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Enhanced Analysis of Crashes in the Proximity of Work Zones Through Integration of Statewide Crash Data with Lane Closure System Data

Highway work zones interrupt regular traffic flow and lead to safety concerns. Comprehensive knowledge of the crashes and work zones is essential to identify the risk factors. The Wisconsin Lane Closure System (WisLCS), a scheduling and reporting system for highway lane closures statewide, provides a new opportunity to match crashes to specific work zones on a system-wide level. This study conducts an analysis of the safety risks in the proximity of work zones. The WisLCS and the MV4000 Crash Data Retrieval Facility, both part of the WisTransProtal system at the University of Wisconsin-Madison TOPS Laboratory, provide the necessary data for this study. A matching algorithm is used to relate reported work zone crashes with the corresponding work zones, which relies on a common underlying linear referencing system used in the two data systems. Based on the results, it is clear that work zones cause safety concerns outside of the physical boundaries (upstream and downstream) and scheduled time periods (before and after the reported operation hours). In some scenarios, those crashes occurring outside of work zones even have a higher risk of overall and severer injury. Some suggestions are also made based on the findings to improve work zone safety and enhance work zone reporting monitoring in the future. Although developed based on the systems in Wisconsin, the general ideas of this study can also be applied to similar information systems.