Roadworks (called road work or road construction in the United States) occur when part of the

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, or in rare cases, the entire road, has to be occupied for work relating to the road, most often in the case of road surface repairs. In the United States road work could also mean any work conducted in close proximity of travel way (

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

) such as utility work or work on power lines (i.e. telephone poles). The general term of road work is known as work zone. Roadworks can, however, also happen when a major

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...

occurs and

road debris Road debris, a form of road hazard, is debris on or off a road. Road debris includes substances, materials, and objects that are foreign to the normal roadway environment. Debris may be produced by vehicular or non-vehicular sources, but in all ...

from the crash needs to be cleared. Road workers crushing rocks, in the mountains near Kullu

Roadworks are often signposted, although it is possible that the signage comes too late or too sudden or is missing. Typical road work traffic controls are temporary signs,

traffic cone Traffic cones, also called pylons, witches' hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, or just cones, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpaths to temporarily redirect traf ...

barrier board Barrier boards are typically long plastic or wooden beams or metal plates used during road works and similar activities to cordon off areas, close roads or direct traffic. They are also known as council barriers, Show Stoppers, works barricades ...

s and t-top

bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...

s as well as other forms of warning devices. There are standards of temporary traffic control (

maintenance of traffic Maintenance of traffic (MOT), also known as temporary traffic control, is a process of establishing of a work zone, providing related transportation management and temporary traffic control on streets and highways right-of-way. This process does no ...

) established in each country for various type of road work. Roadworks are frequently carried out throughout the night so as to minimize traffic disruption. Currently there are very few sources of accurate roadworks information sites available that report on the status of current works and future works. In the UK th
Roadworks.org
website, an initiative run b
ELGIN
aims to provide a national and live dataset of roadworks for the purpose of coordination and reporting. It includes roadworks information supplied by

Local Authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

and national agencies like the

Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all fo ...

Signage

Typically, roadworks signs are indicated by an orange diamond in most MUTCD-influenced countries. The 1948 edition of the ''

Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...

'' specified the legend ''MEN WORKING'' to indicate roadworks. For most European countries, the roadworks sign includes a red-bordered triangular sign with a symbol of roadworks. Nowadays, the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

and the

Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals The Convention on Road Signs and Signals, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, is a multilateral treaty designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for roa ...

prohibit the use of the "MEN WORKING" legend, replacing with the legend "ROAD WORK" and the symbolic roadworks sign (typically using a gender-neutral silhouette) respectively. The worded legend of the warning sign upcoming roadworks, which is banned by the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals because UN-compliant signs must make use of more pictograms, is allowed in the United States by the 2009 MUTCD. Zeichen 123 - Baustelle, StVO 1992

Lane markings

In some countries, where lanes must be altered so as to accommodate roadworks, the new lanes (or interim lanes) are marked with a different colour and take precedence over the previous lanes. In Germany, Poland and many other European countries, it is yellow; in Switzerland and in Ireland, it is orange. Road work

Signage

Lane markings

References

See also