CHARLESTON, W.Va. — April is Work Zone Safety Awareness Month, and the West Virginia Division of Highways wants West Virginians to pay attention to road work as crews work on various projects.
This year’s awareness campaign comes as road crews remain busy completing multiple construction projects as well as pothole patching efforts. The state has spent nearly $990,000 since the end of February on patching potholes.
Deputy Highways Commissioner Jimmy Wriston told MetroNews affiliate WMOV-AM drivers need to be careful in work zones.
“Imagine, if you would, in your workplace, someone driving through at 70 miles per hour and you’re concentrating on what you’re doing, and someone goes through there and does not pay attention,” he said. “Distracted driving and speeding takes people’s lives. These guys have got to come home in the evenings to their families, and their fate is in your hands.”
Wriston urged drivers to practice commonsense and not go faster than the work zone speed limit.
“You risk all those lives for one car length. It just makes no sense,” he said. “When you’re operating a vehicle on these highways, you’re operating a piece of machinery, you have a weapon in your hands.”
Transportation crews are beginning an extensive project in Kanawha County; officials broke ground last week on a new bridge for Interstate 64 between Nitro and St. Albans. The project is slated to finish in October 2023.