The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently kicked off its fourth annual National Work Zone Awareness Week or NWZAW billboard design contest for college students.
[Above image by MassDOT]
The agency said its billboard contest invites students currently enrolled in Massachusetts colleges to design a display that promotes the theme and encourages drivers to be cautious when driving through work zones.
NWZAW is an annual campaign that highlights the importance of work zone safety and promotes efforts to prevent crashes and fatalities in roadway construction areas. The theme for NWZAW 2026 is “Safe Actions Save Lives,” emphasizing the role drivers play in protecting roadway workers and fellow travelers.
MassDOT said the winning designs will be displayed on digital billboards along highways across Massachusetts during the 2026 construction season and that the top three designs will receive scholarships provided by the Construction Industries of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Aggregate and Asphalt Pavement Association.
“As we deliver critical transportation infrastructure projects, safety of the motorists and our workforce is paramount,” noted Phillip Eng, interim MassDOT secretary and general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in a statement.
“Our employees are out on the front lines maintaining and improving the roads, bridges, transit, and infrastructure that keep our residents, communities and businesses moving and protecting them is a responsibility we all share,” he said. “Through this contest, we welcome college students, our future leaders, to help us raise awareness for work zone safety and to educate drivers on the importance to follow the rules of the road for themselves, and the hardworking men and women of our maintenance and construction crews.”
“At MassDOT, we put safety at the forefront of everything we do, and this contest allows us to broaden our outreach to younger drivers to help reinforce the importance of driving safely through work zones,” added Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT undersecretary and state highway administrator. “Work zone safety is only assured if we all do our part in our continuing efforts to remind people that ‘safe actions save lives.’”
“Work Zone Safety is everyone’s responsibility if we are going to keep the men and women working to improve our infrastructure safe out on the roadway,” echoed Neil Boudreau, MassDOT’s assistant administrator for traffic and safety. “Engaging our Massachusetts college students through this contest allows us to educate younger drivers about the importance of work zone safety and that safe actions can save lives.”
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