Publications & Studies

Policy and National Measures

• Work Zone Traffic Management Program Self Evaluation Guide (PDF, 238MB).
• "A Snapshot of Summer 2001 Work Zone Activity" (HTML, PDF 527k) Survey of nearly 800 work zones posted on 13 state road closure and construction web sites during a two-week snapshot of the peak summer roadwork season in 2001.

Planning and Programming

• National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Work Zone Safety Publications - Database of information and series of reports produced by the National Highway Work Zone Safety Program (NHWZSP) in the areas of standardization, compliance, evaluation, and implementation.
• Compendium of Work Zone Research, Development, and Technology Transfer Projects - To obtain a copy of the Compendium, contact workzonepubs@fhwa.dot.gov.

Contracting Practices

• Primer on Contracting for the 21st Century (PDF, 357KB) -
  This document, which was prepared by the Contract Administration Task Force of the AASHTO
  Subcommittee on Construction, lists various contracting and contract administration techniques that are currently being used by various contracting agencies in their transportation programs.

Design and Construction

• Illumination Guidelines for Nighttime Highway Work
• Traffic Control Handbook for Mobile Operations at Night - This is a synthesis of current practices for performing mobile highway operations at night (FHWA-SA-03-026). To request this publication contact Mike Robinson at Mike.Robinson@fhwa.dot.gov.
• Work Zone Safety Guidelines for Municipalities, Utilities and Contractors - A handbook from Colorado Department of Transportation presents basic guidelines for work zones traffic control.
• Full Road Closure for Work Zone Operations - A Cross-Cutting Study (August 2003) - The report provides a summary of how departments of transportation in Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, and Delaware each used a full closure approach to conduct a road rehabilitation/reconstruction project. (FHWA-OP-04-009) (EDL# 13795) (HTML, PDF 827K)
• "Shorter Duration, Safer Work Zones, More Satisfied Travelers" (HTML, PDF 81K) Brochure on successful applications of full road closures in work zones. (FHWA-OP-03-086)
• NCHRP Synthesis 293 - Reducing and Mitigating Impacts of Lane Occupancy During Construction and Maintenance (PDF, 3.2MB) - Report describing the current state of the practice for reducing and mitigating the impacts of lane occupancy during construction and maintenance.
• Roadside Hardware Work Zone Devices
• NCHRP 350 Crashworthiness Information
• Work Zone Best Practices Guidebook (April 2000)
• Dramatically Reducing Highway Construction Project Times: Suggestions for Research (1998) (HTML, PDF 49K) - Summary of issues and research needs associated with dramatically reducing highway construction project times and the potential for research to help achieve such reductions.
• Technologies and Practices by Level of Deployment (PDF, 17K) A "Technology Inventory" to showcase state-of-the-art technologies and practices that can be applied in work zones.
• Fact Sheets
  Snapshots of information on activities for improving mobility and safety in our nation’s construction and maintenance of work zones, including lessons-learned, new products/initiatives, and best practices.
  • Fact Sheet 1 "Oregon's QuickFax Service" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.7MB)
  • Fact Sheet 2 "Customer Driven Construction in Illinois" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 707K)
  • Fact Sheet 3 "Work Zone Safety Awareness Week" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.6MB)
  • Fact Sheet 4 "Delaware's Survival Plan for the I-95 Shutdown" Print Fact Sheet (July 2000) (PDF, 1.6MB)
  • Fact Sheet 5 "Innovation During Bridge Rehabilitation Improves Mobility" Print Fact Sheet (Winter/Spring 2001) (PDF, 474K)
  • Fact Sheet 6 "Work Zone Best Practices Guidebook" Print Fact Sheet (Winter/Spring 2001) (PDF, 629K)
  • Fact Sheet 7 "Compendium of Work Zone Research, Development and Technology Transfer" Print Fact Sheet (Summer 2002) (PDF, 579K)
  • Fact Sheet 8 "Ohio Keeps Motorists and Road Rehabilitation Moving Forward" Print Fact Sheet (Summer 2003) (PDF 113K)

Transportation Operations and Management

• Guidelines for Developing Traffic Incident Management Plans for Work Zones
• Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Case Study. Work Zone Traffic and Incident Management System - Keeping Traffic Moving During Reconstruction of the Big I, a Major Interstate-Interstate Interchange in Albuquerque (FHWA-OP-04-072) (2004) (HTML, PDF 127KB)
• Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Cross-Cutting Study (FHWA-OP-02-025) (2002) (HTML, PDF 2.75MB) Examination of real-world experiences with ITS in work zones from four locations as well as information on other work zone ITS technologies.
• Informed Motorists, Fewer Crashes: Using Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones (FHWA-OP-01-043) (2001) (HTML, PDF 38K) This brochure examines the safety and mobility benefits using ITS in work zones.
• Portable Changeable Message Sign (PCMS) Handbook - This handbook presents basic guidlines for the use of PCMS (FHWA-RD-03-066).
• Lane Closure Strategy for the Denver Metro area (Region 6)
• Lane Closure Policy for Region 4 (Northern Colorado)
• ITS/Operations Resource Guide 2004 - An Online Version of the ITS/Operations Resource Guide 2004 - A comprehensive listing of over 400 documents, websites, training courses, software tools, and points of contact related to ITS.

Outreach and Training

• Get In, Get Out, Stay Out! Proceedings of the Workshop on Pavement Renewal for Urban Freeways (February 1998) (PDF, 2.5MB)
• A QuickZone Tailor-Made for Maryland
  (Focus, March 2001) Article
• QuickZone
  (Public Roads, July/August 2001)
  Article by Deborah Curtis
  QuickZone is software that will estimate traveler delay due to work zones, and by doing so, it will provide a more complete and realistic view of the total construction costs.
• Strategic Work Zone Analysis Tools
  (Public Roads, November/December 2000)
  Article by John Harding
  The SWAT program addresses work zone factors and stresses the importance of accounting for work zone influences when making transportation-improvement decisions.
• Methods and Procedures to Reduce Motorist Delays in European Work Zones (October 2000) (PDF, 837K) - Summary of findings from scan of how European countries manage traffic flow through temporary work zones.

Publications from Other Sources

• Selection Criteria for using Nighttime Construction and Maintenance Operations (Oregon DOT, May 2003) - Final Report / Appendices / Abstract - Decision Model and Lane Rental Model available upon request from ODOT Research.
• Assessing Public Inconvenience in Highway Work Zones (Oregon DOT, June 2002) - Final Report / Abstract