Researchers from Wayne State University and Bradley University received a grant from the Federal Highway Administration to develop safety and mobility guidelines for utility work zone traffic control. The overall objectives of this grant are to 1) develop utility work zone safety guidelines to assist transportation agencies, utility companies and contractors in achieving reductions in injuries and fatalities while complying with FHWA’s ‘Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule’, 2) develop a training program based on the developed utility work zone safety and mobility guidelines and 3) conduct ‘train-the-trainer’ workshops at a national level and pilot training sessions on the methods and procedures of implementing utility work zone safety guidelines developed as a part of this project. In order to accomplish the grant objectives, a comprehensive state-of-the-art review and a current practice survey have been conducted. This document presents the findings from the state-of-theart literature review and the current practices survey. The basic purpose of the literature review and current practices survey is to determine the current knowledge of issues pertaining to utility work zone safety and mobility, assess the current state of practice among the transportation agencies and utility companies/contractors. Establishing the current state of knowledge related to utility work zones will allow the identification of gaps that need to be addressed in the utility work zone guidelines. The guidelines developed as a part of this project will provide local transportation agencies and utility companies and contractors with the needed information and guidance to perform their work on and around roads and streets safely and efficiently and to assist road agencies in the development of local guidelines and standards that will meet the safety and mobility goals of the utility work zones. (Author/publisher)
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