TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1529

27

Capacity for North Carolina Freeway

Work Zones
KAREN K. DIXON, JOSEPH E. HUMMER, AND ANN R. LORSCHEIDER
Work zone capacity values for rural and urban freeways without continuous frontage roads were defined and determined. Data were collected using Nu-Metrics counters and classifiers at 24 work zones in
North Carolina. The research included analysis of speed-flow behavior,
evaluation of work zone sites based on lane configuration and site location, and determination of the location within the work zone where
capacity is lowest. It was shown that the intensity of work activity and
the type of study site (rural or urban) strongly affected work zone capacity. The data suggested that the location where capacity is reached is also
variable based on the intensity of work. For heavy work in a two-lane to
one-lane work zone configuration, the capacity values proposed at the
active work area are approximately 1,200 vehicles per hour per lane for
rural sites and 1,500 vehicles per hour per lane for urban sites. It is recommended that two distinct volumes be used when queue behavior in a
freeway work zone is analyzed. The collapse from uninterrupted flow
(designated work zone capacity) and the lower queue-discharge volume
both should be considered.

The number of freeway construction and rehabilitation projects continues to increase because the highway infrastructure in the United
States is aging. The resulting work zones limit the number of vehicles operating within the affected freeway system. Each vehicle
traveling in a work zone is affected by features such as additional
signs, narrowed lanes, barrels or barriers close to the travelway,
trucks entering the construction area, reduced speed limits, and
workers near the open lanes. A lane closure generates the greatest
constriction to vehicles in a freeway work zone. Drivers accustomed
to the original configuration change their travel behavior to traverse
the area adjacent to the closed lane. Frequently, more vehicles want
to use the road than can be accommodated by the reduced lane configuration. The result is generally the formation of a queue of vehicles upstream of the lane closure.
Most state departments of transportation use the capacity values
in the Highway Capacity Manual (1) as a guide for analyzing work
zone lane closures. These values were primarily collected by the
Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) for urban freeways in Texas.
TTI updated these capacity values in the early 1990s (2). For purposes of comparison the updated values of 1,575 vehicles per hour
per lane (vphpl) for a two-lane to one-lane urban closure and 1,460
vphpl for a three-lane to two-lane urban closure will be used. The
major limitation to applying Texas data to the rest of the nation is
that the Texas freeway network has an extensive frontage road system, which permits vehicles to bypass congested segments of highways. Most other freeway systems in the United States do not have

K.K. Dixon, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Atlanta, Ga. 30332-0355. J.E. Hummer, North Carolina
State University, Civil Engineering Department, Box 7908, Raleigh, N.C.
27695-7908. A.R. Lorscheider, North Carolina Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 2501, Raleigh, N.C. 27611.

continuous frontage roads. Aggressive drivers who in Texas can exit

the freeway system in favor of a frontage road remain in the traffic
stream in other states. In Texas such drivers may also influence surrounding vehicle behavior. Therefore, capacity values suitable for
the Texas freeway system may not apply to freeways in other states.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

Previous work zone capacity research has been expanded on for the
research described. The scope of the data collection was restricted
to North Carolina freeways, but these are similar to most freeway
systems in the United States and should not preclude the application
of the research findings in other states. Primary freeway work zone
research preceding this study occurred within highly congested
urban areas, whereas this study included both rural and urban sites.
The research described will focus primarily on identification of
appropriate estimates for capacity values in freeway work zones.
Capacity information will help designers to determine the number
of open lanes required during construction, adjust the construction
schedule, calculate user costs, and perform other traffic control
tasks.
Closure scenarios evaluated were limited to current road construction efforts on North Carolina freeways. These included the following road types and closure strategies:
A unidirectional two-lane configuration reduced to a single
lane (2-to-1),
A unidirectional three-lane configuration reduced to a single
lane (3-to-1),
A unidirectional three-lane configuration reduced to two lanes
(3-to-2), and
A divided freeway with two lanes in each direction reduced to
a two-way, two-lane operation (TWTLO) by use of crossovers.
Additional variables studied included night versus day construction, intensity of work activity (heavy, moderate, or light), proximity of work to active lanes, and proximity of interchanges to the
work zone.
Past work zone research efforts have also divided analysis of lane
closure scenarios into long-term construction sites where the work
area has a concrete barrier separating traffic in relatively permanent
construction operations (1) and short-term maintenance sites (2)
having lane closure durations of less than 1 day. The study sites for
the research described were short term having durations from 4 to
48 hr. Although some zones were long-term construction locations,
the lane closures were all temporary.
The previous research indicated several different definitions of
work zone capacity. Analysts have estimated capacity as the count
of queued vehicles advancing past a data collection point, which

