Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
Photo collage: temporary lane closure, road marking installation, cone with mounted warning light, and drum separated work zones.
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Full Road Closure and Lane Closure

Design and Construction Strategies

Project Spotlight

Full Closure to Save Two to Three Years of Construction Time on I-40 - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has closed I-40 between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389) from early May 2008 through June 2009 as part of the SmartFIX40 construction project. During the closure, this segment of I-40 will be widened to 6 through lanes and 4 auxiliary lanes; 9 bridges, 14 retaining walls, and 3 noise walls will be constructed; 2 existing bridges will be demolished; 12 side roads will be completed; and 7 new ramps will be constructed. TDOT estimates that by closing I-40 they will save motorists 2 to 3 years of construction time and frustration.

Full road closures, partial facility closures, and lane closures all facilitate the completion of roadway construction projects. When applied strategically, these approaches can serve as effective ways to manage safety and disruption to traffic in work zones. This page includes resources and information on each of these construction strategies:

Full Closures

Full road closure is an approach designed to eliminate the exposure of motorists to work zones and workers to traffic by temporarily closing a facility for rehabilitation or maintenance. During full road closure, traffic is detoured, allowing full access to roadway facilities. It is not suitable for all construction situations. In applicable situations, use of full road closure can result in positive public sentiment, increased productivity, reduced project duration, increased safety and/or a shortened risk period, and in some cases cost savings. A full closure approach may be used for an extended period of time, on weekends or nights, or directionally on a segment of roadway.

The following sections provide links to a series of FHWA case studies, as well as links to other examples of how agencies have used the full closure technique.

Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations Case Studies

barricades in front of work zone with signs stating "road closed" and "do not enter"

  • 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 827K).
  • 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 199K)
  • 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 224K)
  • 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 203K)
  • "Shorter Duration, Safer Work Zones, More Satisfied Travelers" (HTML, PDF 81K) Brochure on successful applications of full road closures in work zones. (FHWA-OP-03-086).

Additional Full Closure Examples

  • I-40 (Tennessee DOT) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has closed a short section of I-40 between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389) from early May 2008 through June 2009 as part of the SmartFIX40 construction project. During the closure, this segment of I-40 will be widened to six through lanes and four auxiliary lanes. Work will also include the construction of nine bridges, 14 retaining walls and three noise walls. Additionally, two existing bridges will be demolished, 12 side roads will be completed and seven new ramps will be constructed. TDOT estimates by closing this section of I-40 for the work, they will save motorists two to three years of construction time and frustration.
  • I-295 Southbound Rehabilitation (MaineDOT) - MaineDOT closed 18 miles of southbound I-295 from Gardiner to Topsham from mid-June through August 9, 2008 for a major rehabilitation project. Because of the closure, MaineDOT was able to compress 3 years of construction and associated traffic delays into 2 months. MaineDOT safety experts and traffic engineers recommended the full closure as the safest and most efficient approach to this $30-million highway project. Accordingly, there was only one minor crash during the diversion to the detour route. High police presence on the detour route helped keep traffic in compliance with speed limits. MaineDOT collected travel count and speed data information through three locations, each with a camera, a radar unit, and a traffic count loop detector run by solar powered batteries, and provided real-time traffic information via a web site that displayed a map with travel speeds, traffic volumes, delay information, and camera images.
  • I-65 (Indiana DOT) - A portion of I-65 in Gary, Indiana will be closed starting March 2008 for nine months as part of a $46 million contract that includes reconstruction of I-65 where it crosses over I-80/94, the rehabilitation of six bridges, and the reconstruction of the Colorado Street Bridge. The closures will allow construction to finish in half the time, and improve safety for travelers and construction workers.
  • I-64/US 40 (Missouri DOT) - Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in St. Louis will be closed starting January 2, 2008 for two years as part of a $535 million rebuilding effort. One 5-mile stretch will be closed for 2008, and another segment will be closed in 2009. Missouri DOT (MoDOT) has established incentives for the Contractor that include timely completion and re-opening of the road, and for tracking and meeting performance indicators for regional mobility. MoDOT is also doing an indepth evaluation of the impacts from and satisfaction with the closure approach. Without using full closure, the project would have taken an estimated 6 to 8 years of lane closures and cost many millions more.
  • Lodge Freeway (Michigan DOT) - The M-10 (Lodge Freeway) in Detroit was closed from February through November 2007 in order to reconstruct/rehabilitate 14 miles of pavement, repair/replace 50 bridges, upgrade utilities and replace freeway signs.
    • Project Web Site
    • "Lodge Far From a Retreat", article in January 2008 issue of Roads & Bridges, Volume: 46 Number: 1. This article describes how the Michigan DOT saved more than $140 million, saved Detroit commuters several years of lane closures, and provided a safer environment for workers through the use of full closure on the Lodge Freeway project.
  • Augusta Memorial Bridge (Maine DOT) - The Augusta Memorial Bridge in Augusta was closed 75 continuous days from February to May 2006 for the installation of a new concrete deck.
  • Chouteau Bridge (Missouri DOT) - The Chouteau Bridge in St. Louis was closed to traffic in February 2005 for a two-year project that includes replacing the bridge and providing pedestrian accommodations. The bridge will remain closed for the entire two years.
  • Lewis and Clark Bridge (Oregon DOT and Washington State DOT) - The Lewis and Clark Bridge deck replacement project, on SR 433 over the Columbia River between Washington & Oregon, involved full closures between 9:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. for 120 nights, plus 4 weekend closures, from September 2003 to February 2004.
  • Hyperfix 65/70 (Indiana DOT) - The Hyperfix 65/70 project in downtown Indianapolis involved 85 continuous days of closure. The closure took place from May to August 2003.
  • I-670 (Ohio DOT) - A portion of I-670 in Columbus was closed for reconstruction for 18 months in 2002 and 2003 as part of the Spring-Sandusky Interchange interchange project.
  • I-285 (Georgia DOT) - The I-285 resurfacing project in Atlanta involved shutting down I-285, one direction at a time, on weekends only, from 9:00 pm on Friday to 5:00 am on Monday, in 2001.
Dupont Circle Work Zone in Washington, DC

