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Roadworks, also called road construction or road work, occur when part of a road, or in rare cases, the entire road, has to be occupied for work relating to the road, most often in the case of road surface repairs. In the United States road work could also mean any work conducted in close proximity of travel way (thoroughfare) such as utility work or work on power lines (i.e. telephone poles). The general term of road work is known as work zone.
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Roadworks can, however, also happen when a major accident occurs and road debris from the crash needs to be cleared.
Roadworks are often signposted, although signage sometimes comes too close to the work site. Typical road work traffic controls are temporary signs, traffic cones, barrier boards and t-top bollards as well as other forms of warning devices. There are standards of temporary traffic control established in each country for various type of road work.
Ideally, roadworks take place at night, because of low volumes of road traffic, and it helps to avoid any traffic jams if working during the day, and it also secures the safety of both workers and the people around, letting pedestrians and drivers have no issue crossing or driving on the road. Roadworks can cause injures to workers due to unsafe work environments and damage to passing cars.[ citation needed ] Roadwork mitigation could refer to fixing the old road, fixing potholes, cracks and any bumps that can cause any damage to passing drivers and their vehicles.[ citation needed ]
Currently there are very few sources of accurate roadworks information sites available that report on the status of current works and future works.
