Subject to section 1a, the officials in charge of constructing, improving, or repairing highways may close any highway or portion of highway that is under process of construction, improvement, or repair or upon which is located any bridge that is being constructed or repaired. A highway or portion of highway must not be closed under this act until after suitable barriers have been erected at the ends of the closed highway or portion of highway, and also at the point of intersection of the closed highway or portion of highway with other highways.

    

    

    (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3), if the state transportation department closes any freeway or portion of freeway under its jurisdiction for construction, improvement, or repair of that freeway, a portion of freeway, or a bridge located upon that freeway or portion of freeway, both of the following apply:

    (a) If the freeway is closed completely to traffic, it must be closed using concrete barriers or equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers. Ramp access to the freeway may be closed with barricades, concrete barriers, or other equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers to maintain access for construction traffic and emergency services.

    (b) If the freeway is not closed completely to traffic and a portion of the freeway is closed at any time between a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise for work scheduled to be done at that time in a contract between a contractor and the state transportation department, concrete barriers or equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers must separate any road workers who are performing work from traffic.

    (2) This section does not apply if the freeway or portion of freeway described in subsection (1) is closed for not more than 3 days for an emergency repair, utility crossing, maintenance, or other short-duration operation.

    (3) The state transportation department may exercise its engineering judgment in designing and placing concrete barriers or equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers and associated traffic control devices for each closure of a freeway or portion of freeway to account for site-specific conditions, including, but not limited to, roadway grade, equipment malfunctions, emergency service, law enforcement needs, crash history, or work duration. If the engineering judgment determines that the use of concrete barriers would cause additional risks for road users, additional safety measures to protect road workers must be included in the contract between the contractor and the state transportation department.

    

    

    As used in this act:

    (a) "Crashworthy" means that term as defined in the Michigan manual on uniform traffic control devices.

    (b) "Freeway" means that term as defined in section 18a of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.18a.

    (c) "Highway" includes roads and streets.

    (d) "Michigan manual on uniform traffic control devices" means the manual on uniform traffic control devices adopted under section 608 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.608.

    (e) "Suitable barrier" means a barrier that conforms to the Michigan manual on uniform traffic control devices.

    

     No highway shall be closed under the provisions of this act until suitable detours around the same, or the closed portion thereof, are provided and are placed in reasonably safe and passable condition for traffic. Notices in the form of plainly legible signs shall be placed by the highway officials having such work in charge at either end of the closed highway or portion of highway and at such intermediate points along the detour, or detours, as may be necessary to plainly mark the same. Upon the completion of the work of construction, improvement or repair and as soon as the highway or bridge constructed, improved or repaired shall be in suitable condition for public travel, all barriers, marks and signs whatsoever erected under the provisions hereof shall be at once removed by the officials erecting or placing the same.

     Any highway official who shall neglect or refuse to provide suitable barriers and suitable detours or to remove barriers and signs as herein provided, or any person who wilfully enters upon the closed portion of any highway or removes the barriers therefrom, or who removes, obliterates or defaces any sign or mark, or who extinguishes or removes any light placed or maintained hereunder, except by permission of the highway officials in charge, is guilty of a misdemeanor.