O3.6.8 Following the installation of, or changes to, temporary traffic management arrangements, an inspection shall be carried out by the person nominated to be responsible for traffic management at the site to ensure that all signs and delineators are correct or have been removed or covered, as appropriate. The responsible person shall be adequately trained and competent (see Section O6.2). For standard works on trunk roads, this person is normally the Traffic Safety and Control Officer (TSCO) or nominated deputy (see paragraph O6.2.8). For relaxation works on trunk roads and on other roads, the responsible person may be the:
- foreman responsible for activities in the working area;
- works supervisor;
- ganger;
- resident engineer; or
- highways inspector or superintendent.
This list of potentially responsible persons is not exhaustive. The Highway Authority has the ultimate responsibility for the administration of all work that affects its roads.
O3.6.9 The inspection shall include a drive through or visual inspection, as appropriate, to gain the drivers’ perspective and ensure that signs are not obscured, legends are readable, and manoeuvres are safe. It is recommended that the inspection is formally recorded to provide evidence of the adequacy of the traffic management in the event of an incident.
O3.7MAINTAINING STATIC TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
O3.7.1 Signs, cones, temporary road markings and any existing road markings that form the traffic management layout shall be maintained for the duration of the temporary traffic management regime. Guidance on the assessment of the condition of traffic management equipment is given in Appendix A4.3|.
O3.7.2 The required intervals at which static traffic management is to be maintained will be specified in the design; see Part 1: Design, Section D2.12. The temporary traffic management contractor should make the resources available to carry out the checks/maintenance and should carry out a risk assessment and produce a method statement for the maintenance operation.
O3.7.3 Contractors should be aware that the amount of work associated with maintenance of any particular layout may vary throughout the duration of a scheme due to variations in things like volume of traffic and weather. The contractor shall ensure that he provides sufficient resources at all times to maintain the layout in a safe condition.
O3.7.4 On high-speed roads, in particular, during the maintenance of traffic management the use of a sign with the legend "WORKFORCE IN ROAD SLOW" to diagram 7001.3 positioned on the near side of the carriageway, in advance of the first crossing point, or the use of VMS signs, should be considered; see also paragraph O3.6.3.
O3.7.5 For a heavily-trafficked motorway site, maintenance at two-hourly intervals, twenty four hours a day, would be appropriate. This should include maintenance of cones, signs, barriers, temporary studs and markings, and at night also warning lights and any temporary area illumination provided during the hours of darkness. On large schemes, it may well take two hours for the maintenance crew to travel around the site, effectively making the maintenance a continuous operation.
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