Performance of Temporary Rumble Strips at the Edge of Highway Construction Zones
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper describes the results of field experiments conducted to evaluate the performance of temporary rumble strips at the edge of work zones as a new safety measure to prevent inattentive drivers from encroaching onto the work area in a manner similar to the way permanent rumble strips are used. The two main objectives of these experiments are to (1) analyze and compare the effectiveness of various layouts of temporary rumble strips and (2) provide practical recommendations to improve the design and layout of temporary rumble strips. The experiments evaluated the impact of five parameters on the effectiveness of temporary rumble strips and their generated sound levels: (1) rumble strip type; (2) number of strips per set; (3) strip spacing; (4) vehicle type; and (5) vehicle speed. A total of 162 different combinations of these parameters were tested to evaluate their individual and collective impact on the effectiveness of temporary rumble strips. The findings of this study indicate that temporary rumble strips at the edge of work zones generate adequate sound levels to alert inattentive drivers. The results of the experiments also indicate that the effectiveness of temporary rumble strips can be improved by (1) increasing the number of strips per set as practically as feasible and (2) using temporary rumble strips with larger widths.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided for this research project by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) under Grant No. ICT-R27-52. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IDOT or ICT personnel.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138 • Issue 8 • August 2012
Pages: 923 - 930
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 9, 2010
Accepted: Nov 17, 2011
Published online: Nov 19, 2011
Published in print: Aug 1, 2012
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