DETECTING A CONSTRUCTION ZONE BY A LEAD AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE (AV) AND UPDATING ROUTING PLANS FOR FOLLOWING AVs

A lead autonomous vehicle (AV) includes a sensor configured to observe a field of view in front of the lead AV. Following AVs are on the same road behind the lead AV. A processor of the lead AV is configured to detect a construction zone. The processor sends a first message to an operation server, indicating that the construction zone is detected. The processor updates driving instructions of the lead AV to navigate around the construction zone. While navigating around the construction zone, the processor sends sensor data associated with the construction zone to the operation server. The operation server determines an extent of the construction zone. If the operation server determines that the construction zone is extensive, it sends re-routing instructions to the AVs. If the operation server determines that the construction zone is not extensive, it sends instructions to navigate around the construction zone to the AVs.