Article Title:
ARTBA Foundation Accepting Applications for 2005 Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship

Article Text:
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) is currently accepting nominations for the ?Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program• for the 2005 academic year. The program provides financial assistance to help the children of highway construction workers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty pursue post-high school education.

The scholarships have a value up to $2,000 and are supported by contributions from highway construction industry executives, firms and labor groups nationwide.

Eligibility Requirements:

Applicants must be the sons, daughters or legally adopted children of highway workers who have died or become permanently disabled in roadway construction zone accidents.

An applicant's parent must have been employed by a transportation construction firm or transportation public agency at the time of death or disabling injury.

The scholarship award must be used to attend a post-secondary institution of learning that requires a high school or GED diploma.

Applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2005. For scholarship selection criteria and a copy of the application form, please visit the association's web site at www.artba.org or contact ARTBA's Rhonda Britton at 202-289-4434.

Scholarship winners will be announced on or before July 15, 2005.

Over the past five years, more than 25 students have been selected as scholarship recipients.

From ARTBA News Release, January 11, 2005.

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Article Title: Worker Safety and Visibility

Article Text:
As our highway infrastructure ages, many highway agencies are focusing on rebuilding existing roadways instead of building new ones. Highway improvement projects being performed on roadways that are open to traffic are increasing. At the same time, traffic continues to grow and creates more congestion. This combination of more work zones, heavier traffic, and greater reliance on night work results in increased risk for highway workers. The following methods can be used to minimize and control risks for workers:

High-visibility Apparel:

• All workers should wear high visibility apparel.

• Worker visibility during dawn or dusk conditions may be enhanced by the use of fluorescent colored high-visibility apparel.

• The use of colors such as yellow-green for the worker apparel may help to differ-entiate the worker from the orange colored work vehicles, signs, drums, etc.

Worker Training:

• Workers should be trained in how to work near traffic.

• Workers responsible for temporary traffic control should be adequately trained.

• Work rules should be estab-lished and enforced to minimize worker risks from traffic.

Activity Area Planning:

• Routes should be identified and marked to allow workers and work vehicles to safely enter and exit the work space.

• Backing should be controlled by spotters or other positive means wherever workers or pedestrians may be present.

• Overhead and underground utilities should be located and marked to prevent contact by equipment and workers.

Speed Control:

Compliance with posted speed limits is important to protect workers and the traveling public. The following strategies can be used to control traffic speeds through work zones, whether or not the speed limit is reduced:

• Establish appropriate speed limits for work zone

• Properly posted regulatory speed limits

• Law enforcement

• Radar activated changeable message signs

• Flaggers (under some con-ditions)

Positive Separation of Traffic and Work Activities:

Separating traffic from work activities by the use of temporary traffic barriers, shadow vehicles with truck-mounted attenuators, or similar devices minimizes risk for both workers and travelers. The need for positive separation should be based on work zone factors including:

• Traffic speed and volume

• Distance between workers and traffic

• Duration and type of work operations

• Physical hazards present in the work zone

• Alignment of traffic lanes through the work zone

Lighting:

Temporary lighting should be used in night work zones to accomplish the following:

• The work area and its approaches should be lighted to provide better visibility for drivers to safely travel through the work zone.

• Illumination should be provided wherever workers are present to make them visible.

• Glare must be controlled so as not to interfere with the visibility of the work zone by drivers and workers.

Worker Safety Planning:

Planning, implementation, and oversight of worker safety should be the responsibility of a competent safety specialist, and should adequately address the requirements of OSHA and MUTCD. In particular:

• A hazard assessment of the work site should be conducted to identify worker risks.

• Engineering and administrative controls and personal pro-tective measures should be implemented to protect workers from the identified risk.

Special Devices:

Judicious use of special traffic control devices may be helpful in reducing worker risks in certain work zone situations. These include:

• Rumble strips

• Changeable message signs

• Intrusion alarms

• Spotters

From FHWA-SA-03-009, available on line at safety.fhwa. dot.gov/wz/

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Article Title: National Work Zone Memorial Comes to Connecticut in September

Article Text:
The National Work Zone Memorial to those who lost their lives in roadway work zones is scheduled to visit Hartford on September 7 and 8.

