Publications & Studies
Best Practices
Construction Strategies
Contracting Strategies
ITS and Technology
Performance Measurement
Public Information and Outreach
Regulation and Policy
Training
Research
Work Zone & Traffic Analysis/Management
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Best Practices
- Work Zone Best Practices Guidebook (April 2000)
- Fact Sheets
Snapshots of information on activities for improving mobility and safety in our nation’s construction and maintenance of work zones, including lessons-learned, new products/initiatives, and best practices.- Fact Sheet 1 "Oregon's QuickFax Service" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.7MB)
- Fact Sheet 2 "Customer Driven Construction in Illinois" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 707KB)
- Fact Sheet 3 "Work Zone Safety Awareness Week" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.6MB)
- Fact Sheet 4 "Delaware's Survival Plan for the I-95 Shutdown" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.6MB)
- Fact Sheet 5 "Innovation During Bridge Rehabilitation Improves Mobility" Print Fact Sheet (Winter/Spring 2001) (PDF, 474KB)
- Fact Sheet 6 "Work Zone Best Practices Guidebook" Print Fact Sheet (Winter/Spring 2001) (PDF, 629K)
- Fact Sheet 7 "Compendium of Work Zone Research, Development and Technology Transfer" Print Fact Sheet (Summer 2002) (PDF, 579KB)
- Fact Sheet 8 "Ohio Keeps Motorists and Road Rehabilitation Moving Forward" Print Fact Sheet (Summer 2003) (PDF 113KB)
- Fact Sheet 9 "Arkansas Uses Public Outreach to Pave The Way During Interstate Rehabilitation" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 125KB)
- Fact Sheet 10 "Communicating Work Zone Information to Truckers in North Carolina" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 239KB)
- Fact Sheet 11 "Caltrans Transportation Management Plans Reduce Work Zone Congestion" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 157KB)
- Fact Sheet 12 "Tennessee Analyzes Work Zone Impacts to Find a SmartFIX for I-40" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 300K)
- Fact Sheet 13 "Work Zone Training: Examples of What Agencies Are Doing" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 961K)
- Fact Sheet 14 "Tracking Work Zone Performance in Missouri" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 393K)
- Fact Sheet 15 "Midwest Work Zone Roundtable - Improved Work Zone Management and Operations through Collaboration" Print Fact Sheet (PDF, 231K)
- Colorado Work Zone Best Practices Safety Guide (PDF, 13KB)
- Work Zone Safety Brochures - Five brochures produced by the FHWA Office of Safety
Construction Strategies
- Get In, Get Out, Stay Out! Proceedings of the Workshop on Pavement Renewal for Urban Freeways (February 1998) (PDF, 2.5MB)
- National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 350 Crashworthiness Information
- Roadside Hardware Work Zone Devices
- Work Zone Safety Guidelines for Municipalities, Utilities and Contractors - A handbook from Colorado Department of Transportation presents basic guidelines for work zones traffic control.
Night Work/Off-Peak Work
- Illumination Guidelines for Nighttime Highway Work
- Improving Night Work Zone Traffic Control
- NCHRP Report 475, "A Procedure for Assessing and Planning Nighttime Highway Construction and Maintenance" (PDF, 462KB)
- Selection Criteria for using Nighttime Construction and Maintenance Operations (Oregon DOT, May 2003) - Final Report / Appendices
- Traffic Control Handbook for Mobile Operations at Night (PDF, 773KB) - This is a synthesis of current practices for performing mobile highway operations at night (FHWA-SA-03-026).
