WORK ZONE TRAFFIC CONTROL PART 2

Maintenance And New Construction Utilities Continued

Any member of the crew who serves as a flagger should be equipped with a Stop-Slow paddle and a reflective vest. Crewmembers shall be trained for proper flagging procedures.

Work areas involving excavations on the roadway generally should not exceed the width of one traffic lane at any given time. The work should be staged, and, if needed, approved bridging should be utilized. This type of activity should be fully coordinated with the traffic or public works department having jurisdiction over the street or highway.

Responsibility

The provisions for public protection established herein are for application by LMK Pipe Renewal employees performing any sewer maintenance work on streets and highways and/or areas so closely adjacent to streets and highways, as to create hazards for the public or for themselves.

These standards, as part of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), should be given effect by official instructions to employees and by incorporation into the specifications for all contracts.

Supervisors must require proper protection, the responsibility is clearly assigned, adequate training of personnel to be provided, and that there be adherence to the standards and provisions of this Manual.

Fundamental Principles

All traffic control devices used on maintenance work shall conform to the applicable specifications of the Manual.

Construction and maintenance areas can present to the motorist unexpected or unusual situations as far as traffic operations are concerned. Because of this, special care should be taken in applying traffic control techniques in these areas.

Principles and procedures which experience has shown tend to enhance the safety of motorists and workers in the vicinity of construction and maintenance work areas include the following:

Traffic safety in construction zones should be an integral and high priority element of every project from planning through design and construction. Similarly, maintenance work should be planned and conducted with the safety of the motorist, pedestrian, and worker kept in mind at all times.

The goal should be to route traffic through construction areas with geometries and traffic control devices as near to normal conditions as possible.

A detailed traffic control plan appropriate to the complexity of the work project should be prepared and understood by all responsible parties before the site is occupied. Any changes in the traffic control plan should be approved by an official trained in safe traffic control practices.

Traffic movement should be inhibited as little as practicable. Traffic control in work sites should be designed on the assumption that motorists will reduce their speeds only if they clearly perceive a need to do so. Reduced speed zoning should be avoided as much as practicable.