Highway and street construction workers are at risk of injury and death when working near passing motorists, construction vehicles, and heavy equipment. These injuries and fatalities occur in what is known as the “work zone.”

• All employers with employees that may be exposed to hazards in the work zone must protect employees from hazards encountered while on the job.
• Common hazards that employees may encounter include fall hazards, overhead powerlines, underground electrical lines, excavation cave-ins, carbon monoxide, extreme heat and cold, poor visibility and fatigue.
• Poor worker knowledge due to lack of training or ineffective training is a major cause of work zone injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

Applicability

All employers with employees exposed to hazards in the work zone.

Emergency responders, clean-up, utility, demolition, construction, and others who work in areas where there are moving vehicles and traffic are exposed to being struck by moving vehicles.

Definitions

• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD): Recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices used on all public roads. Part VI of the MUTCD is devoted to temporary work zones. Many state transportation agencies adopt the MUTCD or have regulations that go beyond the MUTCD requirements.
• Work zone: The area between the first warning sign and the last traffic control device. The work zone can also include non-roadway areas (e.g., shoulders and drainages), staging areas, and support areas for the work zone (e.g., temporary batch plants).

Standards and guidance

Employers are required to protect employees from hazards encountered on the job. One way to help do this is provide the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition to head, eye, hearing, respiratory, and foot protection PPE, there is one other important type of PPE that is often needed by employees in construction work zones: high-visibility clothing. For these warning garments, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 29 CFR 1926.201 requires compliance with Part VI of the MUTCD (1988 Edition, Revision 3, or the Millennium Edition).

OSHA regulations require adherence to the MUTCD for all traffic control signs and devices used for protecting construction workers. Also, flaggers must wear warning garments that meet requirements of the MUTCD per 1926.201(a). There are no OSHA requirements specific to the individual worker doing road work.

If the road work is a federal project, or the work is done for a state, county, or municipality, the inclusion of the requirements for warning garments in MUTCD will be enough to require construction companies to provide American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved safety vests.

Hazards

Highway, road, street, bridge, tunnel, utility, and other workers are exposed to a variety of hazards inside and outside a work zone.

• Motor vehicle hazards. Motor vehicle traffic is not the only concern; workers may also be injured or killed by heavy equipment. Fatalities may also occur when heavy equipment rolls over.
• Heavy lifting. Many workers encounter ergonomic issues due to heavy lifting. Sitting for long periods of time while operating equipment can also cause lower back problems.
• Fall hazards. There are often fall hazards that can cause serious injuries and fatalities. These hazards can be due to working on top of equipment or on bridges or overpasses.
• Overhead powerlines. Contact with overhead power lines is a serious hazard on many work zones. Construction equipment often works below these power lines and can expose operators to electrocution.
• Underground electrical lines. Excavations are common at work zones and when digging there is the chance contact with electrical lines. This also poses a shock and electrocution risk for operators of heavy equipment.
• Excavation cave-ins. If excavation work is often done in work zones, cave-ins are a serious problem. Unstable soil types need to be dealt with as well as heavy equipment operating near the excavation, which can put pressure on the wall of the trench.
• Carbon monoxide. Employees are often exposed to carbon monoxide from heavy equipment operating in the work zone and from motor vehicles passing through the work zone. Employees working in excavations can be exposed at higher levels.
• Extreme heat and cold. Both extreme heat and cold can cause major problems. Employers and workers must be aware of the signs of heat and cold stress.
• Poor visibility. Darkness, rain, and fog may cause poor visibility. Motor vehicles and heavy equipment can strike employees on foot in the work zone.
• Fatigue. Injuries occur more often during evening shifts and during night shifts, and fatigue is a major factor. A lack of sleep can also increase physical and mental stress, and may contribute to irritability, impaired decision making, decreased concentration, and lack of motivation.

• Employers must protect employees in work zones by providing them with protective equipment to help keep them safe.
• Poor worker knowledge is a major cause of work zone injuries, illnesses, and fatalities which is why employees must be trained before entering the work zone.
• If employees will be operating equipment, training should be based on the manufacturer’s manuals and include hands-on instruction.

