23.2 General Standards and Practices
23.2.1 Purpose of a Traffic Control Plan (TCP) Design
Where the normal operation of a roadway is suspended, a TCP design, sometimes referred to as a Temporary Traffic Control (TTC), will provide for the continuity of vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic as well as access to property and utilities. There are two objectives of a TCP design:
- Provide for reasonably safe and efficient road-user movement through or around a roadway work zone to protect workers, incident responders, and equipment.
- Provide for the efficient completion of the construction or maintenance activities interrupting the normal operation of the roadway.
23.2.2 Safety in TCP Design
The primary goal of TCP design is to provide for safe movement of vehicles and other users through the construction zone as well as the protection of construction workers from those vehicles. While a certain amount of risk is inherent in any design as it is balanced against construction cost, mobility, and access, a TCP may have greater risk due to constantly changing alignments which may concern drivers who have experience navigating through that work zone, movement and operation of construction equipment and personnel, and TCP devices that need contractor maintenance.
23.2.3 Federal Regulations relevant to TCP Design
The Federal Highway Administration updates (released September 9, 2004) to the work zone safety regulations under
are referred to as the “Final Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility”.
The Rule updates and broadens the former regulation to address more of the current issues affecting work zone safety and mobility impacts of the work zones across project development and the implementation of strategies that help managed these impacts during project delivery.
The updated rule applies to all State and local governments that receive Federal-aid highway funding. All of these agencies were required to comply with the provisions of the rule no later than October 12, 2007.
In accordance with
, TxDOT released the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Guide, most recently updated in November 2023. This guidance document contains strategies for work zone safety and mobility management, including requirements from the
as well as TxDOT standard sheets and manuals. In accordance with
, this document supports TxDOT's policy for the systematic consideration and management of work zone impacts and incorporates input from a multi-disciplinary team that includes FHWA and other external partners
The designer of a TCP must have a thorough understanding of common safety risks in transportation construction in order to produce an effective plan.
23.2.3.1 Transportation Management Plan
A key requirement in the Federal Regulation is the development and inclusion of a Transportation Management Plan (TMP) as part of the project development and contract administration processes.
A TMP (detailed in
is an overall strategy to accommodate traffic during road work that minimizes adverse impacts and maximizes safety and/or mobility, as well as vehicular delay, in the general area affected by the project. The scope, content, and degree of detail present in a TMP will vary based on identifying the project. Significant projects, as defined in
, may not only require a TCP design for the project, but regionally-focused Transportation Operations (TO) and Public Information (PI) plans. However, an effective TMP should typically include:
- Project Description;
- Existing Traffic & Roadway Conditions;
- Proposed Work Zone Strategies;
- Potential Work Zone Impacts;
- Alternative Work Zone Strategies;
- Referenced Work Zone Documents; and
- Construction Monitoring
23.2.3.2 Standard Devices
Part 6 of the
and the
provide guidance for standard devices used for temporary traffic control, both short term and long term. These standard devices should be chosen based on site-specific engineering judgement.