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Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule

Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule. SCOTE/SSOM Meeting – June 2009 Work Zone Task Force Tracy Scriba, FHWA. Agenda. Difference the Rule has Made State of the Practice Overview Best Practice Examples. Has the Rule Made a Difference?. Assess state of the practice to see

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Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule

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  1. Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule SCOTE/SSOM Meeting – June 2009 Work Zone Task Force Tracy Scriba, FHWA

  2. Agenda • Difference the Rule has Made • State of the Practice Overview • Best Practice Examples

  3. Has the Rule Made a Difference? • Assess state of the practice to see • FHWA identified several ways to do this: • Review of Work Zone Self Assessment (WZSA) results • Responses to 5 supplemental questions added to the 2008 & 2009 WZSA • Discussions with State and local DOTs and FHWA Divisions • “Scanning” for best practices

  4. What have we learned? It’s working! • Rule has brought about positive changes in practices and more focus on managing work zones: • Work Zone Policy • Impacts Assessment • Significant Project Identification • Training • TMP Development and Implementation • Data Collection and Analysis

  5. 2008 WZSA Results • Largest increases were in practices related to Subpart J: • Classifying projects based on impacts (Significant Projects) – 25%  • Training law enforcement personnel – 21%  • Establishing a policy to develop TMPs – 20% 

  6. WZSA Rule Supplemental Questions • Supplemental question scoring scheme

  7. Work Zone Policy • Biggest change - Agencies have pulled together several disparate policy documents and procedures/guidelines into one WZ policy/guidelines • Some agencies did not have a policy for MOT in work zones and developed one as a result of the Rule • 21 agencies (41%) have reported that as a result of their WZ Policy, they are taking a more consistent approach to planning, designing, and constructing road projects

  8. Work Zone Policy (cont.) • Many agencies now considering WZ safety and mobility impacts earlier in the project development process • Allows for more mitigation options • Example - Ohio DOT has said early consideration means they can “design away” many WZ impacts • Some agencies have established goals and measures for WZ performance as a result of the Rule • Queue lengths • Delay time

  9. Impacts Assessment • Agencies are seeing enhanced consideration and management of WZ safety and mobility impacts - starting during planning and continuing through project completion • 24 agencies (47%) experienced this as a result of the Rule • 3 of those agencies cited the Rule as causing significant change in this area

  10. Impacts Assessment (cont.) • During planning and design, agencies are looking beyond the project work zone itself to address corridor, network, and regional issues – particularly when congestion is an issue • 19 agencies said the Rule had caused this to occur • 17 agencies said the Rule had not caused change - most of those agencies (16) were already doing this

  11. Impacts Assessment (cont.) • Agencies are more often using analytical tools to determine WZ impacts • 10 to 15% increase in score each of the past 2 years on the 2 related WZ SA questions: • During planning to assess impacts of future construction/maintenance activities • To assess impacts when developing TCPs

  12. Significant Project Identification • Agencies are thinking more about project impacts and are more likely to have a process in place to classify projects based on expected impacts • 25% increase in WZSA score between 2007 and 2008 • As a result, agencies are better able to assess and manage WZ impacts • Several States organize a team to develop the plan for mitigating the impacts of significant projects

  13. Training Training has been significantly affected by the Rule • 27 agencies (53%) have updated/changed training for their staff (designers, planners, construction staff, etc.) to address broader consideration of WZ impacts and management in the scheduling, design, and implementation of projects • 11 of those agencies said they made significant changes in training • WZ SA question on law enforcement training saw a 21% increase in score from 2007 to 2008

  14. Training (cont.) • The agency has updated/changed training for its staff to address broader consideration of WZ impacts and management in the scheduling, design, and implementation of projects.

  15. TMP Development and Implementation • TMPs are still a developing area… But significant progress has occurred • Has the agency established a policy for the development of TMPs to reduce WZ congestion and crashes? • 2006 - Average score increased by 14% • 2007 – Increase of 20% • 2008 – Increase of another 20%

  16. TMP Development and Implementation (cont.) • 2007 - 67% of agencies are implementing a policy for developing TMPs • 2008 - 90% have a policy for developing TMPs to help manage the WZ impacts of a project • Some agencies have developed TMP teams and tools

  17. Use of TMP Strategies • The agency is expanding WZ management beyond traffic safety and controlto address mobility through the consideration and use of transportation operations (TO) and public information (PI) strategies.

  18. Data Collection and Analysis Increasing number of agencies are establishing measures and collecting data to track WZ congestion and delay • Likely related to the addition of operational data to data provision when the Rule was updated • Establishing measures - increased 26% (from 23 to 29 agencies) between 2007 and 2008 • Continued significant increase of the year before • Collecting data • 2007 - 21% score increase • 2008 - 15% increase • Several agencies have started tracking queues

  19. Rule Implementation Best PracticesA Sample

  20. Maryland TMP Development Tools • TMP Guidelines • WZ Design Checklist • MOT Red Flag Summary 

  21. Maryland TMP Development Tools (cont.) • Summary of Work Zone Impact Management Strategies • Public Information and Outreach Plans Development Guidance • Public Information and Outreach Template

  22. Michigan DOT TMP Process • Assessment of Impacts • LOS, delay > 10 min, V/C > 0.8 • TMP Template • TMP Peer Review Team • TMP Monitoring and Performance Assessment Plan

  23. Training Examples • Kentucky TC - created a web-based training course for Law Enforcement • Wisconsin DOT – developed a TMP training course for its designers and others

  24. Data and Performance Measurement Examples • Ohio DOT – Added operational/mobility data to its WZ performance monitoring efforts • North Carolina DOT – Using ITS to gather data on WZ performance The Work Zone Dayton, OH Area

  25. More Best Practice Examples at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/workzones

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