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Devices

5 articles on devices.

Equipment and yards

Channelizing Device Spacing Explained: How Far Apart Cones, Drums and Barricades Go

The MUTCD's guidance on channelizing device spacing is one sentence long and widely misapplied. How taper and tangent spacing work, where the manual calls for closer spacing, how to count devices for a setup, and what crews get wrong in the field.

Oct 2, 2026 · 8 min read

Permits and DOT

The TxDOT Compliant Work Zone Traffic Control Device List (CWZTCD) Explained

TxDOT's CWZTCD is the list of work zone devices the department has evaluated as crashworthy and acceptable on its projects. How the list is organized, what being on it does and does not mean, who is responsible for using a device correctly, and how a traffic control company should buy and track against it.

Oct 2, 2026 · 7 min read

Equipment and yards

Sign Stands, Sandbags and Ballast in Work Zones

Ballast is the most improvised item in a traffic control yard and one of the few that can turn a device into a projectile. What the MUTCD says about ballasting cones, drums and barricades, why more is not better, and what a yard should standardise.

Sep 17, 2026 · 6 min read

Equipment and yards

Temporary Rumble Strips in Work Zones: What They Do and When They Help

What temporary rumble strips are for, where they go in the advance warning area, how removable and milled versions differ, the maintenance and noise problems nobody mentions, and an honest read on the evidence.

Aug 23, 2026 · 6 min read

Equipment and yards

Channelizing Devices: Cones, Drums, Tubular Markers, and Vertical Panels

The devices that make up most of a traffic control inventory, what each one is actually for, why they are designed to be knocked over, and how retroreflectivity quietly decides whether any of them work at night.

Aug 2, 2026 · 6 min read