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April 15, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: Day in and day out, the Virginia Department of Transportation builds and maintains roads and bridges throughout the commonwealth. Just like you, we expect to make it home to our families at the end of each day. But work-zone crashes claim too many lives and cause too many injuries.
VDOT employees and our contractor partners often work in the shadow of active traffic lanes. They do all they can to make sure work zones are well marked, easy to navigate, and safe for motorists as well as crew members. But safety requires a team effort.
National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 15-19) has the theme, “Work Zones are Temporary. Actions behind the wheel can last forever.” Lane closures, flagging operations and detours can add minutes to your commute, but please be patient and cautious through every work zone. Speeding, distracted driving and aggressive behaviors put everyone at risk. In fact, 80 percent of deaths in work-zone crashes are motorists and passengers.
Support work zone safety by wearing something orange on Wednesday, April 17 – Go Orange Day. That afternoon at 4 p.m., consider joining our annual vigil at the VDOT Workers’ Memorial along I-64 eastbound on Afton Mountain. The memorial wall, constructed by private funds 20 years ago, names 134 VDOT employees who have died in work zone incidents.
We can avoid having to add any names to the wall by working together to make it home safely. TODD STEVENS Staunton District engineer, Virginia Department of Transportation
