WI construction zone safety; workers issue plea ahead of holiday weekend
WAUKESHA, Wis. - More than 730,000 Wisconsin drivers are expected to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend.
But more drivers means chances of accidents, especially in work zones.
For 14 years, superintendent for Century Traffic Andy Bakker has worked just inches away from speeding vehicles.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
"I’m still not used to it," Bakker said. "When you’re standing from me to you away, and you have a semi come by you and it shakes you, the wind will shake you, that’s how close we are to some of this traffic."
Century Traffic focuses a lot on pavement marking. He and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are bringing awareness to the dangers that roadside workers face every day.
Particularly, one incident on I-94 two years ago, when a distracted driver missed their warning signs and lights and almost slammed into his workers.
"The driver had his cellphone up on the dashboard, right where the speedometer would be, watching Netflix," Bakker said.
He said a crash attenuator saved everyone. The driver hit it instead, which took all the impact.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
"I don’t want to think about what would happen if you don’t have a safety device such as this," Bakker said.
Highway leaders said there were more than 2,100 work zone-related crashes in Wisconsin last year, leaving nine people dead.
"Nine people who never returned home from work, whose families have been altered forever," said WisDOT statewide work zone operations engineer Erin Schwark.
They are emphasizing safe driving, as more people will be on the road for the holiday weekend.
"Slow down, be patient, and avoid distractions at all times, especially in work zones," said Emlynn Grisar.
State troopers said they will have extra enforcement patrolling this weekend. They said they are focusing on seat belts, and issuing $10 tickets for noncompliance.
Additionally, drivers going one to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit on the interstate could get slapped with a $200 ticket.
