Merging Implementation Criteria

The Midwest Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative (MwSWZDI) was initiated in 1999 as a Pooled Fund Study intended to coordinate and promote research related to safety and mobility in highway work zones. The Iowa DOT has been the lead state since 2004. The primary goal of this project is to develop guidance to aid agencies in determining how to most effectively implement lane closures in consideration of driver behavioral response and related metrics associated with traffic safety and operations. The specific objectives of this study are to: (1) conduct a synthesis of different lane merge control strategies in setting work zone merging approaches in the United States through an extensive literature review and analysis of different work zone lane merge control schemes across SWZDI states; (2) assess factors associated with work zone lane merge controls and their impacts on efficiency and safety as measured by impacts on flow rates, speeds, and driver compliance; and (3) provide guidance as to the type and location of work zone lane merge control based on these factors, including thresholds for when different lane merge controls are appropriate, as well as how to best communicate pertinent information to drivers in order to yield the anticipated results.

• Record URL:
  https://swzdi.intrans.iastate.edu/
• Record URL:
  https://ideas.iowadot.gov/subdomain/ideas-main/end/node/3497?qmzn=iKFrYf
• Record URL:
  https://rip.trb.org/Results?txtKeywords=TPF-5%28438%29#/View/1644217

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $100000
• Contract Numbers:

  TPF-5(438)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010
• Managing Organizations:

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010
• Project Managers:

  Clute, Khyle

• Performing Organizations:

  Michigan State University, East Lansing

  Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
  Institute for Community Development
  East Lansing, MI  United States  48824-1226
• Principal Investigators:

  Savolainen, Peter

• Start Date: 20230401
• Expected Completion Date: 20240930
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Implementation; Lane closure; Merging control; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01909520
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Iowa Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: TPF-5(438)
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Feb 22 2024 5:56PM