17 others.
“Safety is always our top priority at the Department of Transportation and I can t thank our partners in law enforcement enough for the work they are doing to help protect our team members,” NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez previously said.
“Our highway crews and contractors work in dangerous conditions to keep our roads and bridges safe so that we can all get where we need to go safely and efficiently.”
Under “Operation Hardhat,” troopers are present within the work zones, dressed as highway maintenance workers, to identify motorists who disobey flagging personnel, speed through the work zone, or violate the state s Move Over Law, which applies to both emergency and maintenance vehicles.
PHOTOS: Gov. Whitmer Joins National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week Event in Clinton Township, Visits M-59 Rebuilding Michigan Construction Site
LANSING, Mich. Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited the M-59 Hall Rd. Rebuilding Michigan project in Clinton Township for a National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week event to encourage drivers to exercise caution in work zones as workers begin the construction season to repair our state s roads and bridges. She was joined by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
We must all do our part to keep the roads safe for our workers during this construction season, said
Governor Whitmer. Stay alert in construction zones, follow all posted signs, and slow down to protect our construction workers and save a life. Orange construction barrels are a positive sign that we re fixing the roads, but they are also a reminder to exercise caution.
Even with less traffic during the pandemic, work zone fatalities statewide still increased 9% in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to state transportation officials.
And with road and utility construction and maintenance work zones plentiful in an area with rapid population growth, officials at New Braunfels Utilities and the Texas Department of Transportation are calling on drivers to make safety their highest priority at all times and especially when passing through active work zones on roadways.
The organizations are using the âBe Safe. Drive Smart.â campaign to mark National Work Zone Awareness Week with safety tips to reduce work zone fatalities.Â
– 4,900 total crashes.
Michigan is hosting National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), the annual spring campaign to encourage safe driving through work zones, being held April 26-30. This year’s theme, “Drive Safe. Work Safe. Save Lives,” emphasizes the importance of driving safely and workers making safety a priority to ensure that we all work together to save lives in work zones.
As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $3.5 billion Rebuilding Michigan program gets underway, major work will be happening on some of the state’s most vital freeways and bridges over the next few years. Motorists are urged to think about the people doing that work and the risks they face when drivers speed through work zones.