- Improving Traffic Control for Night Work Zones (HTML, PDF 116KB)
- Worker Safety and Visibility (HTML, PDF 160KB)
Full Road Closure and Lane Closure
- Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations - A Cross-Cutting Study (August 2003) - The report provides a summary of how departments of transportation in Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, and Delaware each used a full closure approach to conduct a road rehabilitation/reconstruction project. (FHWA-OP-04-009) (EDL# 13795) (HTML, PDF, 827KB)
- Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations: A Case Study. Reducing the Impact of Construction During the Rehabilitation of a Major Interstate Highway. Interstate 95 in Wilmington, Delaware (FHWA-OP-05-012) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 199KB)
- Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations: A Case Study. Accelerating Construction and Reducing Crashes During Rehabilitation of a Major Downtown Route. M-10 Lodge Freeway in Detroit, Michigan (FHWA-OP-05-013) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 224KB)
- Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations: A Case Study. Using Weekend Closures to Expedite Road Rehabilitation and Minimize the Impacts on Motorists and Road Builders. I-84 Banfield Freeway in Portland, Oregon (FHWA-OP-05-014) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 203KB)
- "Shorter Duration, Safer Work Zones, More Satisfied Travelers" (HTML, PDF, 81KB) Brochure on successful applications of full road closures in work zones. (FHWA-OP-03-086)
- NCHRP Synthesis 293 - Reducing and Mitigating Impacts of Lane Occupancy During Construction and Maintenance (PDF, 3.2MB) - Report describing the current state of the practice for reducing and mitigating the impacts of lane occupancy during construction and maintenance.
- Lane Closure Strategy for the Denver Metro area (Region 6) (PDF, 1.2MB)
- Lane Closure Policy for Region 4 (Northern Colorado) (PDF, 82.6KB)
- Lane Closure Policy Development, Enforcement, and Exceptions: A Survey of Seven State Transportation Agencies (PDF, 872KB) - This report, developed by Center for Transportation Research and Education at Iowa State University, examines the lane closure policies from several state departments of transportation.
Contracting Strategies
- Primer on Contracting for the 21st Century (PDF, 357KB) - This document, which was prepared by the Contract Administration Task Force of the AASHTO Subcommittee on Construction, lists various contracting and contract administration techniques that are currently being used by various contracting agencies in their transportation programs.
ITS and Technology
- ITS for Work Zones Leaflet: Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned - This leaflet summarizes the benefits, costs, extent of deployment, and lessons learned about using ITS in work zones.
- NCHRP Report 560: Guide to Contracting ITS Projects - This report provides guidance on the procurement of ITS and highlights best practices and recommends contracting strategies and contract types, terms, and conditions for ITS development, integration, system acceptance, warranty, maintenance, and upgrade.
- Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Case Study. Work Zone Travel Time System - Reducing Congestion with the Use of a Traffic Management Contract Incentive During the Reconstruction of Arizona State Route 68 (FHWA-HOP-04-032) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 283KB)
- Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Case Study. Dynamic Lane Merge System - Reducing Aggressive Driving and Optimizing Throughput at Work Zone Merges in Michigan (FHWA-HOP-04-033) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 243KB)
- Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Case Study. Real-Time Work Zone Traffic Control System - Using an Automated Traffic Information System to Reduce Congestion and Improve Safety During Reconstruction of the I-55 Lake Springfield Bridge in Illinois (FHWA-HOP-04-018) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 221KB)
- Informed Motorists, Fewer Crashes: Using Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones (FHWA-OP-01-043) (2001) (HTML, PDF, 38K) This brochure examines the safety and mobility benefits using ITS in work zones.
- Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Case Study. Work Zone Traffic and Incident Management System - Keeping Traffic Moving During Reconstruction of the Big I, a Major Interstate-Interstate Interchange in Albuquerque (FHWA-OP-04-072) (2004) (HTML, PDF, 127KB)
- Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Cross-Cutting Study (FHWA-OP-02-025) (2002) (HTML, PDF, 2.75MB) Examination of real-world experiences with ITS in work zones from four locations as well as information on other work zone ITS technologies.
- ITS/Operations Resource Guide 2008 - A comprehensive listing of over 500 documents, web sites, training courses, software tools, and points of contact related to ITS.
- Portable Changeable Message Sign (PCMS) Handbook - This handbook presents basic guidelines for the use of PCMS (FHWA-RD-03-066).
Performance Measurement
- 2006 Self Assessment National Report (HTML, Word, 294KB)
- 2005 Self Assessment National Report (HTML, Word, 901KB)
- 2004 Self Assessment National Report (HTML, Word, 301KB)
- 2003 Self Assessment National Detail Report (HTML, Word, 365K)
- 2003 Self Assessment National Summary Report (HTML, Word, 205K)
- Self Assessment Guide
- Self Assessment Score Sheet
- "A Snapshot of Summer 2001 Work Zone Activity" (HTML, PDF, 527K) Survey of nearly 800 work zones posted on 13 state road closure and construction web sites during a two-week snapshot of the peak summer roadwork season in 2001.
