Evaluation of Utah Work Zone Practices

Between 1997 and 2005, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimated a nearly 40% increase in work zone fatalities in the United States (USDOT, 2007). In 2005 alone, there were 1,074 work zone fatalities, which represent about 2.5% of all roadway fatalities for the year. In a broader scope, an estimated 49,620 people were injured in more than 115,000 work zone crashes. Utah statistics suggest that work zone injuries and fatalities follow this compelling national problem. UDOT reported five fatalities and 870 injuries occurring in 830 crashes in Utah's highway work zones in the years prior to 2005 (UDOT 2005). In 2005, the number of fatalities in Utah's work zones rose to ten, which accounted for 3.5% of Utah's fatalities for the year (UDOT 2007). This percentage was above the national average. The objectives of this project are to: (1) Review of the current state of the art in work zone design and operations in work zones across the country. Synthesizing the information in a report of the state of the art. (2) Gather the positions of members of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah and UDOT inspectors on work zone related issues and synthesize these positions. (3) Conduct a field study of work zones in Utah to evaluate the measures being implemented in freeway and highway work zones. (4) Provide recommendations for additions to UDOT standards for temporary traffic control that would increase safety and provide clear guidance to contractors for implementation.

• Record URL:
  http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=44983
• 

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $25000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  109177

  UT09.603

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Utah Department of Transportation

  4501 South 2700 West
  Project Development
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84114-8380
• Project Managers:

  Hsiao, Daniel

• Performing Organizations:

  Utah State University Transportation Center

  Utah State University
  Logan, UT  United States  84322-4110
• Principal Investigators:

  Heaslip, Kevin

• Start Date: 20100101
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20110630
• Source Data: RiP Project 26394

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash data; Fatalities; Field tests; State of the art; Traffic crashes; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Geographic Terms: Utah
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01461442
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Utah Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 109177, UT09.603
• Files: UTC, RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 1:46PM