Evaluation of rumble strips and police presence as speed control measures in highway work zones

This paper presents the results of a field study conducted on western New York State (NYS) highway work zones to evaluate two types of speed control devices: (1) rumble strips, and (2) police presence in combination with rumble strips. The study included speed measurements of approximately 554,400 vehicles. The most commonly used rumble strips comprise of either raised asphalt humps, or grooves cut in the pavement. In both of these two practices, the pavement is damaged, and the layout requires closing the road for extended periods. This project tested the effectiveness of two types of rumble strips: 3M and Swarco. These rumble strips do not damage the pavement, have the potential of repeated use, and are installed in a short period of time. The 3M rumble strips utilized on Interstate-86 were effective in reducing the passenger car (PC) speeds by approximately 3.86 km/h (2.4 mph), the two-axle four-tire vehicle speeds by 2.25 km/h (1.4 mph), and the five-axle single trailer vehicles by 3.22 km/h (2.0 mph). The speed reductions were dependent upon the type of lane closure setup. The Swarco rumble strips installed on Interstate-990, were not effective in reducing vehicle speeds, in either lane. The results of this field research indicate that properly selected rumble strips can be cost-effective in reducing vehicle speeds in highway work zones. Police presence combined with rumble strips was proven to be most effective, reducing speeds of all major vehicle types from 4.83 to 9.66 km/h (from 3.0 to 6.0 mph).