Page:UK Traffic Signs Manual - Chapter 8 - Part 2- Traffic Safety Measures and Signs for Road Works and Temporary Situations) - Operations 2009.pdf/162

 When the closure vehicles have passed the slip road, it should be reopened and the waiting traffic allowed to merge with that in the queue behind the convoy.

At a lane drop, the closure vehicle in the lane to be dropped merges in front of the one in the adjoining lane in such a way that the risk of errant drivers breaching the closure is minimised.

In the case of a lane gain on the near side, an additional closure vehicle will travel in front of the closure vehicle travelling in the near side lane and at the lane gain should move alongside the closure vehicles in the additional lane to prevent errant vehicles breaching the closure. A similar procedure should be adopted for an off side lane gain.

The control office staff should be informed of the programmed closure at an early stage so that they may consider how best to use the available matrix and/or VMS signing. They should be told the planned procedure, its location and, in particular, the anticipated length of any queue that may form so that the appropriate VMS and matrix signs may be set; see paragraphs O11.7.9 to O11.7.11.

In addition to the advance notification required by paragraph O11.20.1 above, the supervisor shall notify the local emergency service control rooms immediately prior to the closure starting and again immediately after it is complete. If notified, emergency services will try to avoid the area as far as possible for the duration of the closure operation. If emergency services are deployed on an emergency call within the locality of the closure, their control office will advise them to pass the closure on the hard shoulder in accordance with paragraph [[#O11.17.2|O11.17.2}} above.

The means of communication between the supervisor and the control office, together with procedures for dealing with emergency situations that may arise, should also be established early in the planning process for the closure.

There may be cases when the extent of the operation, in particular the possible length of the traffic queue, spans more than one control office’s area of responsibility. Should this arise, the communication links and procedures between the control offices and the vehicles involved in the operation should be established at an early stage of the planning process.

The procedures used by control offices for dealing with operations such as the Mobile Carriageway Closure technique should be in accordance with a framework of national guidance and the advice given in this section is intended to supplement this guidance.

In the unlikely event of a total communication failure during the mobile carriageway closure operation, the closure should not be aborted since this might compromise the safety of those working in the traffic-free zone. Instead, the closure vehicles should continue until the work site is reached. If the highway remains obstructed, the convoy should be stopped in accordance with paragraph O11.14.2.

The presence of other planned works, both on the main route and on any diversion routes that might be affected by queuing traffic, should also be investigated and taken into account. 160