28

could be at various locations within the work zone for a few minutes
to several hours. The research described suggests two specific work
zone volumes that are appropriate for capacity analysis.

WORK ZONE DEFINITIONS

Several physical work zone features must be defined for clarity. The
advance warning area occurs before any lane closures and is the
region where drivers are informed about pending work activity and
lane closures.
The transition area is the region where traffic is channelized from
its normal path to a new path (3). This region is characterized by the
strategic use of tapers.
The activity area is the region where the construction activity
occurs and traffic operates in a restricted pattern (3). This region is
also often identified as the active work area.
Bottleneck refers to any constriction that restricts the flow of vehicles within a work zone. The end of the transition (end of taper) is
an example of a bottleneck location.

CAPACITY DEFINITIONS
Freeway Work Zone Capacity
Several previous studies attempted to identify the capacity of a freeway work zone. A late-1960s California study measured volumes
for 3-min intervals during a lane closure with congested conditions.
The California analysts averaged two consecutive 3-min counts separated by 1 min; they then multiplied the average value by 20 to
determine the 1-hr capacity values (4). The study did not adjust traffic volumes for the presence of heavy vehicles.
TTI initiated a series of work zone studies in the late 1970s and
early 1980s. Those research efforts identified capacity as full-hour
volume counts in lane closures with traffic queued upstream. The
researchers considered consecutive hours at the same location as
independent studies (5 ). Although the team monitored truck presence during data collection, it did not adjust volumes to passengercar equivalents.
TTI performed a short-term freeway work zone study (2) and
defined and measured capacity as the mean queue-discharge rate at
a freeway bottleneck. The team recorded measurements hourly;
however, the researchers averaged consecutive hour volumes at the
same site and recorded this average as one observation. TTI analysts
converted capacity to passenger-car equivalents by adjusting the
value by the heavy-vehicle factor of 1.7 presented for level terrain
in the 1985 Highway Capacity Manual (6 ). The TTI team assumed
that the standard adjustment factor for heavy vehicles during normal
traffic operations is directly applicable to freeway work zones. The
assumption of heavy-vehicle-factor transferability to work zones
permitted comparison of values between sites but did not address
changes in heavy-vehicle operation during queued conditions. Previous research, therefore, provides several definitions and measurements for work zone capacity. The exact physical freeway location
at which capacity occurs also seems to be elusive, but it is generally
assumed to occur at the end of the transition area.

