National Work Zone Awareness week begins Monday
AMES, Iowa – March 31, 2011 – With road construction season kicking off, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and other federal and state groups are reminding motorists of National Work Zone Awareness Week April 4-8. The theme for this year - "Safer driving. Safer work zones. For everyone." - emphasizes the shared responsibility of keeping workers and drivers safe.
Nationally, the latest 10-year average (2001-2010) shows 980 lives are lost in work zone crashes each year. In Iowa, the 10-year average is approximately six deaths per year in work zones. In 2010, 11 individuals were killed in Iowa work zones.
Other work zone statistics:
- 646 total work zone crashes occur per year in Iowa work zones.
- 227 injury crashes occur per year in Iowa work zones.
- 90 percent of Iowa work zone crash fatalities are motorists (10-year average).
- 10 percent of Iowa work zone crash fatalities are Iowa DOT or contractor workers (10-year average).
- 75 percent of Iowa work zone crashes are rear-end crashes.
For a list of Iowa DOT construction projects for 2011, go to http://www.iowadot.gov/pdf_files/majorconstructionprojects2011.pdf
To access a 37-second public service announcement produced by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a4grWrIZcM
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For general work zone safety questions, contact:
Iowa DOT contact: Mark Bortle at 515-239-1587 or [email protected]
For questions on specific projects, contact:
District 1 (Central Iowa)
Wes Musgrove at 515-239-1542 or [email protected]
District 2 (North central Iowa)
Dave Roeber at 641-422-9448 or [email protected]
District 3 (Northwest Iowa)
Darwin Bishop at 712-274-5826 or [email protected]
District 4 (Southwest Iowa)
George Feazell at 712-243-7628 or [email protected]
District 5 (Southeast Iowa)
Jim Armstrong at 641-469-4005 or [email protected]
District 6 (East central Iowa)
Bruce Kuehl at 319-364-0235 or [email protected]