Employee protection

While there are many hazards, there are also many ways to protect employees in work zones:

• Require they wear highly visible clothing and a light-colored hard hat. During the day, they must wear a vest, shirt, or jacket that is orange, yellow, yellow-green, or fluorescent version of these colors. At night, the vest, shirt, or jacket must be retroreflective.
• Have employees work where drivers can see them, but as far as possible from traffic. Drivers may not be able to see well when the sun is low in the sky or when it is rainy, foggy, or dark.
• Communicate the importance of getting in and out of traffic spaces and heavy equipment areas quickly and safely.
• Stress staying alert.
• Ensure employees are trained and authorized to operate equipment or vehicles.
• Require seat belts be worn when operating equipment or vehicles.
• Stress employees make visual contact with workers on foot near them, before moving equipment.
• Instruct employees to inspect equipment as needed.
• Use equipment with rollover protective structures.
• Ensure employees know to chock two wheels when leaving equipment.
• Protect employees working on trenching and excavating from cave-in hazards.
• Require that fall protection is used when working on a bridge over another roadway or over water.

Employee training

Work zones are dangerous places to work. Poor worker knowledge, due to lack of training or ineffective training, is a major cause of work zone injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. For this reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires personnel to be trained before they can work in the work zone. If the operation of equipment is involved, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recommends that this training be based on the manufacturer’s manuals and that it includes hands-on instruction.

Work zone orientation

All personnel, regardless of occupation, must be oriented to each work zone’s hazards and how to avoid them. This includes personnel visiting the worksite. For construction workers, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggests more in-depth training on topics such as:

• Recognizing, eliminating, or avoiding hazards involving equipment;
• Knowing the locations and sizes of blind spots around equipment;
• Knowing the hazards and protective measures associated with working at night; and
• Understanding communication methods and alarms.

Redundancy in communications is best. For example, in addition to motion alarms, use a spotter.

OSHA regulations require equipment operators to be fully trained on the equipment they will operate. Training should include instruction on:

• How to avoid rollovers;
• Information on the clearances that must be maintained between vehicles and hazards, such as unstable surfaces, trenches, excavations, and overhead utility lines; and
• Instruction on the location, size, and configurations of blind spots and what can be done to minimize their potential for contributing to accidents.

• Flaggers provide temporary traffic control when permanent traffic control is not applicable, but their use should be avoided because of the potential safety risks.
• Flaggers need to be trained in safe traffic control practices and public contact techniques.
• Flaggers need to wear high visibility apparel including a flagger vest, jacket, or shirt that is orange, yellow, yellow-green, or a fluorescent version of these colors while flagging.

A flagger is a person who provides temporary traffic control when permanent traffic control is not applicable. Because flagging exposes the flagger to traffic — the number one cause of death for highway construction sites — the use of flaggers is avoided.

Flagger abilities and training

When flaggers are deployed to safely move traffic through work zones, they are responsible for public safety and make the greatest number of contacts with the public of all highway workers. For these reasons they should be trained in safe traffic control practices and public contact techniques. Flaggers should also be able to satisfactorily demonstrate the following abilities:

• Ability to receive and communicate specific instructions clearly, firmly, and courteously;
• Ability to move and maneuver quickly in order to avoid danger from errant vehicles;
• Ability to control signaling devices (such as paddles and flags) in order to provide clear and positive guidance to drivers approaching a temporary traffic control zone in frequently changing situations;
• Ability to understand and apply safe traffic control practices, sometimes in stressful or emergency situations; and
• Ability to recognize dangerous traffic situations and warn workers in sufficient time to avoid injury.

Flagger stations

Flagger stations shall be located such that approaching road users will have sufficient distance to stop at an intended stopping point. Except in emergency situations, flagger stations shall be preceded by an advance warning sign or signs. Except in emergency situations, flagger stations shall be illuminated at night.

Flagger apparel

High-visibility safety apparel is critical. At a minimum, OSHA requires that for daytime work flaggers wear a vest, shirt, or jacket that is orange, yellow, strong yellow green or fluorescent versions of these colors. For nighttime work, similar outside garments shall be retroreflective. The retroreflective material shall be orange, yellow, white, silver, strong yellow-green, or a fluorescent version of one of these colors and shall be visible at a minimum distance of 1,000 feet. Also, it is a best practice to also wear white pants and a white reflectorized hard hat at night.

