Title 23

SECTION 630.1106

630.1106 Policy and procedures for work zone safety management.

§ 630.1106 Policy and procedures for work zone safety management.

(a) Each agency's policy and processes, procedures, and/or guidance for the systematic consideration and management of work zone impacts, to be established in accordance with 23 CFR 630.1006, shall include the consideration and management of road user and worker safety on Federal-aid highway projects. These processes, procedures, and/or guidance, to be developed in partnership with the FHWA, shall address the use of Positive Protection Devices to prevent the intrusion of motorized traffic into the work space and other potentially hazardous areas in the work zone; Exposure Control Measures to avoid or minimize worker exposure to motorized traffic and road user exposure to work activities; Other Traffic Control Measures including uniformed law enforcement officers to minimize work zone crashes; and the safe entry/exit of work vehicles onto/from the travel lanes. Each of these strategies should be used to the extent that they are possible, practical, and adequate to manage work zone exposure and reduce the risks of crashes resulting in fatalities or injuries to workers and road users.

(b) Agency processes, procedures, and/or guidance should be based on consideration of standards and/or guidance contained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide, as well as project characteristics and factors. The strategies and devices to be used may be determined by a project-specific engineering study, or determined from agency guidelines that define strategies and approaches to be used based on project and highway characteristics and factors. The types of measures and strategies to be used are not mutually exclusive, and should be considered in combination as appropriate based on characteristics and factors such as those listed below:

(1) Project scope and duration;

(2) Anticipated traffic speeds through the work zone;

(3) Anticipated traffic volume;

(4) Vehicle mix;

(5) Type of work (as related to worker exposure and crash risks);

(6) Distance between traffic and workers, and extent of worker exposure;

(7) Escape paths available for workers to avoid a vehicle intrusion into the work space;

(8) Time of day (e.g., night work);

(9) Work area restrictions (including impact on worker exposure);

(10) Consequences from/to road users resulting from roadway departure;

(11) Potential hazard to workers and road users presented by device itself and during device placement and removal;

(12) Geometrics that may increase crash risks (e.g., poor sight distance, sharp curves);

(13) Access to/from work space;

(14) Roadway classification; and

(15) Impacts on project cost and duration.

(c) Uniformed Law Enforcement Policy. Each agency, in partnership with the FHWA, shall develop a policy addressing the use of uniformed law enforcement on Federal-aid highway projects. The policy may consist of processes, procedures, and/or guidance. The processes, procedures, and/or guidance should address the following:

(1) Basic interagency agreements between the highway agency and appropriate law enforcement agencies to address work zone enforcement needs;

(2) Interaction between highway and law-enforcement agency during project planning and development;

(3) Conditions where law enforcement involvement in work zone traffic control may be needed or beneficial, and criteria to determine the project-specific need for law enforcement;

(4) General nature of law enforcement services to be provided, and procedures to determine project-specific services;

(5) Appropriate work zone safety and mobility training for the officers, consistent with the training requirements in 23 CFR 630.1008(d);

(6) Procedures for interagency and project-level communications between highway agency and law enforcement personnel; and

(7) Reimbursement agreements for law enforcement service.

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