- (a) General. Special signing required in 75 Pa.C.S. § § 3326, 3365, 4309, 6123 and 6123.1 will be in addition to the traffic-control devices required by the MUTCD and shall be installed in accordance with this section.
(b) Application. Signing under this section is discretionary in the following work zones:
- (1) Short duration work, where the operation will be completed in less than 1 hour.
- (2) Mobile operations, where the work moves intermittently or continuously.
- (3) Stationary work where the daily duration of the construction, maintenance or utility operation is less than 12 hours and all traffic-control devices are removed from the highway at the completion of the daily operation, including all advance warning signs.
- (4) Work along highways other than expressways or freeways where the normal speed limit is 45 miles per hour or less.
- (5) Work in response to emergency work or conditions such as a major storm.
- (c) Work Zone—Turn on Headlights Sign (R22-1). The Work Zone—Turn on Headlights Sign (R22-1) shall be erected as the first sign on each primary approach to the work zone, generally at a distance of 250 to 1,000 feet prior to the first warning sign. On high-speed roadways including all expressways and freeways, the larger advance distances should be used. If work begins at or near a border to this Commonwealth, the R22-1 signs should be installed within this Commonwealth.
(d) Active Work Zone When Flashing Sign (W21-19). The Active Work Zone When Flashing Sign (W21-19) shall be erected as close as practical to the beginning of the active work zone.
- (1) The sign should not be erected within a transition or at a location where workers are put at risk when they may need to turn the light on and off.
- (2) When a construction, maintenance or utility project has more than one active work zone and the active work zones are separated by a distance of more than 1 mile, signs for each active work zone shall be erected.
- (3) The W21-19 signs shall be installed on temporary sign posts or on Type III barricades, and a white Type B high-intensity flashing light must be attached to the upper portion of each W21-19 sign. The light shall be activated only when workers are present, and deactivated when workers are not anticipated during the next 60 minutes.
- (e) End Active Work Zone Sign (W21-20). The End Active Work Zone Sign (W21-20) shall be erected immediately at the end of each active work zone, except this sign is not necessary if either the End Road Work Sign (G20-2a) or the End Work Area Sign (G20-3) is installed at the end of the active work zone.
- (f) Work zones on expressways or freeways. When the work zone is on an expressway or freeway, appropriate signs and lights identified in subsections (c), (d) and (e) at on-ramp approaches to the work zone shall be installed.
- (g) Portable changeable message sign. A portable changeable message sign (PCMS) may be used in lieu of the R22-1, W21-19 or W21-20 signs.
(h) Speed display sign. In Interstate highway work zones with a project cost exceeding $300,000, a speed display sign shall be installed on each mainline approach to the work zone to inform motorists of their speed.
- (1) The speed display sign must display the motorist’s speed in miles per hour in numerals at least 18 inches in height.
- (2) As an alternative, a portable changeable message sign (PCMS) may be equipped with radar and programmed to display vehicles speeds.
- (3) PCMSs may also flash appropriate messages such as ‘‘YOU ARE SPEEDING’’ or ‘‘SLOW DOWN.’’ The signs shall be placed 1/2 to 1 mile in advance of the physical work zone.