Flagger signaling

29 CFR 1926.201 requires that flaggers conform to the signaling methods found in Part VI of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) (1988 Edition, Revision 3, or Millennium Edition):

Flaggers must use red flags (at least 24 inches square) or sign paddles, and in periods of darkness, retro reflectorized. In addition to signals, 1926.201 calls for flaggers to be provided with and to wear a flagger vest, jacket, or shirt that is orange, yellow, yellow-green, or a fluorescent version of these colors while flagging. Warning garments worn at night must be of retroreflective.

Other flagger work practices

In addition to proper apparel and signaling, flaggers should:

• Coordinate with other flaggers and communicate by radio if they have no visual contact;
• Know how to combat both heat and cold exposure, dress appropriately, and know where shelter is available;
• Be alert to symptoms associated with carbon monoxide poisoning from vehicular traffic (nausea and headache), and, if symptoms develop, get to fresh air;
• Use proper traffic control devices such as barricades, cones, tubular markers, vertical panels, drums, and barriers to mark areas; and
• Be aware of construction equipment that may approach from behind and use motion detectors, alarms, hard hat mounted mirrors, or a spotter to have adequate warning of such hazards.

• Employers are required to create and maintain a traffic control plan that uses traffic control devices to inform motorists about a work zone they will encounter.
• Traffic control devices are signs, signals, markings, and other devices used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, walkway, or bikeway by a public or jurisdictional authority.
• Signs are categorized as regulatory, warning, or guide and are used to warn motorists of construction ahead and to instruct motorists on what actions to take such as reduce speed or prepare to stop.

Employers are required to create and maintain a traffic control plan. The first step in designing a safe and efficient traffic control plan is informing the public. This education process begins with notices in the media and extends to the worksite with plenty of strategically placed warning and informational signs.

Traffic control devices are defined as signs, signals, markings, and other devices used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic; placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, walkway, or bikeway by a public or jurisdictional authority. Some common traffic control devices include (but are not limited to) signs, warning lights, arrow panels, channelizing devices, portable concrete traffic barriers, and temporary pavement markings.

Informing motorists about a work zone they will encounter is essential. Two general kinds of alerts are used:

• Motorists are warned that there is construction ahead.
• Motorists are instructed on what actions to take, due to the work zone, e.g., reduce speed or be prepared to stop.

When a single advance warning sign is used (in cases such as low-speed residential streets), the advance warning area can be as short as 100 feet. When two or more advance warning signs are used on higher-speed streets, such as major arterials, the advance warning area should extend a greater distance.

Typically, the first advance warning sign is placed 300 to 5,140 feet before a work zone depending on the road type (urban, rural, or expressway/freeway) and the speed limit; the second warning sign is 200 to 4,140 feet from the work zone; and the third, 100 to 2,640 feet from the work zone. See the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Millennium Edition for specific distances.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that at points of hazard, construction areas be posted with legible traffic control signs and protected by traffic control devices. The design and use of traffic control devices, including signs, signals, markings, barricades, and other devices, for protection of construction workers must conform to Part 6 of the MUTCD.

Signs are categorized as regulatory, warning, or guide.

Regulatory signs, i.e., STOP, ROAD CLOSED, or SPEED LIMIT, inform road users of traffic laws or regulations, and you must get permission from the agency that has jurisdiction over that road before using these signs.

Warning signs, i.e., RIGHT SHOULDER CLOSED, DETOUR, or ROAD WORK 1000 FT, notify road users of situations or conditions on or adjacent to a roadway.

Guide signs, i.e., ROAD WORK NEXT XX MILES, are used to give directions, route markings, or the condition of the work being done.

There are even message signs that display “real-time” information, i.e., changing weather conditions, detours, etc.

Warning lights are often used in areas prone to fog or severe weather. They usually are used to supplement standard signs or warning and channelizing devices.

Flashing or sequential arrow panels are an effective way to warn drivers of the need to change lanes or directions.

Channelizing devices, such as traffic cones, drums, and barricades, are often used to prohibit motorists from entering a traffic lane or area where work is underway. Reflectorization of these devices may be required for night use. Warning lights may be added.

Portable concrete traffic barriers may be needed in some situations. If a driver strikes one, the barrier is designed to deflect the vehicle back into the roadway where it is less likely to collide head-on with structures or other vehicles.

Temporary pavement markings are used to supplement the other types of traffic control devices. If existing pavement markings conflict with the interim path of travel, then additional signs and traffic devices are needed.