Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule
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Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule SCOTE/SSOM Meeting – June 2009 Work Zone Task Force Tracy Scriba, FHWA
description
Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule. SCOTE/SSOM Meeting – June 2009 Work Zone Task Force Tracy Scriba, FHWA. Agenda. Difference the Rule has Made State of the Practice Overview Best Practice Examples. Has the Rule Made a Difference?. Assess state of the practice to see - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule
Effects of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule
SCOTE/SSOM Meeting – June 2009
Work Zone Task Force
Tracy Scriba, FHWA
Agenda
Difference the Rule has Made State of the Practice Overview Best Practice Examples
Has the Rule Made a Difference?
Assess state of the practice to see FHWA identified several ways to do this:
Review of Work Zone Self Assessment (WZSA) results
Responses to 5 supplemental questions added to the 2008 & 2009 WZSA
Discussions with State and local DOTs and FHWA Divisions
“Scanning” for best practices
What have we learned?
It’s working!
Rule has brought about positive changes in practices and more focus on managing work zones: Work Zone Policy Impacts Assessment Significant Project Identification Training TMP Development and Implementation Data Collection and Analysis
2008 WZSA Results
Largest increases were in practices related to Subpart J:
Classifying projects based on impacts (Significant Projects) – 25%
Training law enforcement personnel – 21% Establishing a policy to develop TMPs – 20%
WZSA Rule Supplemental Questions
Supplemental question scoring scheme
The Rule Has Caused Change
The Rule Has NOT Caused Change
Other
The agency has significantly experienced this as a result of the Rule.
The agency has
somewhat experienced this as a result of the Rule
This was already taking place prior to the Rule and has not changed since the Rule was implemented.
This was not taking place
prior to the Rule and is still not occurring.
It is too early to tell if the Rule has caused this to occur (but I might know later).
Work Zone Policy Biggest change - Agencies have pulled together several
disparate policy documents and procedures/guidelines into one WZ policy/guidelines Some agencies did not have a policy for MOT in work zones and
developed one as a result of the Rule
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Supplemental Question 4(51 responses)
Nu
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SignificantChange
ChangedSomewhat
Already TakingPlace Before Rule
Not TakingPlace Before orAfter Rule
Too Early to Tell
21 agencies (41%) have reported that as a result of their WZ Policy, they are taking a more consistent approach to planning, designing, and constructing road projects
Work Zone Policy (cont.)
Many agencies now considering WZ safety and mobility impacts earlier in the project development process Allows for more mitigation options Example - Ohio DOT has said early consideration
means they can “design away” many WZ impacts
Some agencies have established goals and measures for WZ performance as a result of the Rule Queue lengths Delay time
Impacts Assessment
Agencies are seeing enhanced consideration and management of WZ safety and mobility impacts - starting during planning and continuing through project completion
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Supplemental Question 2(51 responses)
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SignificantChange
ChangedSomewhat
Already TakingPlace Before Rule
Not Taking PlaceBefore or AfterRule
Too Early to Tell
24 agencies (47%) experienced this as a result of the Rule
3 of those agencies cited the Rule as causing significant change in this area
Impacts Assessment (cont.) During planning and design, agencies are looking beyond
the project work zone itself to address corridor, network, and regional issues – particularly when congestion is an issue
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Supplemental Question 1(51 responses)
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SignificantChange
ChangedSomewhat
Already TakingPlace Before Rule
Not Taking PlaceBefore or AfterRule
Too Early to Tell
19 agencies said the Rule had caused this to occur
17 agencies said the Rule had not caused change - most of those agencies (16) were already doing this
Impacts Assessment (cont.)
Agencies are more often using analytical tools to determine WZ impacts 10 to 15% increase in score each of the past 2
years on the 2 related WZ SA questions:During planning to assess impacts of future
construction/maintenance activitiesTo assess impacts when developing TCPs
Significant Project Identification
Agencies are thinking more about project impacts and are more likely to have a process in place to classify projects based on expected impacts 25% increase in WZSA score between 2007 and 2008
As a result, agencies are better able to assess and manage WZ impacts
Several States organize a team to develop the plan for mitigating the impacts of significant projects
Training
Training has been significantly affected by the Rule
27 agencies (53%) have updated/changed training for their staff (designers, planners, construction staff, etc.) to address broader consideration of WZ impacts and management in the scheduling, design, and implementation of projects 11 of those agencies said they made significant changes in
training
WZ SA question on law enforcement training saw a 21% increase in score from 2007 to 2008
Training (cont.)
The agency has updated/changed training for its staff to address broader consideration of WZ impacts and management in the scheduling, design, and implementation of projects.
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Supplemental Question 5(51 responses)
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SignificantChange
ChangedSomewhat
Already TakingPlace Before Rule
Not Taking PlaceBefore or AfterRule
Too Early to Tell
TMP Development and Implementation
TMPs are still a developing area…But significant progress has occurred
Has the agency established a policy for the development of TMPs to reduce WZ congestion and crashes? 2006 - Average score increased by 14% 2007 – Increase of 20% 2008 – Increase of another 20%
TMP Development and Implementation (cont.)
2007 - 67% of agencies are implementing a policy for developing TMPs
2008 - 90% have a policy for developing TMPs to help manage the WZ impacts of a project
Some agencies have developed TMP teams and tools
Use of TMP Strategies
The agency is expanding WZ management beyond traffic safety and control to address mobility through the consideration and use of transportation operations (TO) and public information (PI) strategies.
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25
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Supplemental Question 3(51 responses)
Nu
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SignificantChange
ChangedSomewhat
Already TakingPlace Before Rule
Not Taking PlaceBefore or AfterRule
Too Early to Tell
Data Collection and Analysis
Increasing number of agencies are establishing measures and collecting data to track WZ congestion and delay
Likely related to the addition of operational data to data provision when the Rule was updated
Establishing measures - increased 26% (from 23 to 29 agencies) between 2007 and 2008 Continued significant increase of the year before
Collecting data 2007 - 21% score increase 2008 - 15% increase
Several agencies have started tracking queues
Rule Implementation Best Practices
A Sample
Maryland TMP Development Tools
TMP Guidelines WZ Design Checklist
MOT Red MOT Red Flag Flag SummarySummary
Maryland TMP Development Tools (cont.)
Summary of Work Zone Impact Management Strategies
Public Information and Outreach Plans Development Guidance
Public Information and Outreach Template
Michigan DOT TMP Process
Assessment of Impacts LOS, delay > 10 min, V/C > 0.8
TMP Template TMP Peer Review Team TMP Monitoring and Performance
Assessment Plan
Training Examples
Kentucky TC - created a web-based training course for Law Enforcement
Wisconsin DOT – developed a TMP training course for its designers and others
Data and Performance Measurement Examples
Ohio DOT – Added operational/mobility data to its WZ performance monitoring efforts
North Carolina DOT – Using ITS to gather data on WZ performance
The Work Zone
Dayton, OH Area
More Best Practice Examples at
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/workzones