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1529

density assumption resulted in a parabolic speed-flow model. The

model represented capacity as the maximum flow on the speed-flow
curve. Greenberg, Underwood, and Northwestern University presented additional single-regime models depicting similar speed-flow
curves (7 ). For each model one unique point on the curve was
defined as maximum flow, or capacity. The low-speed portion of the
speed-flow curves indicates queued conditions. Each model
required prior knowledge of two variables including free-flow
speed, optimum speed, jam density, or optimum density. To date
work zone capacity measurement is based on a single capacity value
similar to that assumed for the four single-regime models.
Hall et al. (8) presented a generalized speed-flow curve that suggested a different definition of capacity in congested freeway conditions. Segments 1, 2, and 3 in Figure 1 depict a hypothetical configuration of speed versus flow for uncongested conditions, queue
discharge (collapse), and queued behavior. The three-segment
model described provides two possible capacity values for the freeway. One capacity value occurs during the uncongested condition
(located at the high-flow end of the uncongested curve). This value
occurs during high volume, steady-state traffic conditions. The second value appears as a vertical line in Figure 1 and represents collapse to queued conditions. The collapse flow value is less than the
free-flowing capacity and is consistent with behavior generally
observed in a work zone. The collapse will typically occur within a
range of flow values (not a static flow) and generally conforms to
the high-flow volume of the queued condition (Segment 3).
Segment 2 in Figure 1 represents the flow value at which a queue
develops. This value is not necessarily the volume measured at the
bottleneck during the presence of a queue, as suggested by the TTI
studies. The physical freeway location where critical capacity
occurs varies with different construction operations or site characteristics. If a construction activity generates a queue within the activity area, the end of transition may be located in the middle of the
queue, and the vehicle count at the end of the transition area could
be located anywhere along Segment 3. Measurement of volumes at
the end-of-transition location would not provide a consistent value
and would be unlikely to represent queue discharge. A given point
in the work zone may not exhibit sustained capacity for a measur-

Congested Freeway Capacity

In 1933 Greenshields presented a single-regime speed-density
model with speed as a linear function of density. The linear speed-

FIGURE 1 Shape of speed-flow curve generally observed.

Dixon et al.

29

able duration. The space-mean-speed versus flow relationship

should therefore be evaluated to determine work zone capacity
(when queue development begins). Capacity can be observed by
studying a time sequence of the speed-flow observations to determine when and at what flow rate the shift from the uncongested
curve to the curve indicating the presence of a queue occurred.
Queue discharge will provide the sustained flow rate after queue
development has begun.

FIELD DATA COLLECTION

Site Definition
The data collection team monitored the construction season extending from summer 1994 through spring 1995 for freeway work zone
sites with lane closures. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) provided personnel and access to available
sites; team members were affiliated with NCDOT and North Carolina State University. The analysts identified 24 short-term lane
closures at freeway work zones and collected data for capacity
analysis at all sites. Because of light traffic volumes queued conditions did not occur at all the sites selected. Table 1 summarizes the
data sets obtained, the lane configuration, urban or rural status, and
posted speed limit of each site.

TABLE 1

Data Set Characteristics

Capacity Data Collection

Previous research has indicated that there is variability in capacity
among work zone operations due to physical site conditions. Duration, closure configuration (for example, 3-to-1), construction
operation, on-ramp and off-ramp proximity, lane narrowing, and
physical barriers (i.e., barrels, jersey barrier, etc.) are examples of
physical site conditions that affect the behavior of the traffic stream
in the work zone. Analysts can generally monitor these physical elements. Each of the 24 data collection sites identified possessed
unique features difficult to fully capture with a written description.
As a result the team used two methods of data collection for physical conditions. First, a site description checklist was completed for
each site. Second, concurrent with data collection, two team members drove through the work zone in a car equipped with a video
camera and filmed the conditions. The video camera record includes
road conditions and odometer readings at critical locations, including sign placement, transition location, and active work location.
All traffic control devices observed by the analysts at the data collection sites were positioned in conformance to NCDOT work zone
standards (9), the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(3,10), and the project traffic control plan. Traffic information
required for capacity analysis included the number of vehicles, distribution of vehicles across lanes, percentage of heavy vehicles, and
average speed of vehicles. The team collected these data in advance

