Doing the math: Work zone research keeps drivers out of harm's way

Fatal U.S. work zone crashes are steadily increasing, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration. With this rising number, it’s vital for industry experts to get to the bottom of work zone safety.

Since 1982, the number of fatalities on Illinois highways has decreased by almost two-thirds, helping Illinoisans drive “zero fatalities to a reality” ― an IDOT goal.

Illinois Center for Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation researchers are one step closer to just that thanks to their recent joint effort in project “R27-186: Work Zone Safety Performance on Illinois State Routes.”

Kerrie Schattler, a Bradley University professor, and Juan Pava, IDOT’s safety programs unit chief, led the project, investigating the number, length and duration of work zones and their correlation with crashes and fatalities/injuries.

The chance to improve roadway safety was one Schattler couldn’t pass up.

“Road safety has been a passion of mine since I became involved in a research group as a student at Wayne State University in the 1990s,” Schattler said. “Having the ability to be a part of reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities on our roads is an incredibly rewarding journey.”

Schattler and team were able to dig deeper into the safety performance of Illinois work zones, recording crash data from 2013 to 2017 and using data from 384 work zone sites.

The researchers sought to figure out the yearly safety performance of work zones, their impact on roadway safety and what data is needed to better evaluate work zones.

“(The research) will aid in determining how a specific work zone design feature or combination of features affects the safety performance of a work zone, so that future decisions about the work zone design or maintenance of traffic plans are improved,” Schattler said.

From their efforts, the researchers were able to determine yearly crash-rate fluctuations and develop metrics on work zone fatal/serious injury rates.

Of particular importance, the team developed crash-prediction tools to help design safer work zones in Illinois.

“(The tools) will allow us to compare work zone alternatives and drive policy decisions to lower fatalities and serious injuries in work zones,” Pava said.

As for the benefit to the public?

“Engineers will be better equipped to make data-driven decisions on the expected safety impact of work zones,” Pava said. “This will translate not only into safety improvements as reduction of fatalities and serious injuries, but will also result in mobility and reliability improvements.”