Safe Conduct of Traffic Through Highway Construction and Maintenance Zones

The principles for safe management of traffic at work zones that were developed are based on operational experience and limited available research results. They include, among others, the following: Traffic safety in the workzone should be an integral and high priority element of every project from the planning stage through the design and operations, careful attention should be given to providing safe areas for storage of equipment and materials and to removing all construction and maintenance debris, the roadway should be kept clear of obstacles as much as possible; worksites should be carefully monitored under varying conditions of traffic volume, light, and weather, to ensure that traffic-control measures are operating effectively. The growing awareness of the importance of traffic controls at construction and maintenance work sites has generated a number of training courses, developed on a national or local level. There have been several studies that deal either directly or indirectly with construction-zone traffic-control devices, design, and operations. Some of the conclusions are as follows: Activities located on a roadway generally reduce the amount of roadway for vehicular travel, motorists often become irritated if construction activities linger on, the volume of traffic on a roadway will affect the selection of types of traffic control to be used in a construction zone. Current research to improve the safety of the travel public and workers in construction and maintenance areas are described as well as future areas for study. It is noted that the legal implications of a highway department’s efforts to conduct traffic safely through construction or maintenance activity zones are extremely important.