30

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1529

of the work zone (to verify free-flow status) and at consistent locations within the work zone.
The project team elected to use Vehicle Magnetic Imaging traffic
counters and classifiers developed by Nu-Metrics. The researchers
positioned these computer-driven devices in the center of a lane with
an adhesive tape coat or mounting straps nailed in place. Information about device type, operation, and placement can be obtained
from the project report Capacity and Delay for North Carolina
Freeway Work Zones (11).
The team primarily collected data in 5-min time bins and analyzed space-mean-speeds within these bins in a manner consistent
with previous freeway research. Select sequential data were collected for headway analysis and delay studies. The results of the
headway and delay studies will be available for publication in the
near future.
Figure 2 shows typical placement of capacity analysis devices for
a standard 2-to-1. The team placed devices that monitor speed and
volumes at an advanced warning location that was before or adjacent to any signs warning motorists of impending lane closures.
Motorists in the traffic stream could not see the lane closure from
the advanced warning location. These advanced warning devices
verified normal free-flowing conditions and tested the assumption
that capacity limitations within the work zone were a result of
the construction and were not normally present due to recurrent
congestion.
A classifier was typically located at the end of the transition area.
Previous work zone research (2) identified the end of the transition
location as the critical capacity location, so a speed-flow relationship was evaluated at that location whenever feasible. An additional
classifier was positioned adjacent to the activity area (located
approximately at the middle of the construction zone) to make possible a speed comparison between vehicles located adjacent to the
activity area and vehicles entering the work area. The activity-area
device location was static (i.e., once put in place the device did not

move until data collection terminated at the site), but the construction activity typically moved forward (in direction of travel) over
time. As a result the activity-area device monitored speed adjacent
to active work for only a portion of the collection period. Counters
were typically positioned at the beginning of the transition to provide insight into vehicle lane changing within the transition region.
The team used similar device configurations at 3-to-2 and 3-to-1
lane closures. Because the number of devices was limited placement
at crossover configurations did not include the advance-warning
device location.

FIELD DATA RESULTS

Data Set Characteristics
Table 1 gives characteristics for 24 data sets. The table identifies
several observed site features. These features distinguish data sets
and enable identification of possible influences on traffic behavior.
The urban or rural designations likely indicate a major difference
in driver familiarity. The rural sites were on I-95, which is the major
north-south through route on the East Coast but does not serve large
metropolitan areas within North Carolina. Thus, I-95 serves very
high proportions of unfamiliar through drivers. The urban designation indicates facilities with high proportions of commuters within
large cities.
NCDOT restricts freeway lane closures in urban areas during
weekdays or peak hours and prohibits weekend closures on I-95
because of the increased traffic volumes. As a result the team collected urban data sets during nights and weekends and collected
rural data sets during weekdays.
Table 1 also identifies the direction (left or right) traffic shifted as
it approached the closure. Paved shoulders are typically wider next
to the right lane of a freeway, so the direction traffic merges may

FIGURE 2 Device configuration for capacity analysis.

Dixon et al.

indicate the availability of a wider travelway within lane closures

with open right lanes. Uncongested freeway sections typically have a
larger percentage of vehicles traveling in the right lane, so a left merge
will initiate a greater number of lane changes than a right merge.
The available construction sites resulted in data for seventeen
2-to-1 closures, three 3-to-1 closures, two 3-to-2 closures, and one
TWTLO crossover. Sustained queues were observed at 10 sites. The
sites with queues (shaded in Table 1) were further analyzed for work
zone capacity.
Table 1 also indicates the type and proximity of work activity.
Heavy work activity included activity with large equipment and
many workers. The primary type of work designated as heavy was
pavement milling and resurfacing. A bridge removal (Site 11) and a
concrete-pavement rehabilitation operation (Site 16) were also designated as heavy work activity, the latter was especially distracting
to drivers. Moderate work activity included subgrade preparation,
clearing and hauling activities, shoulder paving, and guardrail placement. Light work activity was observed at Site 15, where a single
construction vehicle was present for a short period of time during the
closure, and no apparent work activity was visible to motorists in the
active lane. The daytime work-type data for Site 7 can also be classified as light. The paving machine malfunctioned during shoulder
paving and the contractor suspended work activity for several hours.
Table 1 indicates the presence of ramps before the transition (after
advance warning signs), adjacent to the transition, or adjacent to the
activity area. Where ramps were present they served minimal volumes; however, it is suspected that ramps before the transition influenced lane-changing behavior in that region.
The primary features used to separate data sets for analysis were
the closure scenarios and the urban and rural variables. No attempt
was made to statistically correlate site features to capacity because
the number of data sets was insufficient.

