Revised Process for Work Zone Decision Making Based on Quantitative Performance Measures

Work zones create one of the most challenging environments for drivers. Implementing work zones on freeways creates many issues, especially regarding mobility. Decisions made regarding work zones should be informed by quantitative data, collected in work zones, to ensure that the mobility impacts of the work zone treatments implemented are mitigated. This paper details the development of a new decision-making process that addresses the shortcomings in the current decision-making processes. The new process incorporates a performance measure–treatment matrix, which recommends multiple performance measures, each chosen to measure the mobility impacts particular to a specific work zone implementation. Most important, the revised decision-making process incorporates a feedback loop. Quantitative data collected in work zones are analyzed after the work zone is complete, to determine the impacts specific decisions had on mobility in the work zone. The lessons learned in previous work zones are then incorporated into the decision-making process to lessen the mobility impacts of future work zones. This paper develops the new decision-making process, focusing on mobility measures, and examines the issues with the application of the process.