North Dakota Work Zone Mobility and Safety ProgramATAC is facilitating a new program developed in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP), and Associated General Contractors (AGC) of North Dakota. Other private companies initially involved in the program include Border States Paving and United Rentals Highway Technologies. The main goal of the program is to enhance safety and traffic operations in highway work zones through: 1) effective management and control strategies; 2) applications of advanced technologies (ITS); 3) accumulating work zone performance data to support decision making; and 4) successful public awareness and outreach. Realizing the diversity and complexity of factors affecting these goals, this program is envisioned to provide a long-term platform for studying major work zone mobility and safety as well as evaluating potential strategies. The first phase of this program aims at developing a better understanding of traffic patterns and driver behavior in North Dakota work zones. Field data will be collected on traffic volumes and time-of-day distribution, traffic speeds, traffic delays, and incidents. A case study is being developed in order to use I-29 work zones planned for the summer 2006 construction season in Fargo. ATAC will collect data using several traffic detection technologies, including microwave radar and image processing. It is anticipated that the data will be collected simultaneously at key locations, including the approach to the work zone, merging areas, mid-stream, and exit from the work zone. Incident reports, including crashes in the work zone area will also be documented and analyzed by the project team to identify problem areas and develop solution strategies. ATAC will also work Programwith NDDOT and contractor staff to keep a record of work zone activities and changes to work zone traffic control as the project proceeds. This information is critical to understanding any possible correlation between work zone activities and traffic operations and safety. Depending on the success of the data collection process and availability of resources, selected enforcement and driver information strategies will also be evaluated. The evaluation will measure traffic (and driver) response to the selected strategies compared to the base-line conditions.   ATAC radar and video traffic data collection systems deployed in the field |
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