FHWA releases work zone safety publication

Washington – The Federal Highway Administration recently released a primer on work zone safety to assist transportation agencies in establishing work zone safety and mobility performance measures – metrics that describe how work zones impact travelers, businesses and workers.

Establishing work zone performance measures can assist transportation agencies in understanding the priorities of managing and improving their work zones, the primer states. FHWA recommends that agencies have a clear understanding of what, how and why work zone measures are being established. The primer outlines three types of measures:

• Exposure measures – the duration and size of a work zone, in addition to resources expended to operate it
• Safety measures – how much the presence of a work zone has changed or increased the number of crashes and injuries
• Mobility or traffic operations measures – the amount that a work zone interrupts motorists’ typical travel patterns