WORK ZONE TRAFFIC CONTROL. THE NEXT GENERATION

As traffic volumes and congestion increase, governmental agencies responsible for the operation of the transportation network are requesting a more extensive analysis of the impact of construction related traffic control. Rather than leaving the development of traffic control plans to contractors, these agencies have requested as part of the consultant's scope of work a thorough analysis of the impact of traffic control in support of construction work. The following paper documents the process employed by a consulting firm in the development of a work zone traffic control plan for the anticipated closure of a major arterial route in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the paper is to provide an understanding of the issues addressed as part of this process. Because of this emphasis on process and strategy, it is not intended to be an exploration of the findings of the analysis. Although an extensive analysis was completed for four individual alternatives, a detailed discussion of the results is limited to the selected alternative. This discussion is included so that the reader might understand the nexus between the proposed traffic control plan and the results of the traffic analysis.