The building and repair of roads and bridges supporting our nation's infrastructure is planned to increase throughout the coming years. This will improve traffic safety throughout the country for the long-term. However, during the construction process, traffic patterns will be disturbed by the creation of temporary routes and detours. Short term disruption will add to risk of accidents on our roads and around construction sites.
Traffic Control Plans and Internal Traffic Control Plans will be necessary, and often required, to maintain safety through the construction process. After construction is complete, the environment needs to be protected by ensuring the construction process did not introduce harmful elements into the environment.
In the post Top 10 Health & Safety Risks In Construction, states that:
A construction site is an ever changing environment; hazards are inherent to this industry and only increase as a construction project progress, as things rise and expand.
Construction sites can get quite hectic what with the shear volume of constantly moving vehicles and trades people – overhead lifting equipment shifting heavy loads, supply vehicles, dumper trucks everywhere, maneuvering around a usually uneven terrain.
Before Road Work Begins
Before road work is to begin, a traffic control plan should be developed. Governmental entities will require a traffic control plan at a minimum. When further clarity is required, additional detail may be requested to include diagrams and engineering drawings.
The purpose of the traffic control plan is to clearly describe traffic patterns and placement of devices through the different phases of the construction. Safety of the vehicles, walking pedestrians, cyclists and construction workers are of primary concern.
Additionally, a construction site may develop an Internal Traffic Control Plan. This plan is to define safe traffic patterns within the construction site, separate from the public traffic defined by the Traffic Control Plan.
After Road Work is Completed
When the job is complete, the new or repaired road will need to be safely marked. An example is STRIPE® EXTRA TRAFFIC MARKER. This is a long-lasting traffic marking paint specifically formulated for line striping over freshly coated asphalt. Traffic ready in 60 minutes and VOC compliant.
Compliance to standards for Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) is important for environmental reasons and compliance with certain government regulations. The purpose is to reduce ozone harming emissions. Emissions can be reduced by switching to low VOC content coatings.
Planning is critical for maintaining safety during the road construction phase, as well as, after construction is complete. At Traffic Safety Direct, we provide Striping Equipment, paint and Stencils. Contact us at Traffic safety Direct for more information.