JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Transportation is looking to take advantage of the drop in vehicles on the road by accelerating the number of road improvements and construction projects.
As part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, officials are reminding drivers to be aware of workers and the dangers they face while working on these projects.
The goal of Work Zone Awareness Week is to make sure drivers understand the importance of safely sharing the road with workers.
It’s a topic that normally has a lot more emphasis but this year traffic and congestion have dropped because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Federal Highway Administrator Nicole Narson said highway crews want to use this Officials told New4Jax road construction crews want to use this time to get more work done, faster.
“Thousands of workers are out right now on our highways fixing our bridges, our tunnels, our roads so that when we do reopen we have an easier safer commute. And so we want to remind everyone this week to be supportive and be safe in work zones to protect yourselves and to protect our highway workers,” Narson said.
FDOT said drivers should always follow the posted speed limit in and around active work zones, practice safe driving habits behind the wheel, drive distraction-free and use caution as roadway construction often places drivers and workers nearby.
What they don’t want is drivers thinking there’s less danger on the roads because there are less cars.
“Even though there aren’t a lot of drivers out on the roads right now, construction is continuing. Work zones are always risky because lanes change unexpectedly there are barrels, there are flaggers, and people may think right now that it’s safer for them to speed through some of these work zones. It’s not, that’s what causes fatalities,” Narson said.
If you want to support our road workers, wear orange to show you care. You can post a picture on social media using this #Orange4Safety.