Observed Speed-Flow Relationship

The speed-flow relationship observed at the data sites generally
adhered to the speed-flow relationship depicted in Figure 1 with
an apparent fourth regime representing queue decay or recovery
of traffic conditions. The speed recovery occurred gradually as
flow decreased. The gradual transition from queued conditions contrasts with the quick transition indicated by Segment 2. Followingvehicle drivers rapid braking on observing brake lights on leading
vehicles may explain Segment 2 behavior. A gradual increase in
speed occurs during recovery because the driver does not face an
impending collision (as is the case when brake lights are observed)
and increases speed at his or her convenience. The model shown in
Figure 1 represents a clockwise cycle of queue development and
decay. Previous research (12) suggested a four-regime relationship,
including Segment 4 in Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows a daytime weekend urban closure at the end of
transition at Site 7 and serves as an example of a speed-flow data set.
The team adjusted 5-min time volumes to 1-hr flow rates. The
uncongested curve and the queue curve are clearly visible for highspeed and low-speed conditions. Figure 4 shows the same data set,
but the time sequence is displayed to show how the queue developed
over time. The data extend from 06:00 (6:00 a.m.) to 15:40 (3:40
p.m.). A rapid transition from uncongested conditions to queued
conditions occurred between 10:40 and 10:50 a.m. At this work
zone full recovery from queued conditions (Segment 4) did not
occur during data collection.

31

FIGURE 3

Site 7 daytime speed-flow relationship.

The team applied this speed-flow analysis approach for capacity

computations to all the queued sites. The researchers selected the
95th percentile value of all 5-min within-a-queue (Segment 3)
observations as end of transition capacity because that value most
often aligned with Segment 2 and because the 95th percentile value
eliminates unusually high, short-term, nonsustainable flow rates
(i.e., outliers). The 95th percentile value also closely aligns with the
high flow-rate limits of Segment 1.
Capacity at End of Transition Area
Table 2 summarizes end-of-transition capacities at rural sites with
queued conditions. The rural queue durations all exceeded 1 hr.
Flow rates are given in vehicles per hour (vph) and passenger car
equivalents per hour (pceph). The 1994 adjustment factors (1) to
determine passenger car equivalents were used. However, the team
observed many cases of unusual behavior by truck traffic during the

FIGURE 4 Site 7 daytime time sequence speed-flow

relationship.

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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1529

TABLE 2 End-of-Transition Capacities (2-to-1 Configurations)

data collection. Often, trucks in a queue in a two-lane section

aligned themselves with other trucks and created an effective dead
space in front of themselves as they approached a lane closure. The
data collection team surmised that truck drivers paced to avoid the
quick application of brakes or the shifting of gears typically necessary in a slow-moving queue. This truck behavior prevented passenger cars from merging immediately in front of trucks. At the transition one truck would typically create a gap for the merging truck
located in the lane to be closed.
Table 2 also shows capacity estimates for four 2-to-1 urban sites.
Site 7 includes night and day values for comparison. The duration of
queues at Site 7 (night) and Site 14 were less than 1 hr. The capacity
at Site 16 was considerably less than the values observed at the other
sites. The concrete pavement rehabilitation operation occurred at this
site approximately 915 m (3,000 ft) downstream of the end-oftransition location, and the data collection team observed a noticeable
increase in excessive braking of vehicles within sight of the construction activity. The reduced capacity is an indication that the intensity of work activity can strongly influence work zone capacity.
Site 10 provided a capacity estimate for a 3-to-1. A sustained
queue exceeding 1 hr was also observed at Site 17; however, a fourcar accident in the transition region eliminated the site from additional analysis. At Site 10, a nighttime urban construction-activity
site, the Segment 3 95th percentile value was 1,640 vph or 1,664
pceph (2.9 percent trucks).
The 3-to-2 and TWTLO crossover sites did not develop sustained
queues. Capacity conditions could not be further evaluated at these
lane closures.

