The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) got a head start on raising awareness to be more cautious when traveling through work zones.
District Engineer Tom Blair said MoDOT has around 100 work zones across the St. Louis area, and they’re preparing for National Work Zone Awareness Week.
“We’re taking extra safety measures; we’re communicating through all different channels,” he said to Fox 2 Now. “We have lots of active social media, we have lots of signs out there to inform everybody of all the different work zones…you have a job as a driver to be attentive to those messages to slow down (and) drive safely through the work zones.”
Since 2000, 35 MoDOT employees have been killed while working. Sixteen of those deaths took place in work zones.
Blair says work zone safety is a matter of life and death.
“In 2024, we’re going to have work zones on almost every major highway throughout the St. Louis region. So, you, as a motorist, need to buckle up, slow down, be attentive to those work zones so that you can get to your destination safely and all the men and women out there…can also get home safely,” Blair said.
According to Blair, the biggest area of concern is U.S. Highway 270 and U.S. Highway 64 as MoDOT is replacing the bridges over Conway Road.
National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 15-19. Officials from St. Louis will begin the effort on April 16.
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Source: Fox2Now.com
