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“Meeting the Customer’s Needs for Mobility & Safety During Construction & Maintenance Operations”.
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“Meeting the Customer’s Needs for Mobility & Safety During Construction & Maintenance Operations”
“It is the sense of Congress that many highway projects are carried out in a way which unnecessarily disrupts traffic flow during construction and that methods need to be adopted to eliminate or reduce these disruptions.” Section 1090 ISTEA
NQI Survey • Only 29% of respondents were satisfied with traffic flow through Work Zones • The other 71% weren’t!
“The public is not satisfied with the status quo. They’re tired of the way we’ve always done it.” … State DOT Executive
Safety WZ Fatalities/Injuries (1996) • 719 fatalities * • 133 worker fatalities * • 37,000+ injuries * NHTSA’s FARS data
Delay in WZs • Motorist • No quantifiable statistics on an areawide or statewide basis • Economic losses • No quantified data on a national or regional basis
Meets Three of FHWA’s Strategic Goals • Mobility • Safety • Productivity
Our Vision "No Delays and No Crashes in Work Zones."
= States visited Organizations Scanned • 26 State DOTs • 4 Cities • 2 Counties • 7 Contractor Associations • 3 Equipment Manufacturers • 5 Toll Authorities • Others (State Police, GHSRs, AAA, Trucking Associations, etc.)
Expectations of FHWA • Technology Sharing • Public Education • Continuous Quality Improvement • Coordinate Research • Standardization • Partnerships
FHWA’s Review of WZs • State of the practice • State of the art • Model traffic management program • Benchmark our future actions • Best practices/policies (250+) • Menu of practical measures
Why Do We Need To Change? What Is The Urgency?
WZ Crashes • Majority occur: • Beginning of the queue • In the transition zone • Caused by: • Excessive speed • Driver inattention
Why We Must Change! • TEA-21 => 40% increase in funding • Volume of traffic increasing • Highway system aging • Public demanding virtually unlimited mobility
Alternative is Unacceptable! Significant increases in: • WZ crashes, disabling injuries and fatalities • Highway worker injuries and fatalities • Motorist’s delay in WZs • Cost of goods
Straight Line Projection 33% increase in number of WZs, resulting in: • 240 more people killed • 12,333 more disabling injuries • 44 more highway workers killed
Q. What’s the public’s biggest complaint? A. The lane is closed and there’s no work going on!
The Public Wants Us To Get In! Do It Right! Get Out! Stay Out!
Ways to Reduce Exposure Reduce: • Volume of traffic in WZ • Time WZ is in place • Number of WZs
Reduce Volume of Traffic in the WZ • Closing the facility • Diverting to other routes • Diverting to other modes • Spreading out peak hour volume
Reduce the Volume of Traffic in the WZ • Boston’s Central Artery Tunnel • Utah’s I-15 Reconstruction • Washington/Oregon I-5 Bridge Repair • Advance information (“SmartWorkZone,” “Adaptir,” and Travel Time Prediction System
“Maybe we’re doing the public a disservice by not closing down the road to do the work.” ...State DOT Executive
Reduce the Time the WZ is in Place • Time-based bidding (A+B, I/D, Lane Rental, etc.) • Variable start dates • Window specs • CPM to establish, manage, and monitor contract time
Reduce the Time the WZ is in Place • Washington’s I-405 Resurfacing • Florida’s Innovative Contracting • Utah’s Use of Contractor TCPs • Maryland’s Constructibility Review • Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority’s two shift requirement
Reduce the Number of WZs • Improved designs • Longer-lasting products & materials • Performance-based specs • Warranty specs • Preventive maintenance program • Corridor traffic management
Reduce the Number of WZs • Colorado’s I-25 Reconstruction • California’s I-5 Corridor Reconstruction • IDOT’s Combining of Projects
11 Major Areas • Traffic Management vs. Traffic Control • Prediction Modeling & Impact Analysis • Commitment of Top Management • Traveler & Traffic Information Programs
“To the public the worst thing is being delayed. The second worst thing is not knowing why they’re being delayed.” … State DOT Executive
11 Major Areas • Traffic Management vs. Traffic Control • Prediction Modeling & Impact Analysis • Commitment of Top Management • Traveler & Traffic Information Programs • Development of TMPs & TCPs
Degree of Influence on Reducing WZ Delay and Enhancing Safety High Low Policy Planning Design Construction
A typical DOT designs the project, then figures out the best way to handle the traffic. A typical Toll Authority figures out the best way to handle the traffic, then designs the project around the traffic. Philosophy
11 Major Areas • Traffic Management vs. Traffic Control • Prediction Modeling & Impact Analysis • Commitment of Top Management • Traveler & Traffic Information Programs • Development of TMPs & TCPs • Contracting & Bidding Procedures
Contractors are in business to make money! State Highway Agencies are in business to serve the public by getting projects built!
Goal Quality, high-performing project, that minimizes delay and disruption to the traveling public, and which ensures a reasonable profit to the contractor.
“We would much rather chase a carrot than run from a stick.” ...Contractor
11 Major Areas (cont’d) • Specifications and Construction Materials, Methods, & Practices • ITS & Innovative Technologies • Enforcement • Public Relations, Education, and Outreach • Evaluation & Feedback
Other Observations • Info to public • Constructibility • Contractor TCPs • Night work • State Police
Other Initiatives • NJ’s Dedicated Trooper Unit • NY State’s WZ Crash Analysis • NC’s WZ Info Unit • NAPA’s, Caltrans’, IDOT’s, WashDOT’s Workshops • ARTBA/FHWA sponsored National WZ Safety Information Clearinghouse (NWSIC)
What the public experiences in the WZ is how they judge the highway community!
Partnership • Industry • State DOTs • FHWA • Others
What Can You Do? Some suggestions: • Don’t accept what we’ve always done • Customer perspective • Work to reduce exposure • Only take lane when needed • Commit to “Truth in signing”
Where Do We Go From Here? Some suggestions: • Joint benchmarking • Identify joint WZ initiatives • Set WZ performance goals • Set up team to look at WZ policies and/or specs
More Info Main Report (Adobe Acrobat) www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/bestprac.pdf 250+ Best Practices www.fhwa.dot.gov/quality/bestprac2.htm NWZSIC wzsafety.tamu.edu or Ph. 1-888-447-5556