AASHTO Journal - Oklahoma DOT Helps Launch Work Zone Safety Campaign

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) recently launched a new campaign to promote safety for both workers and motorists in highway work zones statewide.

[Above photo by the Oklahoma DOT]

The Oklahoma DOT said that this month-long initiative is designed to get everyone to “play their part” in prioritizing safety in the more than 100 roadway work zones expected to be active over the summer months.

“Ultimately, the goal is to raise awareness about work zone safety and make Oklahoma’s roads safer for everyone,” said Tim Gatz, executive director of the Oklahoma DOT, in a statement. “Every action helps us make a difference in protecting our workers and fellow drivers, and with teamwork we can all make it home safely.”

[Editor’s note: The 2025 National Work Zone Awareness Week or NWZAW campaign, scheduled for April 21-25, will be hosted by North Carolina Department of Transportation. The theme of the 2025 campaign is “Respect the zone so we all get home.” The kick-off event is scheduled for April 22.]

He added that 73 Oklahoma DOT and OTA employees have been killed to date in the line of duty, including Jaden Jackson, an Oklahoma DOT employee killed in a roadway work zone in December 2024. Hundreds of collisions occur in work zones annually, the agency added, with many fatalities caused by inattentive driving, following too closely, and speeding in construction zones. Slowing down, putting away distractions and buckling up can make all the difference when traveling through a work zone, noted Joe Echelle, OTA’s executive director

“As the ACCESS Oklahoma long-range [construction] plan continues to ramp up, motorists will see more work zones on the state’s turnpikes this summer,” Echelle added. “Work zones are a partnership between workers and motorists, and we all must do our part to keep everyone safe. One of the biggest risk factors we see in work zones is driving faster than the posted speed limit. Taking the few extra seconds to slow down could be the difference between a life-changing crash and making it home safely.”

Other state departments of transportation are engaged in similar work zone safety improvement efforts.

For example, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) recently proposed making New York’s Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement or AWZSE pilot program a permanent endeavor; expanding it to include bridges and tunnels overseen by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and NYS Bridge Authority.

That proposal – included within the governor’s fiscal year 2026 budget draft – also includes enhanced penalties for assaults against transportation workers.

“This commonsense legislative package will provide much needed worker safety protection and peace of mind for thousands of highway workers [in New York State],” noted Marie Therese Dominguez, commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation.

“[They] deserve the respect of the traveling public every second they are out there doing their jobs in the name of safety. I strongly believe that both pieces of legislation will prompt more New Yorkers to slow down, pay attention and think twice before threatening or physically hitting one of our workers,” she said.

Meanwhile, in Maryland this January, a new fine structure for work zone speed violations went into effect. The Maryland Department of Transportation noted in a statement that this new tiered system of fines, which applies to citations issued from an automated speed enforcement system, imposes fines based on the speed a vehicle travels above the posted speed limit and includes a provision that doubles the fine when workers are present in the work zone.

The new system is a provision of the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act approved by the state’s General Assembly during its 2024 legislative session and subsequently signed into law by Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) in April 2024.