Partial Facility Closures

The following examples involve the closure of one side of the freeway during reconstruction projects. Traffic was shifted to the other side of the freeway, rather than detoured, which distinguishes these examples from the full road closure examples.


  • "Holding Down the Fort", by Frank Cippel, article in December 2007 issue of Roads & Bridges, Volume: 45 Number: 12. In 2002, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) began a major reconstruction project on the I-279 Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel in the city of Pittsburgh. With heavy traffic using the bridge and tunnel, closing the structures and detouring motorists would not be easy. PennDOT began studying how to best complete the work and planning detour routes in the early 1980s, well before the project began. PennDOT decided to perform various stages of the project separately in an effort to minimize the impact a total closure would have on the region. The last phase of the project involved work on the main bridge span and the tunnel. Closing of the main span of the bridge and the tunnel required the use of two main detour routes that already carried large volumes of traffic. With this in mind, PennDOT began reconstruction and rehabilitation work on the detour routes almost 10 years before the closures occurred. During the closures, PennDOT implemented many innovative strategies to reduce congestion and delay on the detour routes, including turning off traffic signals to create free-flow routes, expanding lane reversal hours, and opening a hole through an existing concrete barrier to prevent motorists from having to merge into a single lane when exiting a tunnel.
  • I-70 (Indiana DOT) - Known as Super 70, this $175M project completely rebuilds the 6-mile stretch of I-70 from I-465 on the east side of the city to downtown Indianapolis. The project will occur between June 2006 and 2008, with the bulk of interstate reconstruction and ramp and lane closures occurring between March and November 2007. To do the bulk of the work in this short time frame, Indiana is using partial facility closures. Selected ramps and one side of the Interstate are closed at a time, with work completed on the one side in an accelerated manner before switching to the other side. There are 3 inbound lanes and 2 outbound lanes during the morning rush hour, and during evening rush hour the flow is reversed using a moveable barrier wall. The wall is moved 12 feet at a time from one lane to the other, adding a lane in the peak travel direction.
    • "Still Hyper Active", article in June 2007 issue of Roads & Bridges Magazine, Volume: 45 Number: 6

Lane Closures

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