By McCall Macomber, Illinois Center for Transportation
In Illinois, an average of 6,406 work zone crashes occurred each year from 2015 to 2019, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). That’s why effectively and quickly communicating real-time travel information in work zones is essential to helping Illinois “Drive Zero Fatalities to a Reality.”
Smart work zone systems, which use sensors to collect real-time data such as speed and traffic volume to communicate travel information to drivers as they approach work zones, are the key to getting ahead of potential problems.
Three CEE at Illinois faculty members are working to develop design guidelines for smart work zone systems in a recently awarded IDOT and Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) project, “R27-246: Development of Design Guidance for Smart Work Zone Systems.”
Khaled El-Rayes serves as principal investigator and Ernest-John Ignacio and Yanfeng Ouyang are co-PIs. Juan Pava, IDOT’s safety program unit chief, also leads the effort.
Their goal? Improve safety and mobility in Illinois’ work zones by determining when smart work zone systems are needed, how to design them and how to ensure these systems are adequately operating.
The project, which began January 1, will focus on creating design guidance for smart work zone systems.
“By providing or developing these guidelines, we’ll be able to better utilize the technology and better inform road users of traffic conditions and, ultimately, have better safety outcomes (and) reduce fatalities and serious injuries,” Pava said.
The research team will also develop a tool to assess when smart work zone systems are needed on different types of freeway projects.
The user-friendly tool is expected to help IDOT designers identify the need for smart work zone systems in different projects based on their specific conditions and characteristics, such as work zone length, how many lanes should be closed, and more.
“The tool will analyze the specific conditions and requirements of each individual project and provide recommendations if this project is a good candidate for deploying smart work zone systems” El-Rayes said.
The tool will also build upon research from previous ICT-IDOT projects, including those led by Bradley University professor Kerrie Schattler (R27-186), CEE professor Rahim Benekohal (R27-033, R27-110) and former CEE assistant professor Daniel Work (R27-155).
The proposed guidelines and tool are expected to increase safety and mobility for drivers as well as reduce frustrations at work zones by helping drivers quickly find alternate routes.
For Pava, the goal of developing the guidelines is to get ahead of potential problems.
“We shouldn’t only be reactive to problems seen in the field,” Pava said. “With this (project), we will be able to potentially prevent serious injuries and fatalities that will continue to happen in work zones unless we try to get in front of them.”
The project is expected to conclude June 2023.