Iowa DOT promotes National Work Zone Awareness Week – April 23-26
AMES, Iowa – April 20, 2012 – “Don’t Barrel Through Work Zones!” That is the message being sent around the country to make drivers aware of the thousands of construction work zones that will be in place on state, county and local roads this construction season.
The Iowa Department of Transportation has major construction projects in many areas of the state. Multi-year projects are underway on the interstate system in Council Bluffs and on Interstate 29 in Sioux City. A major reconstruction project is set to begin Monday, April 23, near Waterloo on I-380.
To kick off the I-380 project and promote Work Zone Awareness Week, the Iowa DOT, Iowa State Patrol, Federal Highway Administration and Associated General Contractors of Iowa, along with their partners, are holding a news conference Monday, April 23.
Location: Flying J Travel Plaza, 445 Evansdale Drive, Evansdale
(Rain location – Black Hawk County Emergency Management Center,
1925 Newell St., Waterloo)
Time: 1 p.m.
Scheduled speakers:
- Pete Hjelmstad, field services coordinator, Iowa DOT's District 2 Office
- Jerry Roche, safety and traffic operations engineer, Federal Highway Administration – Iowa Division
- Mark Bortle, traffic safety engineer, Iowa DOT’s Office of Construction
- Willie Calderwood of Cedar Valley Corp., on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of Iowa
- Jeff Koudelka of Iowa Plains Signing, on behalf of the American Traffic Safety Services Association – Iowa Chapter
- Lt. Randy Olmstead of the Iowa State Patrol
“Work Zone Awareness Week is just a good time to remind motorists that their friends and neighbors who work on our highways every day take a huge risk to help make travel better and safer for everyone,” said Mark Bortle.
More information about work zone safety can be found on the Iowa DOT’s website at iowadot.gov/workzone.
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Contacts: Mark Bortle at 515-239-1587 or [email protected] or Ricke Welden at 515-283-22424 or [email protected]