Day Versus Night Observations

The rural capacity conditions occurred during the day, but urban site
observations primarily occurred at night. Comparison of Site 7 day

and night capacities (1,637 versus 1,644 vphpl) implies queued vehicles (in Segment 3) behave similarly during day and night. Behavior at the end of transition in Segment 1 does not appear to exhibit
the same characteristic. The average speed during the day was essentially constant at 85 kph (53 mph) for volumes below 1,100 vph. The
constant pattern is consistent with the uninterrupted facility speedflow models provided in the Highway Capacity Manual (1).
A time sequence speed-flow plot for the night data at Site 7
showed a reduction in speed as volumes increased in Segment 1.
This observed speed-flow behavior might be explained by the presence of light towers, night glare, or reduced peripheral visibility.
The speed of vehicles at the end-of-transition location in Segment 1
appears to be influenced by light conditions, whereas the queued
behavior appears to remain consistent during day and night. The
queues occurred primarily when vehicles operated at speeds less
than 48 kph (30 mph).

Capacity Adjacent to Active Work

The analysis presented thus far focuses on the end-of-transition
location. As previously indicated, the end of the transition area is
identified in most research as the critical location where capacity
occurs within a work zone; however, several references (2,13) also
indicated that the proximity and the type of work activity restrict
freeway work zone capacity. Active work is often not visible at the
end-of-transition location. As a result capacity analysis occurred
adjacent to the activity area where feasible.
Table 3 compares the end-of-transition and activity area capacities for 2-to-1s at which queuing occurred. The rural sites summarized in Table 3 had heavy work activity with maximum lane closure lengths of 6.4 km (4 mi). A resurfacing operation occurred at
all four sites, and the construction activity occurred before, adjacent
to, and ultimately beyond the device positioned in the open lane

Dixon et al.

33

TABLE 3 Rural and Urban 2-to-1 Capacity Comparison

adjacent to the activity area. A greater variability in capacity observations occurred adjacent to active work than at the end of transition, likely due to the dynamic work activity.
A smaller capacity occurred at the activity-area device than at the
end of transition for all the rural observations. Generally, Table 3
shows a reduction in rural capacity of approximately 100 vph. The
lower capacity value indicates that closure capacity should be evaluated at the physical location where vehicles are subject to the greatest restriction. Sites with heavy work activity are subject to the
greatest limitation adjacent to construction instead of at the end of
transition. The transition region functions as an initial bottleneck,
whereas the activity area represents a second, more constricted
bottleneck. Essentially, the lane transition meters vehicles before
their encounter with the work activity. The presence of two queues
(one at the transition and one within the work zone) is likely during
the early stages of congestion, whereas later the work area queue
may grow backwards to envelop the transition queue.
Table 3 also compares activity area and end-of-transition capacities for the 2-to-1 urban sites. The distinct reduction of capacity
observed at the rural sites did not clearly occur at the urban sites.
The data indicate reduced capacity at Sites 9 and 14 in the vicinity
of active work, whereas Sites 7 (daytime) and 16 exhibited relatively
higher capacity values. Active work data were not available for the
night construction at Site 7. The active work capacities generally
appear to conform to type of work activity. Urban sites with moderate and heavy work activity exhibited capacities ranging from
1,458 to 1,560 vph. Site 16 did not exhibit reduced capacity values
at the activity area; however, as previously discussed, the end-oftransition capacity observed was considerably lower than it was at
other urban 2-to-1s.
Activity area data at Site 10 (a 3-to-1) exhibited a queued condition for 15 min. The short queue duration resulted in an activity area
capacity of 1,440 vph; however, the limited duration of capacity
conditions restricts the usefulness of this short-term value. A capac-

ity reduction appeared to occur for the 3-to-1 adjacent to the activity area in a fashion similar to that observed for the 2-to-1 closures.

