How to Protect Crews in Utility Work Zones

Mobile and short-term utility crews working on streets and roads produce some of the biggest headaches for work-zone safety. A new booklet, Work-Zone Safety: Guidelines for Construction, Maintenance, and Utility Operations, just published by the Transportation Information Center at the University of Wisconsin and WisDOT, can help. Based on the MUTCD and modified to reflect Wisconsin practices, it shows how to lay out traffic control for work zones in a variety of common situations. Pothole patching, shouldering, and similar short-term activities are some of the biggest work-zone safety challenges. You have to give motorists the proper advance warning within a reasonable distance of the work area. Unlike stationary work zones, though, there are typically no barricades, drums, or cones to outline the area. The Workzone booklet has solutions for these problems.