Work-Zone
State DOTs have been increasingly deploying intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in work zones over the last 10 years with the goal of improving traffic operations and safety by providing real-time information to the traveling public.
After the widening of I-20/I-59 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., began...
Image: Caltrans
At the 2018 Caltrans Safety Summit, Caltrans Director Laurie Berman made a call to action and is implementing three new safety initiatives to end work-zone fatalities in the state.
In the last five years, over 3,000 people nationwide lost their lives in work-zone collisions, and more than 85% of...
Despite using warning signs, reflective clothing and other visual signals to alert drivers of changing road conditions, there are still accidents in our work zones. The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse reports that out of the 799 work-zone fatalities reported in 2017, 132 were...
This year's National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is being held this week, April 8-12, 2019, with the national kick-off press event to be held on April 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), along with the American Association of State Highway and...
Regardless of the warning signs, lights and other signals for a change in traffic patterns, accidents are still happening in our work zones. In 2017 alone, the Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics recorded a total of 1,778 crashes in these areas, 43% of which resulted in injuries or fatalities....
Three workers sustained minor injuries from a fall that occurred last week while working on the I-4 Ultimate project in Orlando, Fla.
The incident took place only four days after construction on the interstate resumed after a worker was killed earlier this month, according to the Orlando Sentinel...
A study conducted by researchers at the Department of Health at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell has concluded that dangerous levels of respirable silica are difficult to control during chipping and crushing activities even when dust control measures are in place. The study cites risk for...
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced its 2019–2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements.
First issued in 1990, the NTSB Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements serves as the agency’s primary advocacy tool to help save lives, prevent...
Figure 1. MoDOT AFAD and its CMS signs.
Flaggers are professionally trained to guide and direct vehicles through work zones, and they are often located closest to the oncoming traffic. Discovering ways to protect flaggers is an important issue in work-zone safety. One countermeasure that can be applied when there is a one-lane closure on...
When the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) first began working on the redesign of the I-235/U.S. 54 interchange in Wichita, the challenge was clear—improve traffic flow and driver safety at each roadway entrance and exit on one of the most heavily traveled interchanges in the state.
With...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced their top 10 most-cited safety violations list for fiscal year 2018.
The list covers violations that OSHA issued between Oct. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018, but the data is preliminary. Patrick Kapust, deputy director of...
Figure 1. TMA light configurations investigated in the study.
As state departments of transportation (DOTs) shift their attention towards maintenance of existing infrastructure, improving safety in both stationary and mobile work zones is becoming more of a consideration.
One countermeasure to help improve safety in mobile work zones is the truck-mounted...
RoadQuake TPRS deployed in work zones reduce crashes and save lives
On February 8, 2017, KTVN TV reported a fatal work-zone crash:
“…a 2006 black Freightliner semi was traveling southbound where it was approaching traffic being halted by a flagger in a construction zone. [Nevada Highway Patrol] says a 2000 red Ford F-150, 2015 white Toyota 4Runner, and 2007 beige...
A MnDOT flagger holds up a sign to warn drivers entering the work zone.
The night a minivan barreled through his crew’s work-zone closure is one Erik Shelstad will never forget.
That evening, the experienced Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) operations supervisor was overseeing a mill-and-fill project on a three-lane interstate. Shelstad’s crew had set...
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the agency's ongoing investigation of the pedestrian bridge collapse that took place at Florida International Univerisity (FIU) on March 15 in the city of Sweetwater.
According to the report, the 174-ft-long bridge fell...
RAPTOR demonstrates TPRS deployment at PTC
Traffic engineers at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) first tested RoadQuake 2F Temporary Portable Rumble Strips (TPRS) in live work zones in September and October of 2015. Their goal was to determine if TPRS arrays would increase driver awareness and alertness in their work zones.
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The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) last week launched a multimedia messaging campaign to highlight the dangers to road crews in work zones.
NAPA unveiled the "WatchForUs" campaign, which targets distracted driving, for National Work Zone Awareness Week observed April 9‒13. The goal...
Beginning this year, work zones in the state of Virginia will have rumble strips, a safety tool that will be used to capture the attention of drivers as well as alert workers to cars entering a work zone, according to officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
VDOT officials...
Many bridge experts believe accelerated bridge construction is not the culprit of the FIU bridge collapse that claimed six lives. In the latest Infrastructure Insider podcast, hear from University of Washington Professor John Stanton, who specializes in ABC. To listen to the podcast, click here.
An I-4 Ultimate construction worker has died after a rebar cage fell and struck him in Orlando, officials said.
SGL Constructors, the P3 joint venture operating the project on I-4, said Michael Tolman, 56, died after being struck around 9:45 a.m. Thursday at an I-4 west on-ramp at South Street...
