Modern Solutions to Safe and Efficient Work Zone Travel (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
Modern Solutions to
Safe and Efficient Work
Zone Travel
Mike Mollenhauer
Sarah Robinson
Stephanie Baker
Tammy Trimble
Jean Paul Talledo Vilela
Scott Fritz
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Blacksburg, VA
Michael Fontaine
Hyun Cho
Chien-Lun Lan
Virginia Transportation Research Council
Charlottesville, VA
Paul Pisano
Paul Pisano, LLC
Arlington, VA
Conduct of Research Report for NCHRP Project 10-109
Submitted August 2024
NCHRP Web-Only Document 418
Modern Solutions to Safe and Efficient Work Zone Travel
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP.
DISCLAIMER
This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this publication are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
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Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 418
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Camille Crichton-Sumners, Senior Program Officer
Dajaih Bias-Johnson, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Jennifer J. Weeks, Publishing Projects Manager
NCHRP PROJECT 10-109 PANEL
Field of Materials and Construction—Area of Specs, Procedures, and
Practices
Adam David Carreon, CivTech Inc., Scottsdale, AZ (Chair)
Nithin K. Agarwal, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Jerome S. Gluck, AECOM, New York, NY
Michael D. Hurtt, CHA Consulting, Inc., Albany, NY
Tadeaus Kelly, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Garner, NC
Juan D. Pava Sierra, Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, IL
Hua Xiang, Maryland Department of Transportation, Baltimore, MD
Jawad N. Paracha, FHWA Liaison
Casey Soneira, AASHTO Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 10-109 by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) with support from the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), and Paul Pisano, LLC. Dr. Mike Mollenhauer, Director of the Division of Technology Implementation, was the Project Director and Principal Investigator. The other authors of this report are Sarah Robinson, Jean Paul Talledo Vilela, and Scott Fritz from the Division of Technology Implementation as well as Tammy Trimble and Stephanie Baker from the Division of Data Analytics. The researchers were supported by VTRC researchers Dr. Michael Fontaine, Dr. Hyun Cho, and Dr. Chien-Lun Lan. The researchers were also supported by Paul Pisano, Principal, Paul Pisano, LLC.
Dynamic Merge Assistance Systems
Application of Emerging Technologies in Smart Work Zone Use Cases
CHAPTER 4 PROS AND CONS OF USING CAVS ANDCROWDSOURCING APPLICATIONS
Pros of Using CAV Technologies
Cons Associated with the Use of CAV Technologies
Crowdsourced Data/Smartphone Applications
Pros of Using Crowdsourced Data/Smartphone Applications
Cons Associated with the Use of Crowdsourced Data/Smartphone Applications
Pros of Using Speed Safety Camera Systems
Cons Associated with the Use of Speed Safety Camera Systems
CHAPTER 5 PROOF-OF-CONCEPT CASE STUDIES
Overview of Work Zone Technologies
Supplemental Data Collection Systems
Smart Work Zone Application Trailer
POC Lessons Learned and Suggestions
Dissemination of Research Results
Issues Affecting Potential Implementation
Real Time Traveler Information
Dynamic Lane Merge Systems (DLMS)
Overview of Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies
Work Zone Intrusion Alert Systems (WZIAS)
Emerging Technology Conclusions
Pilot Deployments and Demonstrations
VTTI – Safely Operating ADS (SOADS)
Smart Work Zone Seminole Expressway, FL
FHWA/TXDOT Connected Work Zone Initiative, TX
California Connected Vehicle Testbed, CA
APPENDIX B. NCDOT CONNECTED LANE CLOSURE DEVICES AND DYNAMIC ZIPPERMERGE SYSTEM
Connected Lane Closure Devices
Materials and System Operational Requirements
NCHRP Web-Only Document 418 contains the Conduct of Research Report for NCHRP Project 10-109 and accompanies NCHRP Research Report 1142: Innovative Approaches to Enhancing Safety and Efficiency in Work Zones: A Guide. Readers can read or purchase NCHRP Research Report 1142 on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org).
List of Tables
Table 1. Risk Rating and Probability Definitions
Table 3. Preliminary Taxonomy to Compare Methods to Inform Drivers
Table 4. Rating Rubric Used to Evaluate the Work Zone Technologies
Table 5. Technology Applicability Summary – Traveler Information Systems
Table 6. Technology Applicability Summary – Queue Warning Systems
Table 7. Technology Applicability Summary – WZIAS
Table 8. Technology Applicability Summary– Work Zone Presence/Layout
Table 9. Technology Applicability Summary – Speed Harmonization
Table 10. Technology Applicability Summary – Speed Compliance Systems
Table 11. Technology Applicability Summary – Dynamic Merge Assistance
Table 13. Risk Rating and Probability Definitions
Table 16. Examples of Benefits for Various Work Zones ITS (Ullman et al., 2014a)
Table 17. Queue Warning Systems
Table 18. Work Zone Related CV Applications – Interpreted from (Parikh et al., 2019)
List of Figures
Figure 1. Work Zone Data Management App
Figure 2. Smart Vest and Helmet Devices
Figure 3. Smart Work Zone Situation Awareness Application Screen Shots
Figure 4. Layout of Typical DZMS (Credit: Virginia DOT)
Figure 5. ATMA in Striping Operations
Figure 6. Smart Work Zone Trailer Architecture
Figure 7. States Supporting POC Deployments
Figure 8. Mobile TTC Configuration
Figure 10. ATMA in POC 1 Operations
Figure 11. POC 2 Deployment Location
Figure 12. ATMA in POC 2 Operations
Figure 15. Work Zone Data Management App Layout
Figure 18. Locations of POCs 7 and 8
Figure 19. Smart Helmet Device
Figure 20. Grand Ave Milling POC
Figure 22. TTC443 for Iowa Mobile Work Zones
List of Acronyms
| AASHTO | American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |
| ADAS | Advanced Driving Assistance Systems |
| ADS | Automated Driving Systems |
| API | application program interface |
| ATMA | autonomous truck-mounted attenuator |
| ARTBA | American Road and Transportation Builders Association |
| CAV | connected automated vehicle |
| CV | connected vehicle |
| C-V2X | cellular vehicle-to-everything |
| DLMS | dynamic lane merge systems |
| DMS | dynamic message signs |
| DOT | department of transportation |
| DZMS | dynamic zipper merge system |
| FHWA | Federal Highway Administration |
| HMI | human-machine interface |
| HSIP | Highway Safety Improvement Program |
| IOO | infrastructure owners and operators |
| ITS | intelligent transportation systems |
| I2V | infrastructure-to-vehicle |
| PCMS | portable changeable message signs |
| POC | proof-of-concept |
| RITIS | Regional Integrated Transportation Information System |
| RTK | real time kinematic |
| TGWAS | Traffic Guard Worker Alert System |
| TRB | Transportation Research Board |
| TTC | temporary traffic control |
| VSL | variable speed limits |
| V2I | vehicle-to-infrastructure |
| V2P | vehicle-to-pedestrian |
| V2V | vehicle-to-vehicle |
| V2X | vehicle-to-everything |
| VDOT | Virginia Department of Transportation |
| VTRC | Virginia Transportation Research Council |
| VTTI | Virginia Tech Transportation Institute |
| WZDx | Work Zone Data Exchange |
| WZIAS | work zone intrusion alert system |
