Enhancing Construction Work-Zone Safety by Passive Pavement-to-Vehicle Communication

Construction work zones for roads pose significant safety challenges for drivers and workers, which can lead to accidents, injuries, fatalities, and property damage. Enhancing construction work-zone safety requires an understanding of the factors influencing accidents and fatalities and an evaluation of existing safety and traffic-management measures. The objective of this study was to improve work-zone safety for roadways, by connecting passive material sensing in the road with vehicle communication systems. A review of the main roadway work-zone safety literature found driver behavior, traffic congestion, and signage effectiveness to be the most significant factors. Vehicle speed, type of vehicles, type of collisions, and environmental conditions were found to have the most impact on the fatality rate in work zones. Past attempts to improve work-zone safety include adding rumble strips, more warning signs, and implementing smart-work-zone (SWZ) technologies. SWZ communication in-vehicle was found to reduce traffic speeds and promote faster and more consistent merging in the work-zone transition area. Pavement-assisted passive sensing, coupled with vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, may offer enhanced in-vehicle speed and lane-merge warnings, which could improve driver awareness, reduce vehicle speeds, and improve work-zone safety. A laboratory-based experiment was developed to validate the theoretical configurations of smart work zones (SWZ) using passive pavement sensing, with the objective being to determine suitable spacings and inclination angles for the electromagnetic (EM) strips as speed and lane-merge warning systems, respectively. The experimental results revealed that these EM strips can estimate vehicle speed with sufficient accuracy, and the spacing of the EM-sensing strips influences the signal intensity. Additionally, the spacing and inclination angle of the EM strips influence the captured signals. This lab pilot study clearly demonstrated the potential of EM-based strips in enhancing speed and lane-merge warning systems using V2I technology for improved safety in roadway work zones.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/23-016
• Dataset URL:
  • http://doi.org/10.4231/F281-ZZ69
• Dataset URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/73062
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/73008
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program. Supporting dataset available at: http://doi.org/10.4231/F281-ZZ69; https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/73062
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

  Illinois Center for Transportation
  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Urbana, IL  United States  61801

  Center for Connected and Automated Transportation

  University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Sakulneya, Apidej
  • 0000-0002-0482-0861
  • Roesler, Jeffery
  • 0000-0001-6194-269X
• Publication Date: 2023-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 48p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electromagnetic devices; Mobile communication systems; Pavements; Sensors; Warning systems; Work zone safety
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01904238
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: ICT-23-016, UILU-ENG-2023-2016
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747105
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 8 2024 12:19PM