Last year in Illinois 13 people died in road construction zones. The Illinois Department of Transportation says 90 percent of those deaths are due to driver's actions. IDOT hosted an event Tuesday as part of Work Zone Awareness week.
For many people on the roads each year, construction projects can feel like one more obstacle between you and your destination.
The reason for all this roadwork? Well...Ben Wills, IDOT district 9 construction engineer, explains $1 billion in construction contracts will be active by the end of June for the southern 16 counties of Illinois served by the district. All of those projects will make it seem like construction is nearly everywhere you go, "This includes work on all our major interstates including I-57 from just south of Marion to Mt. Vernon. We have large projects at each of our major river crossings. And, we have paving and bridge work all across our communities of southern Illinois."
All of that construction means lane restrictions, slower speeds, and workers on the roads just feet away from moving traffic. Chuck Sine is a representative with Laborers Local 773. He's learned many lessons since he started working in the field 29 years ago, "You can never get comfortable, never get comfortable in this line of work. I preach that to my apprentices. Pay attention to every move you make. It's a matter of inches. You're a few inches from that white line."
He says being in a rush makes driving through construction zones a dangerous situation, "Just slow down and give us a break. It only takes five extra minutes to go slow to get where your going."
The Illinois State Police are part of this year's campaign called "Respect the Zone so we all get home." Captain Josh Anderton is the Troop 10 commander. He says people can practice some basic tips when they see that they're coming up on a construction zone, "Start preparing for that early. Whether it's moving over, slowing down, maybe turn the radio down, getting those distractions out of the way. Focus on lowering your speed in the zone and leaving plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. If everybody does that they'll make it through the construction zone safely."
In addition to prevention, the police are also taking a stern approach to enforcement when it people act recklessly in construction zones, "The days of receiving a warning for this violation are over. Move over or get pulled over. Not only do we need to help people understand the laws, but we need to help them understand their role in helping save lives."
Wills says people need to remember the construction workers are neighbors and friends in the southern Illinois community, "They deserve to come home to their families at night. Please think of that as you're rolling through our work zones. Let's have a great construction season and remember this is a shared responsibility."
According to Sine putting up with a little construction now will pay off in the end, "We're making the roads better and making them safer for everybody to get to where they're going."
IDOT wants to help you navigate all the construction. They have more tips and maps with construction projects on their website.
