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Setting up night work construction

Started by Mergingtraffic, June 06, 2018, 04:12:33 PM

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Mergingtraffic

Years ago, I remember when crews would set up night work construction zones on limited access highways....they'd drive up the right shoulder putting up signs behind them and then going back to do the same on the left side, usually closing a lane as they do it and then drop the cones behind them as they cruised up the lane that was to be closed. Most lanes that they weren't using were kept open while they put up the cones and signs.

Last night in CT, the DOT closed 5-lanes of traffic and on-ramps (blocked by a cop car and 2 DOT trucks) to close the left two lanes for the night.  The 5 lanes were closed so they could run back and forth putting up the signs and cones.  It took 35 minutes to go 2 miles.  I understand safety of workers but it seems to be a stretch. Sitting behind the DOT trucks and cop cars was very stressful and there was a lot of rage in the cars behind me.  People getting close to the DOT trucks and honking and I was almost rear-ended a couple times as we drifted around 5mph.

I can see doing it on a 2-lane limited access highway but a 5-lane one?  (not to mention at 7:30pm in the direction of rush hour, which is just about wrapping up) What are your thoughts?

I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/


Max Rockatansky

Had something similar happen in Seattle with I-5 when I was there a couple weeks ago.  The WSDOT put the word out there pretty good so I was able to take an alternate route past downtown on Beacon Hill.  Traffic apparently had a 140 estimate travel time between Tacoma and Seattle.  Really there wasn't much choice but to work on the weekend, it was going to be a disaster no matter what. 

bzakharin

Something similar is done on the Atlantic City Expressway, where they have police slow the entire roadway to 5 MPH to let one of those in to set up unscheduled (or at least unposted) one-lane closures for construction between 8 and 9 AM. It's really frustrating too because the roadway is so lightly traveled (outside of shore traffic season) that there's no slowdown or anything until you are in the area being closed, and no exits nearby to bail.

roadman

Quote from: Mergingtraffic on June 06, 2018, 04:12:33 PM
Years ago, I remember when crews would set up night work construction zones on limited access highways....they'd drive up the right shoulder putting up signs behind them and then going back to do the same on the left side, usually closing a lane as they do it and then drop the cones behind them as they cruised up the lane that was to be closed. Most lanes that they weren't using were kept open while they put up the cones and signs.

Last night in CT, the DOT closed 5-lanes of traffic and on-ramps (blocked by a cop car and 2 DOT trucks) to close the left two lanes for the night.  The 5 lanes were closed so they could run back and forth putting up the signs and cones.  It took 35 minutes to go 2 miles.  I understand safety of workers but it seems to be a stretch. Sitting behind the DOT trucks and cop cars was very stressful and there was a lot of rage in the cars behind me.  People getting close to the DOT trucks and honking and I was almost rear-ended a couple times as we drifted around 5mph.

I can see doing it on a 2-lane limited access highway but a 5-lane one?  (not to mention at 7:30pm in the direction of rush hour, which is just about wrapping up) What are your thoughts?



I've heard of such "rolling roadblocks" being used for certain work activities - such as installation of horizontal members on overhead sign structures.  But this is the first I've heard of them being used to set up the advance warning signs and devices.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

ET21

Yeah I've never heard of rolling roadblocks for this use.... ISHTA usually has a truck with a caution arrow blocking the lane that it's setting up the barrels on. Usually do one lane at a time and start about 8pm. Only times I've seen rolling roadblocks for construction was for bridge beam installation
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

jakeroot

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 06, 2018, 04:19:28 PM
Had something similar happen in Seattle with I-5 when I was there a couple weeks ago.  The WSDOT put the word out there pretty good so I was able to take an alternate route past downtown on Beacon Hill.  Traffic apparently had a 140 estimate travel time between Tacoma and Seattle.  Really there wasn't much choice but to work on the weekend, it was going to be a disaster no matter what.

Sorry for delay in response. Going through threads looking for missed topics.

WSDOT usually doesn't close a road unless there's a tiny or non-existent shoulder. I-5 south of downtown is one of these cases. Plus they can get more done if they close the road anyway. This weekend, the westbound (old) US-2 trestle is closed east of Everett. Another road with no shoulder. I-5 northbound south of downtown is also closed again this weekend. WSDOT tries to reduce construction impacts, like almost never reducing the speed limit (unlike almost every other state) and always maintaining at least a few lanes. But sometimes they just have to close the road. Especially with our short summers, it's best to get as much work done as possible before the rain starts up again. Total closures ensure quicker progress.

wanderer2575

MDOT (Michigan) closed a stretch of I-696 at M-10 this past Friday night for the weekend for concrete slab replacements.  I stood on the side street overpass at the M-10 exit and watched them do it.  (Side note -- I was standing there waiting for at least 45 minutes before the work crews got to that point, and on two occasions a passing car stopped and the driver asked me if I was okay, like they thought I might be thinking of jumping.)

Anyway...  my experience here is that contractors send crews out along the shoulders a few hours before closures to erect or uncover the signs.  Barrels are delivered and lined up along the shoulders well in advance.  Usually no lane closures; all the flashing yellow lights on the trucks are enough to get traffic's attention.  As the closure actually happened, a convoy of at least a dozen work vehicles, all with flashing yellow lights blazing, slowly paraded along the closed lanes, following workers who were walking the road and dragging barrels from the shoulder to the edge of the closed lanes.  Again, all the flashing lights were enough to slow traffic.  No need to close the road altogether.

Mergingtraffic

CT does it a lot. I saw it (but wasn't stuck in it) last night on I-95 where 4-lanes were closed with a rolling roadblock as the DOT workers ran across putting up signs on the left and right shoulder and then left and right lanes ahead of the left 2 lanes being closed ultimately.

To top it off, they had the on ramps blocked from a nearby expressway and the workers were at least 10 minutes away at that point. So traffic on the on ramp was blocked for 10 minutes for no reason.

I just find it arrogant as they don't care about the motoring public. I get the safety aspect but a dozen trucks will lights flashing would suffice.
I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/

rarnold

Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 17, 2018, 05:52:35 PM

I just find it arrogant as they don't care about the motoring public. I get the safety aspect but a dozen trucks will lights flashing would suffice.

The people that speed in work zones prove otherwise. Much of the motoring public are distracted (cell phone, radio, kids screaming in the backseat, "oh, where did I put my coffee?" drivers who put other motorists at risk, not to mention highway workers doing their job. Arrogance seems a bit much, maybe overcautiousness would be better?

ET21

Quote from: rarnold on July 18, 2018, 04:04:26 PM
Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 17, 2018, 05:52:35 PM

I just find it arrogant as they don't care about the motoring public. I get the safety aspect but a dozen trucks will lights flashing would suffice.

maybe overcautiousness would be better?

Nailed it. They do this specific work during the night to avoid the peak traffic times.
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90



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