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ATSSA Meeting

Work Zone Safety - 2016

Mischa Kachler, P.E.

INDOT Work Zone Safety Section

December, 2016

2

Work Zone Safety - 2016

• Changes within the Work Zone Safety

Section

• Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Work Zone Crashes

• Work Zone Safety Reviews

Outline

3

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Staff

• Org. Structure: Supervisor and 3 Engineers

• Currently: Supervisor and 2 Engineers

• All New Staff (Feb, May & July Start Dates)

• Direction of the Section

• Goal: Improve Effectiveness

• Identified 6 Core Functions

• Operational Changes through Policy Changes

• Result: Greater Focus on Work Zone Reviews

4

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Work Zone Safety Training

• IHCP Policy & Exception Training

• Queue Analysis Training

• Target Audiences:

• Construction Personnel

• Consultants/Designers and Reviewers

• District Staff

Core Function1: Education & Training

5

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Exceptions are required for Interstate

restrictions that exceed IHCP allowances

• 2016 To Date:

• 142 Completed

• 12 Currently Under Review

• Greenfield: 60% LaPorte: 9%

Seymour: 13% Crawfordsville: 8%

Ft Wayne: 9% Seymour: 1%

Core Function 2: IHCP Exceptions

6

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Work Zone Review

• Technical, Operational and Hybrid

• 2016 to Date: (Late start—July)

• 18 Formal Reviews

• Approximately 10 Informal Reviews

• Work Zone Related Fatal Crash

• FHWA Biennial Process Review

Core Function 3: Reviews

7

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Find new technologies and review for

implementation into work zones

• Portable Temporary Rumble Strips

• 42 in. Channelizers

• Meet with work zone product vendors

• Research projects with Purdue/JTRP

• LiDAR-Based Mobile Mapping System for

Lane Width Evaluation & Reporting

Core Function 4: Innovation

8

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Policies:

• IN Work Zone Mobility & Safety Policy

(pursuant to 23 CFR 630 Subpart J & K)

• Interstate Highways Congestion Policy

• Work Zone Guidelines

• Committees & Subcommittees:

• Traffic Standards

• TMA’s

Core Function 5: Policies & Committees

• Variable Speed Limits

• New Products Evaluation

9

Changes within the Work Zone Safety Section

• Project Specific TTC Related Assistance

• Project Coordination & Planning

• Review of Design Exceptions, MOT Plans,

Special Provisions

Core Function 6: Subject Matter Resource

10

Work Zone Safety - 2016

Outline

• Changes within the Work Zone Safety

Section

• Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Work Zone Crashes

• Work Zone Safety Reviews

11

Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• The types of problems encountered are

recorded

• A year-end report of the most frequently

encountered issues is sent to the Districts

• The goal is to improve upon the cited

issues during the following construction

season

Typically each year

12

Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• No Official Action or Authorization Forms

• Incorrect decrements to reduce Speed Limit

• Missing “Work Site” plaques

• Existing signs improperly or not covered

Temporary Work Site Speed Limit Sign Assemblies

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

Temporary Work Site Speed Limit Sign Assemblies

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• At flare tapers:

• No buffer space provided in advance of barrier

• Barrier incorrectly used to delineate lane shift

tapers

• Delineators on side and top missing or

poorly spaced

Temporary Concrete Barrier Issues

15

Common Problems Found in Work Zones

Temporary Concrete Barrier Issues

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Confusing/conflicting pavement markings

due to:

• Incomplete removal

• Not removing the existing marking and applying

marking on top

Removal of Existing Pavement Markings

17

Common Problems Found in Work Zones

Removal of Existing Pavement Markings

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

Removal of Existing Pavement Markings

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Insufficient acceleration distance provided

even if there is room to do so

• Yield sign locations too late and too close to

end of ramp

Entrance Ramp Issues

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

Entrance Ramp Issues

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Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Inconsistent spacing and alignment

• Gaps in a line of drums, which is especially

problematic at exits

• Drums pushed into travel lanes at work sites

Construction Drums

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Work Zone Safety - 2016

Outline

• Changes within the Work Zone Safety

Section

• Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Work Zone Crashes

• Work Zone Safety Reviews

23

Work Zone Crashes

Crash Data (Unofficial)

SOURCE: ARIES CRASH REPORTING SYSTEM

Includes records for all INDOT routes with “Construction Indicator” marked “YES”

PREPARED BY KIM PETERS, INDOT TMC

CHART REMOVED FOR

PROPRIETARY

REASONS

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Work Zone Crashes

• In the past, 6 out of 8 fatal work zone

crashes involved a queue

• Interstate traffic is conditioned to

uninterrupted, high speed flow, and may

not stop in time for stopped traffic

Back of Queue

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Work Zone Crashes

• End of queue crashes are often deadly as

they involve a high speed vehicle striking a

stopped/slow vehicle

• Work zones with consistent daily queuing

should consider countermeasures

Back of Queue (Cont.)

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Work Zone Safety - 2016

Outline

• Changes within the Work Zone Safety

Section

• Common Problems Found in Work Zones

• Work Zone Crashes

• Work Zone Safety Reviews

27

Work Zone Safety Reviews

• Provide TTC guidance and assistance to

the PE/PS in the field

• Find potential safety and mobility issues

• TTC Quality Assurance and Quality

Control (QA/QC)

The goals of work zone reviews:

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Work Zone Safety Reviews

• Technical (QA/QC) Reviews

• Operational Reviews

• Hybrid Reviews

Types of Work Zone Reviews

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Work Zone Safety Reviews

• Focus on the quality of TTC devices and

setup with an emphasis on a technical

compliance with the MOT Plans & IMUTCD

• Are systematic and follow a checklist

• Are often the exclusive review type used on

projects where low volume or low speed

conditions exist

Technical (QA/QC) Reviews

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Technical (QA/QC) Reviews

31

Work Zone Safety Reviews

• Focus on the effectiveness of the TTC

deployment

• Are concerned with traffic backups, traffic

confusion, and traffic entering the work

zone

Operational Reviews

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Work Zone Safety Reviews

• Are the typical review type for projects

located on high volume or high speed

roads

• Aspects of a QA/QC review may be

incorporated as needed

• Will involve measuring traffic speeds,

queue length, and volume throughput

Operational Reviews (Cont.)

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Work Zone Safety - 2016

Work Zone Safety Section Contact Information

Gerry Montgomery, P.E. gmontgomery@indot.in.gov

Work Zone Safety Engineer (317) 899 - 8627

Colin O’Keefe cokeefe@indot.in.gov

Work Zone Safety Engineer (317) 899 - 8632

Mischa Kachler, P.E. mkachler@indot.in.gov

Supervisor (317) 899 - 8604