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With construction ramping up across the state, the Illinois Department of Transportation spent National Work Zone Awareness Week reminding the public to “respect the zone so we all get home.”
IDOT engineering and operations staff statewide engaged in “tailgate talks” April 21. The talks—held in operations yards, district offices and job sites—are a reminder to employees that personal safety should be the top priority and the safety of road users should not be compromised.
View this clip of District 2 Assistant Field Engineer Sam Stuepfert speaking to his staff on Interstate 80 in Henry County, where a $24.5 million, two-year reconstruction project is underway.
On April 22, IDOT collaborated with Illinois State Police, Illinois Tollway, industry partners, local agencies and frontline construction workers in events to further reinforce work zone safety.
“Whatever the mode of transportation, we will all be traveling through work zones over the upcoming weeks and months,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. “The people you see working on our roads, on equipment, or behind the cones and barricades are someone’s loved one, a friend, a neighbor, part of our community. Working together, we can ensure their safety and yours. Let’s make this the safest construction season ever in Illinois.”
At all times during construction season, the public should be ready for lane closures, changes in traffic patterns, reduced speed limits and the presence of workers and equipment. This year, IDOT is strengthening its effort to make work zones safer, including expanding the use of speed safety vans and deploying more temporary rumble strips approaching projects. As part of the It’s Not a Game safety campaign, high-traffic work zones will be geotargeted so drivers can hear streaming audio ads, reinforcing safety messages.
Other events included:
On Go Orange Day on April 23, employees donned their orangiest duds to show their support for work zone safety. In the evening, Peoria’s Murray Baker Bridge, the Interstate 74 bridge in the Quad Cities, Rockford’s Embassy Suites and others were lit orange.
IDOT collaborated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America on April 25 to distribute informational material at many of the state’s rest areas on how to keep you and your family safe traveling through work zones.
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