Selecting the Most Feasible Construction Phasing Plans for Urban Highway Rehabilitation Projects

Despite the abundance of research that has aimed to understand the effects of highway work zones, very little definitive
information is available concerning the determination of work zone length (WZL). Quantitative studies that holistically
model WZL are very rare. To fill this gap, this study identifies critical factors affecting WZL and develops decision
support models that determine the optimal WZL in a balanced tradeoff between motorists’ inconvenience due to traffic
disruption and their opportunity cost. A high-confidence dataset was created by conducting a series of scheduling and
traffic simulations and analyses. The results revealed that traffic loading and work zone duration are critical factors,
with traffic loading at approximately 41,000 vehicles-per-day being an important benchmarking point. Based on these
findings, a decision support model was developed to determine the most feasible WZL. As the first of its kind, this
study will help state transportation agencies devise sounder construction phasing plans by providing a point of
reference when establishing WZL in a viable way to minimize traffic disruption during construction.