The goal of this research is to mitigate the risk of highway accidents (crashes) and fatalities in work zones. The approach of this research has been to address the mitigation of work zone crashes through the creation of a formal risk management model to be utilized during the construction management and administration of highway projects for all stages of the project life-cycle. The result of these efforts is realized through the design of an integrated risk management model. A standard risk management model has three components: risk identification, risk analysis, and risk response. The risks are identified by the factors that contribute to work zone crashes. The risk analysis involves understanding the tendency of a hazard to influence the frequency or severity of a loss, and the risk response relates to the appropriate countermeasures to the factors that contribute to work zone crashes. The number of hazards and mitigation strategies corresponding to work zone crashes can be substantial. The intent of this research is to develop a formalized risk management plan to identify potential hazards on plans, designs, or job sites and to cue a risk response to the hazards. Mitigation strategies may take the form of a mitigation "method" (alert motorist, assist worker/motorist, control motorist, inform motorist, and protect worker/motorist). The results of this research will be a formal step-by-step methodology to be utilized by managers and decision makers. Each stage of the project life-cycle (or Project Development Process) will provide a checklist of hazards and mitigation strategies. This research will also provide a qualitative method to assess the likelihood and severity of a hazard or multiple hazards on a roadway work zone. This research is intended to provide a holistic approach to risk management that is to be integrated into the existing corporate structure and not to be considered a standalone program. This integrated approach will allow a formalized procedure to be utilized by any member of an organization during all phases of the construction project life-cycle.

Recent studies indicate that work zones suffer from an increasing trend of deaths and injuries in and around the highway construction areas with an average of 745 fatalities and 40,700 severe injuries per year. To control and minimize work zone fatalities and injuries, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and many state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are seeking to improve the design practices of work zones to reduce work zone crashes. To support this vital and pressing highway safety goal, this research study focuses on analyzing and optimizing existing work zone practices and exploring the effectiveness and efficiency of innovative temporary rumble strips that can be used to minimize crashes in and around highway construction and maintenance projects. The research objectives of this study are to: (1) provide enhanced understanding of the impact of work zone parameters and innovative temporary traffic control devices on the safety of highway construction zones; (2) analyze work zone crashes and current practices to identify potential layout parameters that impact work zone crash occurrence; (3) investigate and quantify the impact of work zone layout parameters on the risk and cost of crash occurrence; (4) optimize work zone setup parameters to minimize total work zone costs including agency, user delay, and expected crash costs; (5) conduct field experiments to analyze the efficiency and constructability of various arrangements of temporary rumble strips prior to and at the edge of work zones; and (6) study and enhance the effectiveness of temporary rumble strips in alerting inattentive drivers prior to and at the edge of work zones. In order to achieve these objectives, the study is conducted in seven major tasks that focus on: (1) conducting a comprehensive literature review; (2) collecting and fusing all available data and reports on work zone crashes in Illinois; (3) analyzing work zone crashes and identifying the probable causes and contributing factors; (4) identifying the impact of layout parameters on risk of crash occurrence; (5) developing an optimization model to minimize total work zone costs including agency cost, user delay cost, and expected work zone crash cost; (6) performing field experiments on temporary rumble strips and evaluate the efficiency of utilization on site; and (7) evaluating the effectiveness of temporary rumble strips prior and at the edge of work zones. The main research developments of this study are expected to have significant impacts on (1) identifying potential work zone parameters and contributing causes that impact work zone crash occurrence; (2) estimating the probability of work zones to encounter severe crashes; (3) quantifying the impact of work zone parameters on the risk levels of crash occurrence; (4) estimating the monetary value of work zone crashes based on work zone layout parameters; (5) searching for and identifying optimal work zone setup solutions that specify segment length, operating speed, TTC policy, and concrete barrier at different operation staring times; (6) developing new efficient prototypes of temporary rumble strips to be utilized prior to and at the edge of work zones; and (7) developing practical guidelines for effective design arrangements of temporary rumble strips. These new developments hold a strong promise to: (a) improve work zone safety for both the travelling public and construction workers; (b) improve current work zone layouts, strategies, and standards; (c) provide a baseline for controlling the risk of crash occurrence due to highway work zones; (d) assist construction planners in identifying optimal work zone setups for highway construction; (e) direct the development of practical recommendations for efficient and effective design arrangements of temporary rumble strips; and (f) reduce work zone crashes in the work area through the implementation of practical temporary rumble strips arrangements.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 413: Techniques for Effective Highway Construction Projects in Congested Urban Areas explores a diverse set of techniques designed to address highway construction challenges in congested urban areas such as high-traffic volumes, utility conflicts, complex right-of-way acquisition issues, a diverse stakeholder base, and watchful news media. The report includes four case studies designed to help illustrate effective construction practices in congested urban areas.

This introduction to construction safety for construction management personnel takes a project-based approach to present potential hazards in construction and their mitigation or prevention. After introducing Accident Prevention Programs and OSHA compliance requirements, the book integrates safety instruction into the building process by following a building project from site construction through interior finish. Reinforcing this applied approach are photographs, drawings, contract documentation, and an online 3D BIM model to help visualize the onsite scenarios.

The increased demand on the current highway system has caused transportation agencies to increase scheduling for nighttime work in order to alleviate daytime work zone congestion, especially during peak traffic hours. Although traffic congestion is reduced, safety in nighttime workzones remains a concern among both transportation agencies and contractors. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), approximately one-half of the fatalities that occurred in workzones nationwide occurred at night. These work zone statistics have received increased attention among agencies to evaluate planning and safety issues concerning the workers and the general public on nighttime workzones. Four separate, but interrelated research studies were conducted between September 2005 - May 2007 to address safety issues in nighttime construction and maintenance projects on highways in Indiana. The first study investigated owner and contractor safety management planning for nighttime construction and maintenance operations, while the second study investigated traffic control planning and implementation procedures for nighttime construction and maintenance operations. The third study investigated the effectiveness of speed control measures on nighttime construction and maintenance projects and the fourth study evaluated the effectiveness of high-visibility personal protective equipment practices.