Chapter 1 Introduction

Background

Work zones present imminent safety hazards for roadway workers and passing motorists due to several factors, including driver distraction, changes in traffic patterns, narrowed rights of way, and general congestion. According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Work Zone Management Program, 857 fatalities occurred in work zones in the U.S. in 2020 (National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, 2023). One work zone fatality occurs for every 4 billion vehicle-miles of travel and for every $112 million of roadway construction expenditures. In addition to safety concerns, work zones present mobility issues and frustrations for traveling motorists, accounting for 10% of overall congestion and 24% of unexpected freeway delays (FHWA Work Zone Management Program, 2020).

Smart Work Zones leverage innovative technological strategies such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and crowdsourcing applications to mitigate the safety and mobility concerns associated with work zones (National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, 2020). Such technological solutions have myriad benefits. For instance, these technologies can provide guidance to traveling motorists about upcoming work zones by suggesting alternative routing options and alerting them to noncompliance with traffic controls or suggested speed limits. Additional data about features of Smart Work Zones (e.g., lane configuration changes, locations of hazards, and reduced speed zones) for use in mobile applications (e.g., Waze, HERE, and Google applications, “Commercial Navigation App”) can improve driver and connected and automated vehicle (CAV) awareness.

While a considerable number of modern technologies are being developed and piloted, there are mixed levels of Smart Work Zone solution implementations. Solutions may include features such as wearable alerting and localization devices, vehicle detection systems to provide additional conflict warning, data management and dissemination tools, a mobile communications platform, and situation awareness tools to allow work zone managers to understand location and status of work zone workers (“Smart Work Zone System”). Some, such as traveler information systems, are widely deployed, while others have still not yet been broadly adopted. Potential barriers to adoption related to cost, complexity/practicality, effectiveness, organizational dependencies (e.g., technical capabilities of workforce and competition for funding), solution maturity, etc. need to be identified and mitigated. Moreover, the lack of consistent, standardized work zone data across jurisdictions remains a challenge for existing technological solutions.

Project Objectives

The goal of this project is to identify best practices in leveraging technology to help the traveling public navigate roadway maintenance or construction work zones. With this goal in mind, the following objectives guided the research efforts:

• Evaluate innovative and adaptive technologies that capture attention and enhance work zone safety and mobility.
• Evaluate the use of crowdsourcing applications and data analytics for dynamic work zone devices and in-vehicle notifications for traffic management.

The outcome of this work is a practitioner guide for the application and management of innovative work zone technologies.

Research Approach

This project was conducted in a sequential manner, with each task building on the previous and informing the next with the goal of developing the practitioner guide. To ensure applicability of the final deliverables to practitioners, throughout this effort, the team engaged practitioners via a variety of methods (surveys, online focus groups, and online workshops). This effort also furthered work conducted as part of NCHRP 20-102(28) Preparing Transportation Agencies for Connected and Automated Vehicles in Work Zones. The remaining chapters of this report will summarize key takeaways from each task:

• Chapter 2 reviews the methods undertaken to complete the project.
• Chapter 3 provides an understanding of innovative and adaptive technologies that capture attention and can enhance work zone safety and mobility.
• Chapter 4 presents the pros and cons of using CAVs and crowdsourcing applications for dynamic work zone devices.
• Chapter 5 discusses the results of proof-of-concept activities that provided an understanding of the best practices of CAVs and crowdsourcing applications for dynamic work zone devices to overcome barriers to adoption of these Smart Work Zone technologies.
• Chapter 6 offers conclusions and opportunities for future research.