Work-Zone Safety
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...
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...
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...
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...
The state of this country’s infrastructure is truly something of a paradox. Its desperate need for upgrade is one of the few things that members of both major political parties can agree upon. It is an issue that affects literally every U.S. citizen, and yet action on it seems to be repeatedly...
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...
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...
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao asked the inspector general of her department to probe whether a federally funded pedestrian bridge that collapsed and killed six in Florida complied with all rules, her office said on Tuesday.
Chao said in a letter she has asked for an audit to determine...
In 2016, there were over 288 nighttime crashes in work zones, resulting in over 800 fatalities.
Increasing traffic volumes are leading to a rapid increase in nighttime construction activities on our roads. This increase in nighttime construction on highways poses a major safety concern for both...
Image: ALL Family of Companies
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule last week that delayed its deadline for crane operators to be certified by one year until Nov. 10, 2018.
OSHA is also extending its employer duty to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely...
Image source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released interim enforcement guidance for its Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard, which is to be enforced in full on Oct. 23.
The guidance was issued Oct. 19 in a memorandum to OSHA regional administrators from...
In a new study funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, researchers at the University of Minnesota investigated the potential advantages and possible disadvantages of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) in-vehicle messages to communicate to drivers traveling in work zones.
The...
IDOT survey crew member surveying intersection with 3-D scanner out of the path of live traffic. Photo courtesy of IDOT.
In April 2010, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) published a research document titled Evaluation of 3-D Laser Scanning for Construction Application. The objective of this research was to study how 3-D laser scanning technology could be...
Flagging operations are a critical part of construction and maintenance activities on our highways.
Flagging personnel are trained to effectively and safely communicate the location of construction or maintenance activities to the traveling public. Due to the nature of the work, flagging...
It has been 100 years since our industry started using pavement markings to separate travel lanes and provide delineation; in 1917, a center line was painted to increase safety along a sharp curve in Marquette County, Mich.
Since that time, pavement markings have been designed, specified and...
IDOT TRS developmental layout specification (as shown as Figure 4 in the Report).
The Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) at Iowa State University develops methods and technologies to improve transportation safety and reliability.
Last month, CTRE issued a Final Report titled “Field Measurements on the Effect of Temporary Rumble Strips in Work Zone Flagging...
