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Smart Work Zone Development Initiative click the logo.

See the evaluation and report on Traffic Graphics click here.

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Objective
The goal of MwSWZDI is to develop better ways of controlling traffic through work zones, which improve the safety and efficiency of traffic operations and highway workers. The objective of the proposed evaluation plan is to determine the safety and operational effects of the technology deployments included in the initiative and develop recommendations for implementing the technologies in future work zones.

Workshops
To begin this effort, the four states conducted a series of three workshops to define system requirements, build partnerships to address the requirements, and select technologies to deploy and evaluate. The first workshop, Establishing the Requirements, was held on March 11, 1998 in Omaha, Nebraska. At this workshop, the nominal group technique was used to facilitate the generation of ideas from workshop participants on ways to make work zones safer and more efficient. The group identified and prioritized over 100 ideas and issues related to improving work zones. The target audience for the first workshop was the highway users and construction/ maintenance workers. Attendees included representatives of the American Automobile Association, senior citizens, truck drivers, law enforcement officers, emergency service providers, highway contractors, and
state highway agency construction and maintenance personnel.  

The second workshop, Defining the Solutions, was held on June 10, 1998 in Kansas City, Missouri. The target audience for this workshop was the technology providers. The objective was to establish public/private partnerships for the development and evaluation of innovative methods of controlling traffic in work zones. The results of the first workshop and descriptions of the 1999 construction projects where the states would be willing to test and evaluate innovative technologies were presented. The technology providers were then invited to participate in the initiative by proposing solutions and technologies that would address the requirements identified in the first workshop. At the close of the workshop, the technology providers were asked to send a letter to the states confirming their commitment to participate in the initiative. Commitments were received from 20 of the 55 technology providers who attended the second workshop.  

The interested technology providers were invited to the third workshop, Selecting the Technologies, which was held on July 22 and 23, 1998 in Kansas City, Missouri. The purpose of the third workshop was to match the solutions
proposed by the technology providers with work zones on specific construction projects. Each technology provider made a presentation describing the technology they proposed to deploy and how it addressed the requirements identified at the first workshop. Following the presentations, the states selected the technologies in which they were most interested and identified the projects on which they would be deployed and evaluated during the 1999 construction season.