In 2008, Opus International Consultants (Canada) Ltd. was retained by the New Brunswick Department of Transportation to develop a new Work Area Traffic Control Manual (WATCM). The WATCM provides a uniform set of traffic control guidelines for all construction, maintenance, and utility work carried out within the right-of-way of any provincial road. One of the Department’s main priorities in developing the new manual was to ensure that it incorporated best practices consistent with those applied in other Canadian jurisdictions. This paper presents some of the significant changes made to the new WATCM as a result of an extensive review of existing practices from across Canada, which include changes to: procedures for setting up and removing traffic control devices; crashworthiness requirements for traffic control devices; work zone components; maximum work zone length; work zone speed management philosophy; adoption of new technology; sign and device imagery; and typical application layouts. The supporting rationale behind each change is provided, as well as a comparison with current practices contained in other provincial manuals. In some instances, considerable variations amongst particular practices were found to exist. The paper identifies these as potential opportunities for developing national guidelines to help rationalize practices that vary from province to province.
