Effective Post-Construction Evaluation Practices for Work Zone Management Strategies

Abstract

State departments of transportation (DOTs) invest a significant amount of effort to develop and implement transportation management plans (TMPs) in order to effectively manage the traffic flow of work zones and secure the safety of workers and the traveling public during construction of highway projects. State DOTs typically spend an average 3% to 5% of the total construction cost for TMP development and implementation, but some urban projects, in highly congested areas, may require up to 30% of the total construction cost for this effort. For continuous improvement of TMP development and implementation, it is critically important to monitor the performance of work zone management strategies during construction and evaluate them at the conclusion of construction. However, most state DOTs lack structured policies and/or work processes to ensure the implementation of these important monitoring and evaluation components as part of the TMP. A working feedback loop must be established in the project delivery process to document lessons learned, successes and failures, potential changes to the TMP, and transfer them back to the early TMP development stage. This research extensively reviews existing literature and evaluates the current practices of monitoring and evaluating work zone management strategies. This study identifies and presents effective practices for continuous improvement of TMP development and implementation through creating a working feedback loop.