From Tech Transfer Newsletter, Winter 2008 » printer-friendly

Navigating the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance is available on implementing the updated work zone safety and mobility rule.

FHWA's updated Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule applies to all state and local governments that receive federal-aid highway funding. The rule was published in the Federal Register in September 2004, and as of October 12, 2007 transportation agencies are required to comply with its provisions. The overarching goal of the rule is to reduce crashes and congestion in and around work zones. Provisions in support of this goal encourage agencies to consider work zone safety and mobility impacts both early on and throughout the project delivery process and to expand work zone planning beyond the project work zone itself to address corridor, network, and regional issues. The updated rule also advocates expanding work zone management beyond traffic safety and control to encompass broader solutions that address the need for continued mobility during road construction.

To help state transportation agencies meet the challenge of maintaining work zone safety and mobility while performing needed rehabilitation and reconstruction work on the nation's roads, FHWA has issued a collection of four guides:

Implementing the Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility

• Includes a general overview of the rule, a look at differences between the updated rule and the former rule, sample approaches to implementation, examples of state transportation agency practices that relate to the rule's provisions, and sources for more information.

Work Zone Public Information and Outreach Strategies

• Addresses the use of public information and outreach as a work zone management tool. The guide includes sections on identifying the target audience, building partnerships, designing communications strategies, developing a campaign message, and working with the mass media.

Work Zone Impacts Assessment: An Approach to Assess and Manage Work Zone Safety and Mobility Impacts of Road Projects

• Provides guidance on evaluating work zone impacts using an assessment process that follows the typical program delivery process of transportation agencies, including systems planning, preliminary engineering, design, and construction, as well as the ongoing activities of performance assessment, system management, and maintenance and operations.

Developing and Implementing Transportation Management Plans for Work Zones

• Looks at how coordinated transportation management strategies can be used to manage the work zone impacts of a road project.

Available online, the guides provide assistance in understanding and implementing the rule.

"Work-Zone Safety and Mobility Rule Implementation Guide," an FHWA-produced CD-ROM containing the guides and other resources is also available through Tech Transfer's Going...Going...Gone service. Details on eligibility and ordering are available at the Going...Going...Gone page.

Reprinted with permission from the May 2007 issue of FHWA Focus.

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