Commuter Mobility versus Work-zone Safety: An Empirical Study using Data Mining of Anonymous User Generated Trip Information

Abstract

The two primary considerations for highway work-zones are its effect on commuter mobility and worker safety which are often spoken of together. However, it must be noted that they conflict with each other. This research aims to study this generally inverse relationship and develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for work-zone traffic control for state DOTs and contractors to determine the most effective traffic control and work-zone operation plans by evaluating their effects on the mobility of the traveling public. Work-zone information about safety devices (e.g., cones and barrels) from traffic control plans will be collected. Also, mobility through work-zones will be measured by periodic sampling of anonymized crowd-sourced data from publicly available mobile mapping services. This information will be used along with survey responses from workers and commuters to determine optimal traffic control strategies that maximize worker safety while still minimizing the adverse effects on commuter mobility. Results obtained from the perception survey data, quantitative mobility data and work-zone data helped create a Decision Support System that utilizes an i ndex numbering process to augment user’s decisions when selecting work-zone variables relatively balanced in safety and mobility.