Real Time Traffic Control of Urban Freeway Work Zone Operations

Repair work on Houston area freeways was conducted during 1980 and 1981 at the cost of 12 worker fatalities and 34 injuries. To maintain better worker safety and to be able to work during previously restricted hours, a strategy was developed which involved deployment of a special traffic handling crew. An experimental project conducted using the special crew was successful, as evidenced by not one phone call of complaint from the public. Active traffic management has also been used in Houston for managing traffic during special sequences in long term construction projects. Future applications of active traffic management in Houston may include courtesy patrol operations, real time information to motorists of impending delays due to incidents, and the placement of computer terminals at major traffic generators along the corridor to display real-time information on freeway conditions.