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Nighttime Highway Construction Illumination

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The nighttime driving environment, consisting of roadway illumination, signs, vehicle lighting and markers, delineation and signal lights, can be complex or even confusing for both pedestrians and drivers. The nighttime construction environment is even more complex and even chaotic because of the added presence of workers, bright lights, flashing signals and many potential hazards not usually found along the nighttime roadway environment. Workers in highway construction areas and drivers navigating through these areas have distinct visual requirements that must both be met through lighting and other forms of visual information provided in the work zone. Lighting systems presently used in work zones must be bright enough to provide visibility for workers. Ironically, however, the same brightness also can reduce visibility by creating glare to drivers and to workers, which can contribute to visual chaos. Illumination from work zone lighting systems is also necessarily non-uniform, resulting in some portions of the work zone with high light levels adjacent to others in near-darkness. The use of delineation, markings and warning lights helps identify the presence of lane changes, equipment, and other potential hazards, and signage provides additional instructions for safe navigation in and around work zones. Taming these diverse components of the work zone visibility system so that they work together and not in competition to provide unambiguous visual information can be a challenge.

Project Details

Project Dates: 
September 1, 2010 to November 30, 2014
Principal Investigators: 
Dr. Mark Rea
Dr. John Bullough
Institution: 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Lighting Research Center (LRC)
Sponsor(s): 
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)
University Transportation Research Center (UTRC)
Publications: 
Project Brief
Final Report
Project Status: 
Complete
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University Transportation Research Center
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