Dealing with the Traffic Impacts of Urban Freeway Reconstruction: Mitigation Measures

The following six areas of impact come quickly to mind when discussing plans for managing traffic in highway construction zones: (1) Actual delay to motorists, especially peak period commuters, involving significant increases in daily travel time; (2) day-to-day uncertainty in travel time; (3) losses to businesses adjacent to highway work zones whose normal access has been disrupted; (4) major delays and disruptions to truckers and to those businesses throughout an urban area that rely on regular, timely truck deliveries; (5) accidents and safety problems for motorists and highway construction workers; and (6) political problems that arise when the public’s perception of construction impacts may hamper completion of needed highway programs. Possible mitigation measures to deal with these six areas are presented in this paper. They include (1) mitigation through design techniques, ( 2) mitigation through construction techniques, (3) mitigation through traffic system management techniques, and (4) mitigation through improved public communication. The effectiveness and financing of mitigation measures are briefly discussed.