Improving Construction Communication (05-0937)**
John Semmens, Arizona Department of Transportation
Robert S Done, University of Arizona

This study examines data collected from ADOT customers during the State Route 51 (SR 51) project. During the $75 million project, approximately 10 miles of SR 51 between Interstate 10 and State Route 101 were renovated to include new high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and rubberized asphalt. Communication was measured by customer (e.g., motorists as well as local residents and businesses) utilization of four direct communication channels (e.g., construction signage) and four indirect communication channels (e.g., television programming). Satisfaction was measured by a composite score based on customer satisfaction with traffic, dust, noise, signage, and information during the construction process. Almost all respondents relied upon at least one channel for construction communication and almost 80% of respondents reported using between one and three channels. The most frequently utilized channel was construction signs (55.9%) and the least frequently utilized channel was e-mail alerts (1.5%). Less than 4% of the respondents did not utilize any communication channel. Direct communication channels resulted in higher customer satisfaction than did indirect communication channels. Construction bulletins contributed the most to customer satisfaction, followed by the project web site. Neither television nor radio contributed to customer satisfaction. As sources of project communication, neighbors and friends had a strong but negative effect on customer satisfaction.