Study on work Zone management in highway rehabilitation projects in urban areas

Abstract

The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to transportation officials (government authorities, contractors), the public, businesses, and road users. Key areas for performance measures of work zones include delays, user costs, exposure, safety, and public perception. This paper presents an investigation on current work-zone practices in highway rehabilitation projects around Colombo and sub-urbs. Three (03) ongoing road rehabilitation projects have been identified for the study. Separate questionnaire surveys were carried out for road users and for residents/ businesses to identify the major difficulties, inconveniences and probable reasons. The major issues identified are; dust and noise pollution, lack of advanced signage, increment in travel time, accesses and utility disturbances, and drainage issues. The root causes identified are; lack of focus on guidelines, non availability of experienced and qualified officers, lack of space, higher traffic volume throughout the day, and public interferences. With the reference with the guidelines of other countries, a comprehensive check list has been suggested at the conclusion.