Improving worker safety on the M1 Motorway
Maintenance of the M1, a 127-kilometre motorway section between Sydney and Newcastle, regularly requires work on the road or roadside near traffic, which poses challenges and risks to workers. This project will seek to identify opportunities for innovative ways to use existing technologies and new ways of working to improve roadside worker safety.
Innovations will be in the areas of structural and roadside inspections, temporary traffic control devices, and alternative ways of conducting temporary road works or maintenance activities on the M1.
The project will also provide recommendations on technologies and practices for future trials to be conducted on the M1.
Participants
Project background
Roadworks pose significant risks to roadworkers and motorists alike. While the risks are recognised by agencies involved in road construction and maintenance activities, they must continue to make sure these risks are managed so that work can be completed as safely as possible.
While safety issues vary somewhat for different types of roadwork scenarios, there is consensus in the literature that the risks are greater at high-speed locations where workers are exposed to passing traffic (Debnath et al., 2015). Previous research by the Health and Safety Branch at Transport for NSW (TfNSW) found that key risk factors related to working near live traffic include:
- drivers speeding
- ignoring signage and traffic controller instructions
- aggression towards roadworkers
- roadworkers working in wet weather, at night and close to the traffic stream (Debnath et al., 2015).
Among these factors, drivers’ non-compliance with roadwork traffic controls, including posted speed limits, has been the most widely documented factor in the literature (e.g., Debnath et al., 2014; Debnath et al., 2021; Finley et al., 2012; Ullman et al., 2010).
To address the risks identified at roadwork sites, researchers and practitioners have developed and tested various controls and technologies, including autonomous and remote-controlled traffic control devices (Finley et al., 2012; Debnath et al., 2017), innovative enforcement measures (Benekohal et al., 2010), work zone intrusion countermeasures (Ullman et al., 2010), stop/slow bats with embedded lights (Finley et al., 2012), innovative visibility and lighting configurations (Finely et al., 2013) etc.
With the advancement of technologies, innovation in this space is being made continuously (see Nnaji et al., 2020 and the US National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse for more information). Controlling the crash and injury risks at high-speed roadworks, such as on the M1 section (Sydney-Newcastle) identified for this project, with unique geometric and traffic characteristics, requires careful investigation of the safety issues which are applicable/unique to this section of road.
While the findings obtained from the literature will provide useful information on the risks and controls, it is important to examine the risks by considering local conditions and the experience of roadworkers working on this section of road. Such context-specific understanding will help to identify the most appropriate controls to mitigate the risks identified.
Project objectives
The objectives of the project are to:
- identify opportunities for innovative use of existing technologies and innovative ways of working in the areas of structural and roadside inspections, temporary traffic control devices and alternative ways of conducting temporary road works or maintenance activities on the M1
- provide recommendations on technologies and practices for future related trials undertaken by TfNSW.
The scope of the work to identify processes and technologies for reducing the risks to roadworkers includes:
- innovative ways to inspect, deploy, use, and maintain temporary traffic control devices
- alternative ways of conducting temporary roadworks and maintenance activities to remove or reduce the exposure of roadworkers to live traffic.
References
Benekohal, R. F., A. Hajbabaie, J. C. Medina, M. Wang, and M. V.Chitturi (2010). “Speed photo-radar enforcement evaluation in Illinois work zones”. Urbana, Illinois Center for Transportation.
Debnath, A. K., R. Blackman, and N. Haworth (2014). “A Tobit model for analyzing speed limit compliance in work zones”. Safety Science 70: 367-377.
Debnath, A. K., R. Blackman and N. Haworth (2015). “Common hazards and their mitigating measures in work zones: A qualitative study of worker perceptions”. Safety Science 72: 293-301.
Debnath, A. K., R. Blackman, N. Haworth and Y. Adinegoro (2017). “Influence of Remotely Operated Stop–Slow Controls on Driver Behavior in Work Zones”. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2615: 19-25.
Debnath, A. K., N. Haworth and R. Blackman (2021). “Risk to workers or vehicle damage: What makes drivers slow down in work zones?” Traffic Injury Prevention 22(2): 1-5.
Finley, M. D., G. L. Ullman, N. D. Trout and E. S. Park (2012). “Studies to determine the effectiveness of automated flagger assistance devices and school crossing devices”. Texas, Texas Department of Transportation.
Finley, M. D., G. L. Ullman, J. D. Miles and M. P. Pratt (2013). “Studies to assess the impact of nighttime work zone lighting on motorists”. College Station, Texas, Texas Transportation Institute.
Nnaji, C., J. Gambatese, H. Woo Lee, and F. Zhang. (2020). “Improving construction work zone safety using technology: A systematic review of applicable technologies”. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) 7(1): 61-75.
Ullman, G. L., M. D. Finley and L. Theiss (2010). “Work Zone Intrusion Countermeasure Identification, Assessment, and Implementation Guidelines”. Texas, Texas Transportation Institute.
Please note …
This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!
