Impact Assessment of Road Work Zones in Operating Conditions, Safety and User Costs

Once built, a road network needs the preservation of its different components (pavements, bridges, signalization and safety equipment, among others), namely through a rational strategy of conservation and rehabilitation over its lifetime. Therefore, maintenance actions are needed on the network in order to overcome the degradation and the deficiencies of it.  Such actions modify the traffic and road environment conditions offered to users on a specific part of the network even if on a temporary basis, creating the so call “work zones”. The impact of these zones in the operating conditions, safety and user costs, is addressed by this study with the purpose to support strategies, practices and methodologies to minimize the impacts. The study takes into account the Portuguese reality and is supported by other experiences, given in the end the framework to deal with the impact of these zones.