- Model Work Zone Traffic Management Program and Self Evaluation Guide (PDF, 238MB)
Public Information and Outreach
- Work Zone Public Information and Outreach Strategies (HTML, PDF 3.4MB) - This document provides tips, examples, and practices on designing a public information and outreach campaign for work zones and offers a variety of strategies that can be used in a campaign.
- FHWA Focus State Initiative: Developing Communication and Outreach Strategies for Work Zones - Workshop Proceedings (HTML, Word, 294KB)
- Assessing Public Inconvenience in Highway Work Zones (Oregon DOT, June 2002) - Final Report (PDF, 1.05MB) / Abstract (HTML)
- Work Zone Safety Brochures - produced by the FHWA Office of Safety
Regulation and Policy
- Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects (HTML, PDF 10MB) - This document presents a general approach for work zone impacts assessment and provides examples of how agencies are currently assessing and managing work zone impacts, as well as an overview of different traffic analysis tools that can be helpful for analysis of work zone impacts.
- Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones (HTML, PDF 1.4MB) - This document provides tips, examples, and practices for developing and implementing work zone transportation management plans (TMPs).
- Work Zone Public Information and Outreach Strategies (HTML, PDF 3.4MB) - This document provides tips, examples, and practices on designing a public information and outreach campaign for work zones and offers a variety of strategies that can be used in a campaign.
- Implementing the Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility (23 CFR 630 Subpart J) (HTML, PDF, 1.3MB)
- Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility - (Public Roads, January/February 2006) Article
- FHWA Provides Guidance on Implementing Updated Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule - (Focus, November 2005) Article
Research
- Compendium of Work Zone Research, Development, and Technology Transfer Projects - To obtain a copy of the Compendium, contact workzonepubs@fhwa.dot.gov.
- Dramatically Reducing Highway Construction Project Times: Suggestions for Research (1998) (HTML, PDF, 49K) - Summary of issues and research needs associated with dramatically reducing highway construction project times and the potential for research to help achieve such reductions.
- National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Work Zone Safety Publications - Database of information and series of reports produced by the National Highway Work Zone Safety Program (NHWZSP) in the areas of standardization, compliance, evaluation, and implementation.
Training
Work Zone & Traffic Analysis/Management
- Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects (HTML, PDF 10MB) - This document presents a general approach for work zone impacts assessment and provides examples of how agencies are currently assessing and managing work zone impacts, as well as an overview of different traffic analysis tools that can be helpful for analysis of work zone impacts.
- New 10/16/08 Considering Work Zone Impacts Brochure (PDF, 1.7MB) - This brochure is a brief summary of the FHWA guide on Assessing Work Zone Impacts.
- Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals (HTML, PDF 2.2MB)
- Guidebook on Incident Management Planning in Work Zones, Published 2005 (PDF, 2MB)
- Guidelines for Developing Traffic Incident Management Plans for Work Zones (PDF, 1.2MB)
- QuickZone
(Public Roads, July/August 2001)
Article by Deborah Curtis
QuickZone is software that will estimate traveler delay due to work zones, and by doing so, it will provide a more complete and realistic view of the total construction costs. - A
QuickZone Tailor-Made for Maryland
(Focus, March 2001) Article - Strategic
Work Zone Analysis Tools
(Public Roads, November/December 2000)
Article by John Harding
The SWAT program addresses work zone factors and stresses the importance of accounting for work zone influences when making transportation-improvement decisions. - Risk Assessment and Allocation for Highway Construction Management - This report provides a guide to the risk assessment and allocation process in highway construction.
- Improving Traffic Control for Night Work Zones (HTML, PDF 116KB) - This brochure, produced by the FHWA Office of Safety, describes strategies for enhanced traffic control devices, visibility of workers and work vehicles, controlling speeding and increasing driver awareness, providing good "glare free" illumination, and accommodating pedestrians.
- Accommodating Pedestrians in Work Zones (HTML, PDF 296KB) - This brochure, produced by the FHWA Office of Safety, provides some helpful guidelines that can be used to accommodate pedestrians in work zones.
- New 10/16/08 Temporary Traffic Control Zone Pedestrian Access Considerations Guidance Sheet (PDF, 544KB)