indicated a work zone was not present during the specified time period. Multiple QA/QC checks were performed to ensure data was accurate. Based on the analyses, it is recommended that a ground-truthing methodology be used to ensure that sensors are recognizing a highway lane is closed and background traffic noise is not being collected by the sensors.