Road maintenance activities involve both short-term stationary work zones and moving work zones. Moving work zones typically involve striping, sweeping, pothole filling, shoulder repairs, and other quick maintenance activities. Existing traffic analysis tools for work zone scheduling are not designed to model moving work zones. A review of existing literature showed that many of the existing studies of moving bottlenecks are theoretical in nature, limited to certain lane configurations, and restrictive in the types of mobile work zone attributes considered. This research project sought to address this gap in existing knowledge by using field data from moving work zones to develop and calibrate a traffic impact analysis tool. This objective was accomplished through the fusion of multiple sources of work zone and traffic data. Four different data sources were used: Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) electronic alerts (e-alerts), probe-based travel times, data from point detectors, and field videos of moving work zones recorded from the back of a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA). A linear regression model was developed to predict traffic speed inside a moving work zone. Predictor variables in the models included historical speed, number of lanes, type of lane closure, and time of day. The simulation tool VISSIM was calibrated for moving work zones using information extracted from videos of moving work zone operations. The three recommended calibration parameters are a safety reduction factor of 0.7, a minimum look ahead distance of 500 ft, and the use of a smooth closeup option. These calibration values can be used by departments of transportation (DOTs) to model moving work zone scenarios. The operational analysis concluded that a moving work activity lasting one hour or more operates best when traffic volumes are under 1,400 veh/hr/ln, and preferably under 1,000 veh/hr/ln. Further, scheduling shorter duration moving activities on high-volume roads at multiple times (on the same day or on different days) works better than scheduling a longer duration activity. The safety analysis generated tradeoff plots between the number of conflicts and combinations of activity duration and traffic volume. A DOT can use these plots to determine, for example, if it should conduct a moving work activity for a short duration when the volume is high or for a longer duration when the volume is lower.

Current Federal Regulations (23 CFR 630 Subpart J) encourage States to collect and analyze both safety and mobility data to support the initiation and enhancement of agency-level processes and procedures addressing work zone impacts. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide practitioners with the skills to identify current data sources (both existing data and data collected specifically for the work zone) for use in work zone performance measurement, as well as potential data sources that could be useful to work zone performance measurement in the near future. This document is also intended to assist practitioners in determining how to select and compute useful work zone performance measures, given the data sources available to them. For both current and potential data sources, guidance is presented on the viability of each source for work zone performance measurement, as well as on possibly leveraging opportunities to maximize the value of data collection and extraction efforts. In addition to information about data sources and opportunities, guidance is provided regarding work zone performance measures that the various data sources can support. Where appropriate, examples are provided as to how data assessment, collection, application, and interpretation can be accomplished. In this way, document users can obtain an overall perspective.

This guide was written as a quick primer for transportation professionals and analysts who assess the impacts of proposed transportation actions on communities. It outlines the community impact assessment process, highlights critical areas that must be examined, identifies basic tools and information sources, and stimulates the thought-process related to individual projects. In the past, the consequences of transportation investments on communities have often been ignored or introduced near the end of a planning process, reducing them to reactive considerations at best. The goals of this primer are to increase awareness of the effects of transportation actions on the human environment and emphasize that community impacts deserve serious attention in project planning and development-attention comparable to that given the natural environment. Finally, this guide is intended to provide some tips for facilitating public involvement in the decision making process.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice describes the various pieces of knowledge necessary to speak the language of EIA and carry out EIAs focusing on a variety of environmental issues, including impacts on environmental components, like air, water, soils, land, noise and biological environments. Organized into 15 chapters, the book provides engineers with the tools and methods to conduct an effective assessment, including report preparations, design measures and relevant mitigation steps that can be taken to reduce or avoid negative effects. Case Studies are presented, providing guidance professionals can use to better understand, plan and prepare environmental impact assessments. - Presents detailed methodologies for air pollution control, waste treatment schemes, phytoremediation, bioremediation, hazardous waste, green belt development and rainwater harvesting - Highlights concepts and important definitions of EIA and the planning and management of EIA study - Discusses the impacts on valued environmental components, like air, water, soils, land, noise, and biological and socioeconomic environments in a systematic manner