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Barricade Lights for Construction Sites: Keeping Work Zones Visible as Days Get Shorter

construction safety in winter from OTW Safety

As we approach fall and decreasing available sunlight, let’s consider how to make your construction site as safe as possible. Let’s discuss when the bidirectional barricade light could come into play to help improve the visibility of your barricades in your construction zone.

Potential dangers that come with the summer-to-fall transition?

As the seasons change, of course, the visual environment of a construction site is going to change, down to the timing of sunrise and sunset and even the fall leaves obscuring the high-visibility orange barricades. Contractors, safety officers, and builders have to consider how these changing factors may impact their sites and find creative ways to improve the visibility and safety of their work zones.

What does a bidirectional barricade light do?

A bidirectional barricade light is a warning light visible to traffic approaching from either direction. The OTW Solar Type A/C Bidirectional Barricade Light is solar-powered and automatically activates in low-light conditions, with selectable flashing or steady-burn operation. It is designed to mount on a variety of temporary traffic-control devices, including water-filled plastic barricades, vertical panels, and drums.

A construction safety officer may add these lights to barricades to supplement the visibility and guidance provided by the barricade, its retroreflective markings, and any accompanying signs. Flashing mode may be used at night to draw attention to a barricade closing a sidewalk or access point, marking a temporary obstruction, or identifying a hazard at the end of a road or lane closure.

The primary purpose is to help drivers see temporary traffic-control devices sooner and respond appropriately to the work-zone layout. Steady-burn mode may be used to delineate a continuous barricade or channelizing line, mark the edge of a nighttime work area, separate a temporary pedestrian route from vehicular traffic, or define a nighttime lane closure or barrier line. In general, flashing mode draws attention to a condition, while steady-burn mode helps define a continuous edge or boundary.

When should you consider adding hazard-identifying lights to your construction barricades?

The goal is to make barricades, hazards, and restricted areas easy for drivers and pedestrians to identify and navigate safely, especially during nighttime or low-visibility conditions. The decision should be based on the approved traffic-control plan, project or agency requirements, and the safety officer’s or traffic professional’s judgment.

Warning lights may be added when they would provide a meaningful improvement in visibility or guidance. They may be especially useful around nighttime work areas, temporary sidewalk or lane closures, isolated obstructions, sharp curves, areas with limited sight distance, or locations affected by fog, rain, glare, or other visual distractions.

In short, look ahead and identify areas where additional visibility would improve site safety and add hazard lights to those zones.

What is the difference between Type A and Type C barricade lights?

Type A and Type C barricade lights serve similar but different purposes. Type A is a low-intensity flashing light that draws attention to a potentially hazardous area, while Type C is a steady-burn light used to delineate the edge of the traveled way or define a continuous boundary. It’s also worth noting that you may not need two different physical lights (one Type A and one Type C). The OTW Solar Type A/C Bidirectional Barricade Light allows you to select between flashing and steady-burn modes, so a single unit can serve either function depending on where it is deployed.

The advantages of a solar-powered barricade light

Having a solar-powered barricade light, rather than relying on an external power connection or frequent battery changes, gives you more flexibility and ease of use when deploying barricade lights. By charging during the day and automatically activating in low-light conditions, a solar-powered light can reduce routine maintenance. The time and labor savings become more meaningful as the number of deployed lights increases.

With adequate sunlight and routine inspection, solar-powered lights can provide dependable operation across temporary work zones. Solar-powered barricade lights can also be cost-competitive with battery-powered alternatives, particularly when reduced battery replacement and maintenance costs are considered. As with any solar product, proper placement and sufficient daylight exposure are important for dependable performance.

How do you prepare your work zone for shorter days?

Our main recommendation is to complete a site inspection. As the days get shorter, and before your crews are regularly working after dark or arriving before sunrise, take time to walk or drive through the site. Look for potential hazards and inspect all of your safety equipment. Make sure your signs, barricades, longitudinal channelizing devices, and pedestrian routes are properly placed and marked. Confirm that they are visible in vehicle headlights and pay close attention to areas that could be confusing to drivers or pedestrians.

Also consider how well the equipment used to identify hazards will remain visible in fog, rain, glare, or other visibility-reducing conditions. This is a good time to inspect warning lights, retroreflective markings, mounting hardware, and other devices before lower-light conditions become routine.

One of our customers’ favorite parts of working with OTW Safety is that we don’t have any minimum order requirements and we can even overnight products to our clients as needed. Sometimes whenever our customers do a walkthrough inspection, they’ll find that they need a couple extra bi-directional barricade lights and they can give us a call and get what they need in a matter of hours. Our aim is to help you make your job site as safe as possible for your teams.

How does OTW Safety help you light your work zone?

We’ve been building barricades and safety equipment for over 30 years and we’re passionate about providing thoughtfully designed reliable safety equipment for job sites so that you can make your job site safer. We especially love helping our clients get exactly what they need when they need it. We have a procurement promise that we fulfill orders 99% of the time on time. We have no minimum order quantities. We have a 60-day price lock guarantee. Best of all if you ever need anything, you can give us a call.