Safety, not convenience, drive daytime roadwork

Dan Hartzell | The Road Warrior

July 25, 2008

Q: What's with the grass-cutting or brush-cutting crews working in the morning during rush hours each day June 16-18, causing traffic jams on Route 22? Isn't there a better time, with less traffic, to do the job?

Debi Mitch

Bethlehem Township

A: Spokesman Ron Young said PennDOT tries to schedule work on major highways at night when possible, and if not feasible, to avoid rush-hour jam-ups by specifying a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. time frame. (Your commute was ruined between roughly 9 and 9:15 a.m., Debi, so the latter procedure was no help.)

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But officials sometimes face opposing traffic, chiefly regarding the safety of both road workers and the motoring public, as well as the familiar passenger known as higher cost.

Roadwork after sundown almost always costs more, though the added expense must be balanced against the drag-brake of sustained traffic jams on the local, regional and even statewide economies, not to mention increased air pollution and the psychic challenges placed on motorists, Young said.

Officials try to balance these factors, sometimes specifying evening hours in contract requests for work done by private companies.

''We're doing nighttime work on [Routes] 22, 33, 378'' this year, Young said, referring to milling and paving and other repairs on those major highways.

That's great, but why not do all of it that way? Why should brush-cutting, for example, or overhead sign inspections, cause the traffic jam in this week's photo, taken at 10:15 a.m. on an early-June weekday?

Overhead sign inspections cannot be done at night, Young said, because even the strongest lighting systems cannot offer sufficient illumination to detect, for example, a slight crack in a support pole.

Young's colleague Sean Brown, who specializes in safety issues, said night work is inherently more dangerous to motorists and especially to workers, even with the utmost care taken in terms of reflective safety vests, proper signing and lighting and the like.

It's the Warrior's nonexpert belief that the drastic reduction in evening traffic volume should compensate for the loss of visibility, perhaps to the extent that night work would be safer. Brown pretty much dismissed the theory, though he knew of no comprehensive studies of the issue. Motorists are likely to be driving faster at night, or be drowsy, or have higher rates of alcohol impairment, he said.

Higher cost is another, including night-differential payments for workers (including some PennDOT employees covered by union contracts), the purchase and maintenance of lighting equipment and other factors. And some materials, such as hot asphalt, might not be available around the clock, officials said.

Even the 9-to-3 restriction is more costly because it steals time from the workday, so that a job that might have taken two days could require three to complete, Young said.

''It's not as simple as everybody thinks -- just doing everything at night,'' he concluded.

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