Spacing of Law Enforcement Pullout Areas in Highway Work Zones

Law enforcement presence in work zones has long been recognized as one of the most effective speed-reduction methods available to transportation officials. Unfortunately, the design of many work zones makes effective enforcement difficult. Work zones that have no emergency shoulders on either side of the roadway are especially problematic. Incorporating enforcement pullout areas into construction phasing plans has been suggested as a way to improve enforcement activities. However, no guidance had been available on how frequently such enforcement areas should be incorporated. Research was conducted to determine law enforcement and contractor opinions on acceptable spacing criteria for pullout areas in a highway work zone. Two sets of surveys were made by using the Delphi method to solicit the opinions of law enforcement officers and roadway contractors regarding the relative difficulty or effectiveness of pullout areas located at various spacings through a long work zone. The Delphi method was used to quickly bring these groups to consensus. Construction contractors generally were against placing pullout areas closer than 2 mi apart. By contrast, law enforcement officers indicated that at spacing greater than 3 mi, the pullout area would not be useful for traffic enforcement. The results indicate that enforcement pullout areas in work zones should be spaced approximately every 2 to 3 mi or, as an alternative, work zones that eliminate emergency shoulders that are adequate for enforcement purposes should be no longer than 3 mi.