If you travel on Arizona highways this week, you might see ADOT’s overhead message signs displaying a traffic safety message encouraging motorists to slow down in work zones.

National Work Zone Awareness Week, which runs from April 21-25, is an event that helps raise awareness of the need for better driver behavior when traveling through work zones to reduce fatalities and injuries. According to national statistics, the vast majority of fatalities from crashes that occur in work zones are actually drivers and their passengers. It’s on all of us to not only keep workers in the work zone safe, but the passengers in our vehicles, too.

We hope that the message on the overhead signs inspire conversations and ultimately lead to better decisions behind the wheel. If you are driving in a work zone, remember to slow down, obey the posted signage, and stay alert.

If you’ve driven through a work zone, you’ve seen workers wearing hard hats and orange or yellow reflective vests. Those bright colors stand out and make it easier for motorists to see people working near travel lanes, building and maintaining Arizona’s highway system.  

On April 17 during National Work Zone Awareness Week, Go Orange Day is a day when anyone could wear orange to show their support for work zone safety. And ADOT employees showed up in all shades of orange not only to call attention to work zone safety issues, but also to remember and honor ADOT workers who have died on the job. 

Although the week is drawing to a close, drivers should remember the following tips to help keep everyone safe:

• Pay attention: Observe and obey posted warning signs.
• Expect the unexpected: Speed limits might be lowered, travel lanes could be narrowed and people may be working around the work zone space.
• Slow down: Speeding is one of the leading causes of work zone crashes.
• Don’t tailgate: The most common crash in a work zone is the rear-end collision.

Occasionally, we’re asked why work zones that reduce travel lanes remain in place when crews aren’t present, like during overnight hours.

There are a few reasons, but the primary factor is safety, especially for the traveling public.

Keeping the public and workers safe is ADOT’s top priority. The installation of traffic control devices, including barriers, in work zones helps protect everyone. These barriers remain in place because work zones can have uneven surfaces and other hazards that would make driving in them dangerous when work is not occurring.

While some work zones see work occurring around the clock, breaks occur in some work zones. In most cases, it isn’t feasible – or safe – to remove barriers.

“If crews had to take the traffic control devices down again at night or at a time when a break occurs over a weekend, there’s a good chance the process of setting up again would have to start very close to when the pick-up work just ended,” said Kole Dea, an assistant state construction engineer.

Removing and setting up nightly single- or double-lane closures can cost thousands of dollars.

ADOT has a responsibility to complete projects safely, quickly and on-budget. Leaving barriers in place not only helps keep everyone safer, it helps keep projects on budget and on time.