Synthesis Study of Best Practices for Mapping and Coordinating Detours for Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) and Risk Assessment for Duration of Traffic Control Activities

Maintenance of traffic (MOT) during construction periods is critical to the success of project delivery and the overall mission of transportation agencies. MOT plans may include full road closures and coordination of detours near construction areas. Various state DOTs have designed their own manuals for detour mapping and coordination. However, very limited information is provided to select optimal detour routes. Moreover, closures or detours should provide not only measurable consequences, such as vehicle operating costs and added travel time, but also various unforeseen qualitative impacts, such as business impacts and inconvenience to local communities. Since the qualitative aspects are not easily measurable they tend to be neglected in systematic evaluations and decision-making processes.

In this study, the current practices obtained based on an extensive literature review, a nation-wide survey, as well as a series of interviews with INDOT and other state DOTs are leveraged to (1) identify a comprehensive set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for detour route mapping, (2) understand how other state DOTs address the qualitative criteria, (3) identify how the involved risks during the planning, service time, and closure of the detour routes are managed, and (4) recommend process improvements for INDOT detour mapping guidelines. As demonstrated by two sample case studies, the proposed KPIs can be taken as a basis for developing a decision-support tool that enables decision-makers to consider both qualitative and quantitative aspects for optimal detour route mapping. In addition, the current INDOT detour policy can be updated based on the proposed process improvements.