Dynamic Approach to Public Outreach for Minimizing Traffic Inconvenience in Urban Highway Rehabilitation

This paper describes a multi-faceted outreach effort, as implemented in 2004 on the Interstate-15 (I-15) Devore urban highway reconstruction project in Southern California, to limit the negative impacts of construction closures on the traveling public. Media coverage and outreach materials were proactively utilized to win public support for the "Rapid Rehabilitation" strategy chosen for the Devore project, in which concrete truck lanes were rebuilt along a 4.5-km stretch of I-15 using two 9 days of extended closures with 24/7 operations. Through an intensive proactive outreach effort designed to educate the public about the project, road users were provided with information to help them divert to alternate routes around the Construction Work Zone (CWZ), or to time their trips to coincide with construction schedules. Road users were benefited by the use of the Automated Work Zone Information System (AWIS), which provided interactive real-time travel estimates on- and off-site (project website). Travelers through the CWZ were further facilitated by the use of Quickchange Moveable Barrier (QMB), allowing for dynamic lane configuration to accommodate peak hour traffic. As a result of these dynamic outreach efforts, the traffic volume through the CWZ was reduced by 20 percent, and the maximum peak-hour delay was reduced by 50 percent compared to initial expectations. Two surveys on the state-of-the-art project website, with about 400 respondents, showed a dramatic change in public perception of the accelerated freeway reconstruction project from initial reluctance and objection to positive support.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Lee, Eul-Bum
  • Choi, Kunhee
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2006-1-22 to 2006-1-26
• Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: TRB 85th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuters; Construction scheduling; Lane closure; Public information programs; Real time information; Reconstruction; Travel demand management; Work zone traffic control
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Passenger Transportation; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01025460
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 06-1817
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 1 2006 8:09AM