Minimizing user delay and crash potential through highway work zone planning.

Kurker, Michael; Fournier, Chris; Zhao, Qun; Hakimi, Shadi; Qi, Yi; Tang, Shoupeng; Liu, Rouyu; Juri, Natalia Ruiz; Duthie, Jennifer; Machemehl, Randy · 2014 · ROSA P / Texas Department of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation Office

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Summary

This study addresses the operational and safety challenges posed by highway work zone lane closures, specifically focusing on minimizing user delay and crash potential. Lane closures reduce capacity, leading to congestion, weaving, and aggressive driving behaviors such as queue jumping, which are identified as primary sources of driver stress and rear-end collisions. The research aims to develop a procedural guide for freeway work zone traffic control planning by evaluating the effectiveness of different merge strategies—early merge, late merge, and signal-controlled merge—under varying traffic demand conditions. The methodology combined field observations, dynamic traffic assignment (DTA), microsimulation, and safety analysis. Field data were collected at three sites in Texas: Interstate 610 in Houston and two locations on Interstate 35 in Austin. These sites provided real-world traffic volumes, travel times, and diversion rates. The researchers utilized DTA tools (VISTA) to model network-level traffic diversion and compare static versus dynamic assignment results. Microsimulation software (VISSIM and CORSIM) was employed to test various merge concepts across different lane configurations (2-to-1, 3-to-2, and 3-to-1) and traffic volumes. Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration’s Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) was used to quantify safety impacts, specifically analyzing rear-end and lane-change conflicts associated with signal-controlled merges. The findings indicate that the optimal merge strategy depends heavily on the relationship between traffic demand and work zone capacity. Early merge schemes provide maximum safety and minimum delay when traffic demand is low relative to capacity. However, early merge becomes problematic when demand approaches or exceeds capacity, leading to increased queue jumping and crashes. In high-demand scenarios, late merge concepts are superior as they utilize all available lane space for queue storage, improving throughput and reducing queue length. For situations where demand significantly exceeds capacity, signal-controlled merges offer a promising solution to reduce queue jumping and associated crashes, with specific signal timing recommendations provided. The study also established that traffic diversion during work zones is non-zero, suggesting a rule-of-thumb 15% reduction in pre-work-zone volumes if detailed DTA modeling is unavailable. The significance of this work lies in the development of a rational, decision-tree-based procedural guide for work zone traffic management. This guide assists planners in selecting appropriate merge concepts and sign placements based on traffic demand assessments. By providing a structured approach to evaluating "before" and "after" conditions, the study offers a tool to reduce user costs and improve safety for both motorists and workers. The findings were disseminated through a pilot training workshop, providing transportation agencies with practical methods to implement these strategies effectively.

Key finding

Early merge provides maximum safety and minimum delay when traffic demand is below work zone capacity, whereas late merge is the best option when demand exceeds capacity, and signalized merge reduces conflicts in high-demand situations.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• work zones
• traffic density