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- Nick Carpenter
651-366-4279
Location
Minnesota Department of
Transportation
Office of Communications
395 John Ireland Blvd.
Mail Stop 150
St. Paul, MN 55155-1899
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Mn/DOT urges drivers to use extra caution in construction work zones
ST. PAUL, Minn.- Thirty-one state highway workers and 13 contract workers who died in the line of duty since 1960 will be honored on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“Each day, thousands of men and women put on their boots and hard hats and work on building and repairing Minnesota’s roadway system,” said Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel. “As part of recognizing those employees, Mn/DOT urges motorists to use extra caution in work zones as the number of highway projects increases during the spring and summer months.”
A statewide observance to commemorate the day will be highlighted by a moment of silence to honor those Mn/DOT employees and partners who have been injured or killed on the job.
Ceremonies will be held at the Mn/DOT maintenance facility in Oakdale and the District 6 Headquarters in Rochester.
The Oakdale event will feature numerous guest speakers, including a Mn/DOT Freeway Incident Response Safety Team driver who has been involved in three separate roadside incidents with motorists during his nine-year career.
In Rochester, Mn/DOT employees will share their life-changing experience that took place on Interstate 35W near Faribault last spring. All of the workers escaped serious injury after a flatbed semitrailer, estimated to be traveling near the 70 mph speed limit, entered the work zone and crashed into two Mn/DOT vehicles.
Sorel said that driving safely in work zones serves motorists’ self-interest because the vast majority of death and injury crashes are suffered by people driving in the work zones.
This year, Mn/DOT will be working on one of its largest construction programs ever.
“There will be many work zones across Minnesota and hundreds of transportation workers will be working on construction and maintenance projects in every corner of the state,” Sorel said. “The best way for all of us to honor the workers who have died in the line of duty is to stay alert and follow safe practices in work zones.”
Mn/DOT urges motorists to follow these recommendations in work zones:
- Stay alert
- Watch for signs, equipment and workers
- Minimize distractions, such as using cell phones, eating or drinking
- Avoid tailgating
- Follow posted speed limits and directional signs
- Stay in one lane while driving through a work zone
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