The Cost of Safe Work Zones

As local contractors put the finishing touches on the highways 60-65 interchange and break ground on diverging diamond intersections on Highway 65 at Battlefield Road and Chestnut Expressway, safety precautions remain top of mind for heavy highway contractors.

Those on the front lines are regularly at the mercy of drivers, which is why it is not uncommon for up to 5 percent of roadway project bids to be devoted to the familiar orange vests, cones and reflective signage that can dot the roads.  

“The only thing standing between us and a car driving 60 mph is a piece of plastic and an angel,” said John View, vice president of Leo Journagan Construction Co., which is currently the general contractor for the $11.5 million widening of Route 13 between Branson West and Kimberling City. The company also is managing a $4.9 million bridge rehabilitation and resurfacing between Ozark and Branson on Highway 65.

View said Journagan Construction spends up to 10 percent of project bids for worker safety expenses.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, 11 people were killed in work-zone accidents statewide last year, down from 15 people killed in 2010.

Larry Henderson, an estimator for heavy highway contractor Hartman & Co. Inc., said the company routinely budgets between 2 percent and 5 percent of project costs to safety. The safety expenses for the company’s work widening South Campbell Avenue near James River Freeway totaled $153,206 – about 3 percent of the $4.9 million job.

“When you see a warning sign along the roadway, that sign can cost us anywhere from $7 to $10 per square foot. A typical sign is 16 square feet. So, that one sign might cost $160,” Henderson said. “If you count the signs on a project like Campbell, you can see how that adds up.”

Other common expenses are the 3-foot tall orange roadside cones, or “candles,” at about $20 apiece, and electronic message boards that can exceed $5,000.  

Recently, Hartman & Co. has begun work on the diverging diamond interchange at East Chestnut Expressway, which is expected to be complete by Dec. 1. Henderson said safety expenses would settle below 5 percent of the $2.6 million project bid.

Bid requirements
Andy Mueller, assistant director for the southwest district of MoDOT, said traffic control plans are required in project bids, and either contractors or MoDOT, depending on the complexity of the project, develop the plans. In addition, highway contractors hired by MoDOT must have a dedicated safety officer, who can be reached 24 hours a day.

Bonding and insurance requirements are also part of every project bid, but they vary by project size, he said. Both are important as a safety net for problems or accidents that can pop up.

“We have to cover ourselves in two ways. We’ve got to make sure they have liability insurance to protect against accidents and injuries on the project, and then we’ve got bonding that allows us to get the project completed, in some cases, get the bridge or the road opened to traffic, even if that contractor disappears,” Mueller said.

For example, with the Chestnut Expressway diverging diamond project, the $2.6 million bid had to be backed by a bonding company that would be in charge of hiring a firm to finish it at the same cost should Hartman & Co. not complete the contract.

Mueller said the 2 percent to 5 percent estimate on safety expenses for contractors seemed reasonable, but it could be on the low side when traffic control costs escalate. For example, on a southeast Missouri rural bridge project in the 1990s, the total bid price was $600,000, but half of that went toward the construction of a temporary bypass for first responders and emergency vehicles to use.

Insurance savings
Dave Roling, vice president and Springfield division manager for Columbia-based Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., said the contractor generally sets aside no more than 1 percent of gross project revenues for safety equipment.

Currently, ESS is working on eight road projects in Missouri, and locally, the company is a subcontractor on Journagan’s Route 13 widening job.

The estimates are different for ESS, in part, because signs and equipment are often reused. And while workers’ compensation and general liability insurance can be between 1 percent and 3 percent of total project revenues for contractors such as ESS, Roling said he doesn’t consider those safety expenses, but that does not mean having a solid safety record won’t save money. An experience modification rate is an insurance industry tool developed to discount workers’ compensation coverage for companies with few insurance claims.

An EMR rating of 1 is the industry standard, and contractors with higher ratings can expect to pay a premium, while those with lower EMR ratings realize savings.

Roling said his company’s EMR is .66, which means it pays 34 percent less compared to a 1-rated customer with the same coverage. The difference saves ESS hundreds of thousands of dollars companywide per year, he said.

While saving money is important, Roling said the precautions that ESS takes are about saving lives.

“We want to see our workers return home at night to their families whole,” Roling said.

Henderson agreed. While safety equipment can be costly, he said it is essential to any roadway project.

“Anytime you are working in traffic, there is a risk there,” Henderson said. “There are a lot of things we can control, but we can’t always control the people traveling through our work zones.”[[In-content Ad]]