Comparison of Capacities
Table 4 summarizes general work zone capacities observed on
North Carolina freeways. The North Carolina values are compared
with the updated Texas queue-discharge values given in Table 1.
The Texas volumes appear to conform to values observed in North
Carolina moderate-construction activity areas. The North Carolina
end-of-transition observations exhibited, on average, a volume 10
percent greater than the Texas end-of-transition values. Rural work
zone values for Texas were not available. The higher capacity finding supports the theory that two volumes are critical to work zone
capacity analysis. The collapse volume represented by Segment 2 in
Figure 1 (identified as work zone capacity) and a lower queuedischarge value occurring following queue formation both must be
considered. A future comparison of activity-area queue-discharge
values to activity-area work zone capacity appears warranted. The
lower rural capacity values (compared with urban) emphasize the
dramatic influence driver familiarity has on traffic operations within
work zones. The lack of a parallel frontage road system and the
possible East Coast driver influence may have a minor influence on
values obtained for the study described.

REVIEW OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

Project Summary
Work zone capacity has been defined as the flow rate at which traffic behavior quickly changes from uncongested conditions to
queued conditions. This transitional value is typically not a sustain-

34

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1529

TABLE 4 North Carolina and Texas Work Zone Capacities

able volume that can be measured over an extended time period.

Similarly, once queue conditions develop the vehicles in the traffic
stream do not maintain the typically greater collapse flow rate.
When work activity is light the end-of-transition capacity primarily
influences queue development; however, the activity area is the controlling region with moderate and heavy work activity. Table 4 summarizes the observed work zone capacity values. Four distinct
regimes appear to occur in the development and decay of work zone
queues. Figure 1 identifies the general configuration of the four
regimes (uncongested, collapse, within a queue, and recovery).
The capacity values observed at the end-of-transition location
were slightly larger than Texas values. The capacity difference supports the suggestion that the collapse volume (defined as work zone
capacity) and the queue-discharge value are both essential values for
understanding queue development.
Urban and rural sites showed significant differences in capacity.
The difference appears to be primarily due to driver type and familiarity. The night versus day observations, though few, indicated that
queued vehicles behave similarly during day and night, whereas
vehicles in uncongested conditions drive differently at night in work
zones.
Caution must be used in applying the standard conversion factors
for adjusting flow rates from vehicles per hour to passenger car
equivalents per hour. The basis of the Highway Capacity Manual (1)
conversion factors assumes level terrain with normal traffic operations. The data collection team observed unique truck behavior in
the queued region that is not characteristic of normal traffic conditions. Heavy vehicles typically traveled in line and established a
large gap behind the vehicles they were following. At this time,
however, a calibrated alternative conversion factor for heavyvehicle presence does not appear to be available.

Recommendations
The small number of work zone sites with 3-to-2, 3-to-1, and
crossover configurations prohibited the determination of conclusive
capacity values for these scenarios. Additional capacity analysis for
these lane closure configurations should be pursued. Analysis of
work zones located in more than one state may be necessary to
gather a large enough data base.
Additional analysis of truck influence in work zones is also suggested. Finally, the development of a table representing volumes for
queue initiation (collapse or capacity value) and queue discharge for
each lane closure configuration is warranted.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FHWA and NCDOT provided support for the research described
herein. The authors thank Troy Peoples, Terry Hopkins, and Mike
Stanley of NCDOT for their guidance; Laura Cove of FHWA for her
insight; and Marcus Cole of NCDOT for his project coordination
efforts.

REFERENCES
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Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1985, pp. 5058.
The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of FHWA, NCDOT, or
North Carolina State University. The authors assume full responsibility for
the accuracy of the data and conclusions presented in this paper.
Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Traffic Safety in Maintenance and Construction Operations.