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• Traffic Incident Management Bulletin

February 2010

The TIM team have recently attended two debriefs which have highlighted issues associated with the management of incidents within long-term roadworks.

Background

It is occasionally necessary to have long-term roadworks in place to allow major projects such as managed motorway schemes and widening works to be constructed on the strategic road network. 

Before a road scheme can start, the project manager will produce a traffic management plan. This will set out the proposed traffic management measures that will be required during construction of the project.

The plan will also consider, following consultation with the Traffic Management Directorate (TMD), the implications on road technology; such as traffic monitoring, data collation and driver information services during the construction phase. A key example of this are information services such as variable message signs (VMS), automatic number place recognition (ANPR) cameras and traffic loops in the road surface to measure traffic volumes and average speeds.

This may lead to some technology being removed or disconnected to enable the works to take place. As a result, the associated implications of this should be identified and interim measures put in place to mitigate the effects of this.

The traffic management plan will include:

• Description of the scheme
• Planned start and end dates of construction
• Proposed traffic measures
  o Minimum number of lanes that will be in operation during the works
  o Minimum speed limit
  o Details of any full carriageway closures (if required)
  o Details of any slip road closures (if required)
  o Details of any proposed hard shoulder running
  o Time of day that restrictions would be in place
  o Whether road works can be removed during bank holidays
  o Distance between adjacent road works
  o Details of traffic management in the vicinity of the project on and off network
  o Any significant event planned during construction works

The traffic management plan should comply with the Network Management Manual (NMM) and Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual.

Whilst assessing the impact of roadworks on the management of the network, consideration should be given to incident management and winter maintenance (dependent on time of year).

This may have an impact on the current roles and responsibilities of various responders on the network. For instance, the Highways Agency's service providers are responsible for maintaining the strategic road network, by undertaking:

• Repair of asset damage
• Routine maintenance
• Removal of debris
• Winter maintenance

However on occasions where there is a major roadworks scheme in place their role within that section of road will potentially differ.

Long term Roadworks

Once it is agreed that long-term roadworks are to take place a scheme contractor is employed. The scheme contractor will have overall responsibility for the control, maintenance, and overall safety of the works. They will be responsible for maintaining an incident response plan together with an around the clock contact number. 

To comply with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual, the long term contractor is required to employ a Traffic Control Safety Officer (TCSO). The TSCO is responsible for the safety of everyone working within the roadworks area.

The scheme contractor will also take responsibility for some, or a level of, the functions traditionally carried out by the Traffic Officer Service and the service provider.  These can include:

• Minor repair to infrastructure damage
• Incident response - dependent on the scale and severity
• Debris removal
• Vehicle recovery

Planning for Long-term Roadworks

Once the scheme contractor has been employed, a planning meeting is required to take place between all key stakeholders. This should typically include the following organisations. 

• Scheme contractor (TCSO)
• Traffic Officer Service
• Service provider
• Area Performance team
• National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC)
• Emergency services
• Vehicle recovery operator

With some roles and responsibilities potentially changing, there is a need for this to be coordinated and documented. Therefore during the planning stage the scheme contractor will usually develop and provide a traffic management plan to enable all the stakeholders to review and comment on it. This is a key part of planning for the scheme as it enables plans to be checked and challenged using the local knowledge available at the meeting. This will ensure that all plans are realistic and feasible in the area concerned.

The traffic management plan should also include an emergency access route for core incident responders. This will enable them to gain access to incidents within the works area both safely and efficiently.

It is also important at this stage to develop and agree an operational protocol. This should identify each stakeholder's responsibility during the works. This is especially important around the management of incidents and will ensure that no effort or activity is duplicated and the correct resources/organisations are used to undertake various roles. Therefore the operational protocol should include the role of the scheme contractor; who is responsible for general coordination of the site, and all other responders in respect of incident management.  This should be clearly defined and agreed prior to the works commencing. 

Once this protocol has been agreed it should be shared with other stakeholders to increase their awareness of who is responsible for the different aspects associated with incident management. If the works extend through the winter period, the provision of winter maintenance should also be considered during these meetings.

Typically during most major schemes regular meetings will take place between all stakeholders involved. This is a useful opportunity to discuss recent incidents or events which have taken placed and debrief how they were managed. This will enable any gaps not covered within the operational protocol to be discussed and resolved, if possible. 

Associated Guidance

Guidance has been developed for the Traffic Officer Service which specifies their role and responsibilities within long-term roadworks. This information is held within their manual which includes all operational policies and procedures.

Traffic officers should continue to adhere to their normal operational procedures other than:

• Collision management
• Removal of abandoned / broken down vehicles
• Debris
• Live animals

Incidents in roadworks are currently a topic under review by the Traffic Officer Service Procedures team. They are currently consulting with the Highways Agency's operational partners to understand how incidents can best be managed within the roadwork environment. This will include how their role can interface to best effect with other stakeholders whilst taking into account various considerations such as health and safety. The Bulletin will keep you informed with any developments in this area.  

Issue Resolution

In many areas there will often be an operational protocol in place prior to a major scheme starting, however this still does not overcome some confusion when dealing with incidents. The following examples have been taken from recent cold debriefs:

• A traffic officer required clarification as to whether emergency traffic management could be deployed within a roadworks site
• A Regional Control Centre (RCC) informed the service provider that their presence was not required at the scene of a fatal road traffic collision as the TCSO was assisting the police
• Vehicle recovery being requested to remove vehicles that require police forensic examination

The issues detailed above could have been overcome, or resolved through all stakeholders working together to develop and agree a robust operational protocol with the scheme contractor. This is a responsibility of all who are involved in the management of incidents on that section of road. The plan will then provide greater clarity on the roles and responsibilities of all responders involved in the management of incidents, and capture key information such as contact telephone numbers, scheme details.

In some regions prior to roadwork schemes beginning, the RCC and others have been given the contact details for the TCSO, who is responsible for the overall safety of the works. This has enabled the RCC to notify them of any incidents that take place within or in close proximity to their scheme and vice versa. Perhaps, the key operational benefit is that it provides RCC a single point of contact which makes communication between the two parties easier and more effective.  

Depending on the operational protocol agreed, the TCSO, once aware of an incident can then make a decision as to whether they require assistance from the Traffic Officer Service or the service provider. 

What agreements do you and your regions enter into during the planning stage of long-term roadworks?  The TIM team would be interested to listen to your suggestions, please forward them to mailto:TIMBulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk