Research Review on Traffic Safety for Expressway Maintenance Road Sections

With the aging of China’s expressway network, the number of maintenance projects continues to increase, and issues such as construction safety, driving risk, and traffic efficiency have become increasingly prominent. This paper systematically reviews relevant research progress from four aspects: safety characteristics, traffic capacity, work-zone layout, and speed limit management. The review indicates that Western scholars have made extensive use of rich data resources—such as traffic parameters and accident records from expressway maintenance road sections—and have developed relatively systematic and well-established research frameworks in theoretical analysis, practical application, and evaluation methods. In contrast, Chinese studies have mainly relied on specific maintenance projects, commonly employing on-site investigations and traffic simulations to address particular problems, with limited systematization and generalization. Looking forward, it is essential to further strengthen the standardized collection and statistical analysis of traffic data (including accident data) for expressway maintenance road sections. Meanwhile, for complex scenarios such as multi-lane segments, special road sections, reconstruction and expansion sections, as well as extreme climatic conditions and nighttime operations, comprehensive research should be conducted by leveraging new-generation driving simulation, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence technologies, thereby providing scientific support and methodological foundations for building a systematic theoretical framework for traffic safety in expressway maintenance road sections.