Motorists encounter numerous problems that are not currently addressed in traffic control manuals for urban work zones. The motorists' understanding and properly attending to signing in these work zone areas is critical to ensure safe operations. A detailed survey about farm-to-market (FM) 1960 in Houston, Texas, investigated motorists' comprehension of construction signing. FM 1960 is a four-lane undivided major arterial with a continuous left-turn lane. The continuous left-turn lane was excluded during construction because of a restricted right-of-way. The survey was designed to meet three objectives: (a) to ascertain knowledge about work zone signing, (b) to determine problem areas of the FM 1960 signing, and (c) to elicit information from motorists concerning overall problems with the FM 1960 project. Personal interviews were conducted with 205 respondents from the FM 1960 areas. These participants were asked to respond to questions about work zone signing and other forms of traffic control devices. The response percentages revealed that motorists have some difficulty interpreting both word and symbol messages on signs. This lack of comprehension intensifies the existing problems in work zone areas and indicates a need for further research to improve urban arterial operations. This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1281, Human Factors and Safety Research Related to Highway Design and Operation 1990.
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