Category:900 TRAFFIC CONTROL

Introduction

History. The need for uniform standards was recognized long ago. The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO), now known as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), published a manual for rural highways in 1927, and the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety (NCSHS) published a manual for urban streets in 1930. In the early years, the necessity for unification of the standards applicable to the different classes of road and street systems was obvious. To meet this need, a joint committee of AASHO and NCSHS developed and published the original edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) in 1935. That committee, now called the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD), though changed from time to time in name, organization, and personnel, has been in continuous existence and contributes to the revisions of the MUTCD. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has administered the MUTCD since the 1971 edition and is the sole authority over its content.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, under authority granted by the Highway Safety Act of 1966, decreed that traffic control devices on all streets and highways open to public travel in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) and 402(a) in each state shall be in substantial conformance with the Standards issued or endorsed by the FHWA. In 23 CFR 655.603, the MUTCD is adopted as the national standard for any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) and 402(a).

Support. Sections 226.010 and 227.220 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri authorize MoDOT to prescribe uniform traffic control devices on the state's highways. Pursuant to the provisions of the previously mentioned statutes, at the July 10, 2001, Commission meeting, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) approved and adopted the most current version of the MUTCD as the basis for MoDOT traffic control policy into the future and authorized implementation of actions needed to bring future deviations into compliance.

Standard. The traffic control articles of the Engineering Policy Guide (EPG) serve as MoDOT’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The EPG shall be used when applying traffic control devices to state-maintained routes. Any variations from the EPG for traffic control devices shall be approved by the State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer.

Support. Starting with the 11th Edition of the MUTCD, MoDOT established a MoDOT MUTCD document. The MoDOT MUTCD is only intended to be a historical reference document and not a policy manual. The EPG remains the policy document for practitioners to use when applying traffic control devices to state-maintained routes. The MoDOT MUTCD is displayed in track change mode, indicating differences between MoDOT content and the 11th Edition MUTCD, denoting the content MoDOT did not adopt, changes to the manual where MoDOT exceeds MUTCD minimums, and notes indicating the justifications for these variations.

The EPG contains the relevant content from, and is in substantial conformance with, the National MUTCD. However, MoDOT only adopts those portions of the National MUTCD that are relevant to state-maintained highways, and in many cases adopts provisions that exceed those in the National MUTCD. For this reason, the National MUTCD cannot be used as a standalone guide when applying traffic control devices to Missouri state-maintained routes.

Guidance. Like the National MUTCD, the EPG is a permissive manual, meaning the articles of the EPG outline what is permissible regarding the application of traffic control devices to state-maintained roadways. When specific criteria for traffic control devices is not found in the EPG to address a specific concern or application, the Highway Safety and Traffic Division should be contacted for assistance. The Highway Safety and Traffic Division has access to additional resources, such as other MoDOT districts, FHWA, research facilities, and other states, from which solutions can be sourced. If these solutions have the possibility of being applicable to more than one site, consideration will be made to include the solution in the EPG.

The articles of the EPG are not a substitute for engineering judgment. It is the intent that the provisions of the EPG be criteria for traffic control devices installed, but not a legal requirement for their installation.