With the early spring and all the unexpected warm weather we are enjoying, orange barrels are coming. That’s right, the weather should remind us of the annual rite of orange barrels that go hand in hand with roadway construction.

But what should we think of first when we encounter the orange barrel blues of occasional delay and inconvenience?  How about the safety and health of all the people who risk their limbs and lives on a daily basis in those “work zones”?  Roadway “work zones” are hazardous locations because workers are always in very close proximity to instruments of possible danger---moving vehicles.

The 2012 National Work Zone Awareness Week is schedule for April 23-27.  The designation of this week is a reminder to travelers to be aware of the hazards that workers face each day working side by side with travelers.  Sadly, during the roadway construction each year, careless or impaired drivers strike and sometimes kill roadway workers.  As a result, drivers have a special responsibility to be aware and always mindful of the hazard they represent to workers in roadway “work zones”. 

Have a safe and great summer!

Guest Blogger and KTA Toll Operations Director Alan Bakaitis explains how closing toll plaza entry lanes can be used a traffic management tool.

We sometimes close down a lane because safety is more important than speed.

Customers expect that all available lanes at a toll plaza should be open during heavy traffic periods, and they are understandably concerned when a lane is closed down and not available to them.  On some rare occasions we do intentionally close a lane in order to control the flow of traffic and the reasons for doing so are explained below.

One of our KTA service goals is to facilitate the movement of traffic thru our toll plazas in the quickest possible manner. Toll Plazas are designed and built to achieve that goal in a cost efficient manner.   The numbers of lanes that are built have been calculated to provide service to the anticipated average number of vehicles during routine peak travel periods.  

All available lanes at all plazas are not staffed 24/7 so that we can meet our budgeted labor costs, which helps us to keep our fares as low as is reasonably possible.  We realize that no customer likes waiting in line to pick up a ticket or pay a toll and we therefore match our employee staffing to coincide with the anticipated number of vehicles expected during a specific time period.

However, there are some unique situations that may occasionally occur that cause us to change our operational quick service goals, with the intention of decreasing the number of vehicles that flow thru a toll plaza on a per minute basis.  This is normally done if we believe that in doing so we are providing an overall safer trip for our customers. 

When there is a situation on the main line portion of the Turnpike that has resulted in vehicles having to suddenly and unexpectedly reduce their speed or come to a complete stop, accidents may result when those vehicles come up on the situation and suddenly have to brake or make lane changes.   These backups may occur due to an accident, construction work, or extremely heavy exiting traffic at a toll plaza that has backed up onto the main roadway. If there is a significant traffic backup that customers are likely to encounter within a short time period after leaving a toll plaza, we may sometimes decide to attempt to decrease the number of high speed vehicles that are traveling into that slow moving area on a per minute basis. 

In order to accomplish that decreased traffic goal, we may close down one or more lanes at a toll plaza, to decrease the number of vehicles traveling thru the toll plaza, which will also decrease the number of vehicles entering the problem area.  This intentional “slowing down of operations” at the toll plaza will delay both cash and KTAG customers. However, we believe that it is much safer for a back up or delay to occur at a toll plaza where drivers are already expecting to slow down or stop, than it is for a back up to occur further down the road where they are expecting they will be able to travel at normal highway speeds.

It has been awhile since this blogger hit the keys.  Will try to be more frequent in the future.  On the other hand, you may view that as and not really care a twit about what I have to say------about anything.  Your call!

Have you had enough hot weather?  Even though I consider myself a “hot weather” person, I surrender—I give!  More than that, most of you like myself, don’t spend your workday out in the 100+ heat but many of my associates and persons with whom we contract do.  I want to make special mention of those persons and call your attention to the work they do. 

Our maintenance employees as well as our contractor employees spend their day out in this oppressive heat.  They do so to keep our roadway in good condition to meet our customer needs and, in the case of our contractor employees, they are in the heat every day completing the two major projects now underway; the replacement of the two bridges over the Kansas river at Lawrence and the roadway reconstruction from MP 206 to MP 211. If you've traveled I-70 near Lawrence, you've probably seen some of these workers. While you may have been irritated by the delays these projects have caused, no one can deny that these people earn their keep ---- especially in this weather, working on pavement with heavy machinery that often expels additional heat.

I hope you join me in recognizing the hard work of these people and always keep in mind the need to exercise caution when driving in work zones.  I tip my hat to all these important people who are making our roadway safer and better able to meet the needs of our customers.

Finally, with the hoped for break in the weather, comes a return to school.  For me, this period is especially note worthy because our two daughters will be in college in less than two weeks.   Our oldest daughter will be a junior this fall and attends Arizona State University in Tempe, AR.  Her little sister just graduated high school and will be entering the University of Kansas to begin her college career.  In addition, I must admit that I had not thought much about “empty nesting” until recently.  Throw in the mix that my own career at the turnpike in nearing an end and this is a very challenging part of my own life. 

Hope all is well with you and your!

More later!

Wow, how the thought of spring gives me joy and a sense of a new beginning. That is especially true this year because of the nasty winter that is, hopefully behind us. Snow and ice bring with it a large spike in accidents, lower traffic and revenue, and higher costs. Not a recipe for a thriving business. Thank God, snow and ice events don’t happen every day.

With spring of course comes the season for the orange barrels, constant reminders that roadway work can only be done during the more pleasant weather months. I know, they annoy me as well because they also represent vivid reminders that with them sometimes comes delay and driver frustration. But also with orange barrels come construction workers in harms way who work on and near our roadways.

Because of the hazards involved with this kind of work, the roadway construction industry will celebrate “Work Zone Safety Week” that will begin on Monday, April 4, 2011. This event is intended to remind all travelers to be mindful of construction workers and the hazards they face every day working next to the traveling public. What’s more, the “Work Zone Safety Week” is also intended to remind drivers of the work zones they will encounter and their need to be alert and follow the driver instructions they will see through roadway signing.

Please slow down, be alert, and be ever mindful that roadway workers provide a valuable service, work in a hazardous environment, and all of us want them to be safe so they can go home to their families, just like the rest of us.

More soon!