Work Zone Mobility and Safety Program
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Best Practice

Main Guidebook > Find a Practice > Best Practice Categories > Project Development/Design

BEST PRACTICE:

E3−4: Using a Transportation Management Plan (TMP) Peer Review Process

DESCRIPTION:

Peer reviews of transportation management plans (TMPs) can be used to take a close look at TMPs before finalization and implementation to improve consistency, provide feedback and comments for improvement of the plans, and serve as an on-going, hands-on training opportunity for staff. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) uses a peer-review process to review TMPs for all projects that meet its definition of significant projects. Projects are submitted to the peer review team after plan review (at 35 percent design stage) and before the errors and omissions check (near-final design). At this point the TMP is mostly complete but there is still some flexibility in design and budget.

Review teams consist of engineers from across MDOT; a team typically includes personnel from regions outside of where the road project will occur to provide an independent, third party review. Designated staff are responsible for participating in some TMP reviews each year. MDOT peer review teams use a checklist to evaluate each TMP, and give the TMP a rating: green (go ahead with the project), yellow (some minor issues should be addressed prior to implementation), or red (larger issues must be addressed before moving forward with the TMP or the TMP is incomplete). The checklist tracks with a template that MDOT developed to guide TMP development (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/final_rule/mdot_tmp_template/mdot_tmp_template.htm).

Once the review is complete, the peer review team meets to discuss the TMP and offer feedback to the TMP development team for consideration. If a TMP is rated yellow, then rework is completed and a document change log is submitted to the review team with the revised TMP. If a TMP is rated red, it must be reworked and resubmitted for review.

REASON(S) FOR ADOPTING:

Peer review of TMPs helps to catch potential issues in a TMP early and this process enables a comprehensive review of all TMPs prior to implementation.

PRIMARY BENEFIT(S):

More effective TMPs. Also, the peer review process serves as a mechanism for regions to work together and share best practices, successes, and challenges with TMP strategies amongst all of a State’s work zone engineers.

MOST APPLICABLE LOCATION(S)/PROJECT(S):

TMP peer reviews have been beneficial to the TMPs on all significant projects throughout the State – especially those with complex traffic control issues.

RELATED BEST PRACTICE(S):

Multi-level Transportation Management Plans (Practice D1-1)
Transportation Management Plan (Practice D3-1)
Transportation Management Plan Development Tools (Practice D3-2)
Multi-Disciplinary Teams to Develop Transportation Management Plans (Practice D3-4)
Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan (Practice E3-2)

STATE(S) WHERE USED:

Michigan

SOURCE/CONTACT(S):

Angie Kremer, Work Zone Delivery Engineer
Phone: (517) 241−4970
E−mail: KremerA@michigan.gov
Office of Operations