Introduction to Worker Safety in Roadway Work Zones

What is a roadway work zone, exactly? This question has a broad answer because a roadway work zone can take a variety of forms. Some examples of roadway work zones include the following:

• A three-mile stretch of a multi-lane highway where the right lane is closed for repaving.
• A half-block of a suburban street where utility workers are rewiring a traffic light.
• Two-hundred yards of a country road from which a downed tree is being removed after a storm.
• A mobile striping operation that is repainting roadway pavement markings that have faded.
• A survey of a section of a two-lane road in preparation for a road-widening project.

Regardless of the type of work performed, a roadway work zone is a defined area in which road work takes place. The work zone should be marked with signs and devices designed to alert, direct, and slow the flow of passing traffic.

For drivers using the roadway, the work zone extends from the first ROAD WORK AHEAD sign to the END ROAD WORK sign. The area in which work is actually performed may be much smaller than the total work zone, however. The active area inside the roadway work zone is called the "work space." Although the entire roadway work zone presents hazards for worker safety, the work space is especially dangerous because it includes both the dangers of passing traffic and the hazards of a construction job site.

To learn more about Roadway Work Zones visit our Worker Safety in Roadway Work Zones Online Training web page.