The memorial?which includes the names of workers, law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, motorists and their passengers?is part of a traveling exhibition called ?Respect and Remembrance: Reflections of Life on the Road.•

The exhibition, to be located at the Connecticut Convention Center , will be hosted by the Federal Highway Administration, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Technology Transfer Center during the Eastern Winter Maintenance Symposium.

The names of thirty-five Connecticut residents are included among the hundreds currently listed on the memorial wall. Unveiled in April 2002, the memorial is a living tribute to their memory, traveling to communities across the country year-round to raise public awareness of the need to respect and stay safe in America 's roadway work zones.

The memorial is maintained and cared for by the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation, the charitable and educational arm of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA).

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Article Title:
Work Zone Safety Information On Line

Article Text:
A Select List of Work Zone Safety Web Sites and Resources:

National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse -wzsafety.tamu.edu

Contains information on:

• Accident Statistics

• Laws and Regulations

• Equipment and Technology

• Public Education and Outreach Programs

• Research Publications

• Standards and Specifications

• Federal and State Practices

• Training Programs

• Key Experts

Federal Highway Administra-tion Office of Safety, Work Zone -safety.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/

Contains information on:

• Facts and Statistics

• National Highway Work Zone Safety Program

• Planning and Design

• Speed Management

• Policy and Guidelines

• Community Programs and Resources

Federal Highway Administra-tion Office of Safety, Roadside Hardware
-safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway _dept/road_ hardware/

Contains information on:

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Policy, Regulations and Guidance

• Nighttime Visibility of Signs

• Manufacturers

• Workshops and Training

• Ongoing Research

• Hardware Acceptance Letters

Federal Highway Administra-tion Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program -www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/

Contains information on:

• Best Practices

• Construction Strategies

• Contracting Strategies

• Intelligent Transportation Sys-tems and Technology

• Outreach and Training

• Performance Measurement

• Regulation and Policy

• Work Zone and Traffic Analysis/Management

Building Safer Highway Work Zones: Measures to Prevent Worker Injuries from Vehicles and Equipment (NIOSH) -www.cdc.gov/niosh/2001128.html

Highway Work Zone Safety Checklist Manual (NELHSF) -www.nelhsf.com/health/safetymanuals/

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (FHWA) -mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov

Work Zone Related Crashes: Challenges and Opportunities for Prevention (NIOSH)
-www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-119/

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Article Title:
From Our Resource Library

Article Text:
To request the following item, please call 860-486-6446, send the request form on the back page of this newsletter, or use our on-line information request form at www.cti.uconn.edu/ti/Technology/Info_request.htm.

Comprehensive Intersection Resource Library , CD-ROM, Federal Highway Administration,
FHWA-SA-04-002

The resources included in this library represent a broad cross- section of publications and other media published by the Federal Highway Administration and other transportation safety partners. Library content is organized into five broad categories, including traditional signalized and unsignalized intersections, roundabouts, highway/rail grade crossings, and other nontraditional intersection designs such as single-point intersections.

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Article Title: Calendar

Article Text:
Connecticut Technology Transfer Center Training Opportunities

APRIL 12, 13: Flagger Certification (Road Master Elective , Storrs)

MAY 15, 16: Chainsaw Operating Techniques (Road Master Elective , Storrs)

JUNE
1st: Where and When to Use Signs, Signals and Markings (Municipal Legal Traffic Authority Required, Hartford)

2nd: Where and When to Use Signs, Signals and Markings (Municipal Legal Traffic Authority Required , Storrs)

22, 23: Surveying Methods for Local Roads (Road Master Elective , Storrs)

For more information on upcoming programs or to register on line, please visit our web site at www.engr.uconn.edu/ti/Technology/workshops.html

If you have additional questions, please call 860-486-5400.

For information on upcoming programs from our partner, CONN-OSHA, please visit their web site at www.ctdol.state.ct.us/osha/moshe1199.htm .

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"Technology Transfer" is published by the Connecticut Transportation Institute's Technology Transfer Center, Phone (860) 486-5400, Fax (860) 486-2399. Supported through a cooperative effort of the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) to provide information on the latest transportation technology to Connecticut's state and local government officials.

Director: Donna Shea (shea@engr.uconn.edu)
Workshop Coordinator: Mary McCarthy (mary@engr.uconn.edu)
Information Services Coordinator/Editor: Stephanie Merrall (smerrall@engr.uconn.edu)
Webmaster: Deborah Barrett (dbarrett@engr.uconn.edu)