National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 21-25, 2025
Construction season has started, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and its safety partners are reminding motorists to slow down and drive safely in work zones. This week (April 21-25) is National Work Zone Awareness Week – a time when drivers are asked to slow down when they approach a work zone – or a public safety vehicle.
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. today joined officials from the Rhode Island State Police, Federal Highway Administration, Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, AAA Northeast, the Laborers' International Union of North America and the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council for a press conference at the Department's headquarters in Providence.
"This week, our construction and safety partners raise awareness about the dangers our workers face as they go about their jobs to make our roads better and safer," Director Alviti said. "In Rhode Island alone there are hundreds of work zones set up throughout the year. These men and women are working mere feet from live, often high-speed traffic and we need to keep them safe."
This year's Work Zone Awareness Week press conference featured the story of Lincoln Police Lieutenant Brad Stewart who was nearly struck by an errant driver in 2018 while assisting a work crew on Route 146 near Twin River Road. The driver thankfully did not hit his cruiser, but crashed into a sign board on a trailer, snapping it in half and nearly killing two workers on the road.
It was a harrowing reminder of a serious injury crash in 2013 when a car slammed into the back of his cruiser at a high rate of speed on the side of Route 146, when he stopped to assist a motorist with a flat tire. The driver was heavily intoxicated – four times the legal limit. Stewart's cruiser was totaled, and he was hospitalized with significant injuries. It took seven months of recovery before he was able to get back to work. Although that near miss happened five years after he was seriously injured, being in the center of another potentially bad crash really jolted him.
"For a moment I was convinced that I got hit again," he said. "It was that close. It all hit home again. You go out to work and you don't know what could unfold when someone's not paying attention and crashes into your work zone."
Across the country, fatal crashes in work zones have steadily increased. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 900 people a year die in work zone crashes. That's up significantly from an average of 500 per year 10 years ago. At the current rate, that's equivalent to 18 coach buses filled to capacity.
"We have a shared responsibility to keep our roadways safe and this includes taking care when driving through a work zone," said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Creamer, Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Field Operations for the Rhode Island State Police. "Our move-over law requires drivers to move over and slow down when they see emergency lights, so please follow the law and help us keep our roads safe for work crews and first responders."
Fortunately, RIDOT has not had any work zone fatalities among its staff or contractors in many years, however each year there are hundreds of crashes in work zones, resulting in many injuries and financial losses for those affected. Last year there were nearly 500 work zone-related crashes in Rhode Island, up from 346 crashes reported in 2021.
"Distracted driving is an entirely preventable cause of work zone crashes, and we need to do more to protect the road workers and the police officers who are at these job sites every day," said Chief Thomas F. Oates III, President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association and Woonsocket Chief of Police. "Our ask is simple: please slow down and pay attention and help us make work zones safer for everyone."
Safety is RIDOT's highest priority, and all work zones are established with careful attention to safety and in coordination with national standards and best practices. RIDOT routinely inspects all work zones on state roads, including those set up by contractors, bridge inspectors and utility companies. This interaction includes making sure work zones are set up correctly.
RIDOT plans the timing and duration of work zones to reduce as much as possible the impact to traffic flow and travel time. The potential impact to traffic is carefully studied during the design process on each project with continual monitoring during projects for any changes that can be made to reduce congestion.
In addition to today's event, RIDOT coordinated with the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority and Rhode Island Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to illuminate key structures in orange in recognition of Work Zone Awareness Week. This includes the State House, the Sakonnet River Bridge and the Pawtucket River Bridge. Additionally, Big Blue Bug Solutions is currently displaying a Work Zone Awareness Week banner at its "Nibbles Woodaway" statue on the roof of its Providence office, highly visible to motorists on I-95. RIDOT will utilize a variety of advertising mediums to help spread the important message of safe driving in work zones.