Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume XII:
Work Zone Traffic Analysis – Applications and Decision Framework

Foreword

Work zones have significant impacts on the mobility and safety of transportation network. It is important to analyze and understand the anticipated extent and severity of work zone impacts associated with various project alternatives before implementing them. A work zone traffic analysis also enables practitioners to include appropriate mitigation strategies during project planning, design, and in the development of effective transportation management plans (TMP).

This document is the third volume in the FHWA Traffic Analysis Toolbox: Work Zone Analysis series. The first volume provides guidance to decision-makers at agencies and jurisdictions considering the role of analytical tools in work zone planning and management, and the second volume provides specific guidance to the analyst, researcher, or manager in charge of conducting a specific work zone analysis project. This document, the third volume in the Work Zone Analysis series, focuses on key considerations when applying various modeling tools for work zone traffic analysis and provides a decision framework on how to select the best alternatives based on a set of performance measures. It serves as a useful resource for practitioners, researchers, or managers in understanding the analytical methods and decision framework involved in conducting a work zone traffic analysis. It contains step-by-step guidance on determining the most suitable tools to perform the work zone analysis. It also presents the essential components of a work zone traffic analysis report. To illustrate the process and decision framework contained in this document, a variety of case studies are presented to demonstrate a diverse set of work zone traffic analysis applications.

This document serves as Volume XII in the FHWA Traffic Analysis Toolbox. Preceding volumes in the toolbox include: Volume I: Traffic Analysis Tools Primer, Volume II: Decision Support Methodology for Selecting Traffic Analysis Tools, Volume III: Guidelines for Applying Traffic Microsimulation Modeling Software, Volume IV: Guidelines for Applying CORSIM Microsimulation Modeling Software, Volume V: Traffic Analysis Tools Case Studies – Benefits and Best Practices, Volume VI: Definition, Interpretation, and Calculation of Traffic Analysis Tools Measures of Effectiveness, Volume VII: Predicting Performance with Traffic Analysis Tools: Case Studies, Volume VIII: Work Zone Modeling and Simulation – A Guide for Decision- Makers, Volume IX: Work Zone Modeling and Simulation – A Guide for Analysis, Volume X: Localized Bottleneck Congestion Analysis Focusing on What Analysis Tools Are Available, Necessary and Productive for Localized Congestion Remediation, and Volume XI: Weather and Traffic Analysis, Modeling and Simulation.

Mark Kehrli
Director
Office of Transportation Operations

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names may appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-12-009	2. Government Accession No.			3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume XII: Work Zone Traffic Analysis – Applications and Decision Framework				5. Report Date April 2012
				6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Lin Zhang, Dorothy Morallos, Krista Jeannotte, Jennifer Strasser				8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 555 12th Street, Suite 1600 Oakland, CA 94607				10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
				11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH-61-06-D-00004
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations (HOP) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590				13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report September 2010 to April 2012
				14. Sponsoring Agency Code HOTO
15. Supplementary Notes FHWA Contracting Officer’s Task Manager (COTM): Jawad Paracha
16. Abstract Work Zone Traffic Analysis (WZTA) is the process of evaluating and determining the safety and mobility impacts within a construction, maintenance, or rehabilitation project. Establishing a procedure for analyzing work zone mobility and safety impacts aids agencies in the planning, decision-making, design, and financial aspects of the project. This report provides guidance on WZTA applications and presents the steps involved in the application of maintenance of traffic alternatives analysis (MOTAA) and decision framework. It contains step-by-step guidance to assist the analyst in determining the most suitable tools to perform the work zone analysis and presents a procedure for developing and applying models to work zone analysis. To illustrate the MOTAA process and decision framework contained in this guidebook, a variety of WZTA case studies are presented to demonstrate a diverse set of MOTAA applications.
17. Key Words Work zone, mobility, traffic analysis, simulation, maintenance of traffic, alternatives analysis, tool selection, decision framework, MOTAA			18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified		20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified			21. No of Pages 328	22. Price n/a

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed pages authorized

Metric Conversion Factors
(International System of Units)

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS
SYMBOL	WHEN YOU KNOW	MULTIPLY BY	TO FIND	SYMBOL
LENGTH
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
AREA
in2	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm2
ft2	square feet	0.093	square meters	m2
yd2	square yard	0.836	square meters	m2
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi2	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km2
VOLUME
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft3	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m3
yd3	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m3
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3
MASS
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short tons (2000 lb)	0.907	megagrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or"t")
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
oF	Fahrenheit	5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius	oC
ILLUMINATION
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m2	cd/m2
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in2	poundforce per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS
SYMBOL	WHEN YOU KNOW	MULTIPLY BY	TO FIND	SYMBOL
LENGTH
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
AREA
mm2	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in2
m2	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft2
m2	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd2
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km2	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi2
VOLUME
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m3	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft3
m3	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd3
MASS
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg(or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
oC	Celsius	1.8C+32	Fahrenheit	oF
ILLUMINATION
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m2	candela/m2	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
N	newtons	0.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in2