Determination of Encroachment Conditions in Work Zones

There were 96,626 crashes in roadway work zones in 2015. This equates to one work zone crash every 5.4 minutes. Every day, 70 work zone crashes result in at least one injury, and every week, 12 work zone crashes result in at least one fatality. Previous research regarding work zone encroachments indicates that there is a higher frequency of fatalities in work zone crashes than nonwork zone crashes (National Work Zone Clearinghouse). Thus, work zones may be an area where significant safety improvements can be made. While current data suggest that work zones have a higher risk for crashes and fatal injuries, data on the impact conditions associated with work zone crashes is poorly documented. More data is needed to identify areas for improvement in the design of work zones and the safety barriers used therein to improve safety in work zones for the traveling public and highway workers. If encroachments for work zones are different than nonwork zones, designers will be able to balance the use of temporary features and optimize the use of public funds by using less expensive barriers.  This research is needed to support updates to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), the Roadside Design Guide (RDG), and the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The objective of this research is to evaluate work zone encroachments and develop guidance to improve safety for workers and the traveling public in roadway work zones. The guidance should address all aspects of work zones from planning (including when to use positive protection) through implementation, and be useable by any entity involved in the life cycle of the work zone. The research should address areas of interest related to work zone encroachments and safety on all roadway types, such as, but not limited to, the following:   (1) Review and define encroachment conditions in work zones; (2) Review methods to collect encroachment data in work zones; (3) Develop a data collection plan for work zone encroachments; (4) Collect and evaluate work zone encroachment data; (5) Analyze driver behavior in work zone encroachments; (6) Review state work zone management practices; (7) Assess the applicability of MASH guidance for work zone application and propose modifications; (8) Based on the results, develop methods to improve the collection of encroachment data; (9) Develop guidance to address encroachments and improve safety in work zones; and (10) Develop methods to validate the safety and effectiveness of the guidance.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4547

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $500000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 03-134

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Rogers, William

  Retting, Richard

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135
• Principal Investigators:

  Dobrovolny, Chiara

• Start Date: 20190620
• Expected Completion Date: 20211220
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barriers (Roads); Data collection; Freeways; Traffic crashes; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01669534
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 03-134
• Files: TRB, RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: May 21 2018 3:07PM