2. Introduction
In response to increases in work zone fatalities and evidence of growing traveler frustration with delays associated with work zones, in 2001 the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program initiated an effort to measure and report national-level statistics on work zone exposure and delay. Lack of data on the number and type of work zones from year to year have made focusing program efforts and formulating national policy on work zone mobility and safety difficult. Increases in fatalities or delay could not be examined with respect to key factors such as the level of nationwide work zone activity or exposure, which may have similarly increased.
One approach to the development of national statistics on work zone activity is the automated capture and interpretation of work zone data posted to state road closure and construction websites. In order to assess the potential value of these web-based resources as a part of national monitoring program, researchers conducted a "snapshot" survey of 789 work zones posted on state road closure and construction websites during a two-week period in the peak summer roadwork season of 2001.
The goal of this study was to estimate the number of miles on the National Highway System (NHS) with work zones during the peak of the summer season, and to estimate total system capacity lost from these activities. Researchers catalogued the work zone- related data elements posted by various states to their road closure and construction websites. These data were captured and analyzed to develop an estimate of work zone activity and its characteristics.
