Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 25, 1994 TAG: 9405250161
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ERIKA BOLSTAD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's all part of the daily job for a VDOT employee, and safety is always the first consideration.
Laura Bullock, community affairs coordinator for the Salem district VDOT office, took the routine maintenance project at the busy intersection Tuesday as an opportunity to show the public the dangers highway workers face every day.
``Highway workers and drivers need to coexist, especially during the warm weather,'' Bullock said.
She said the vacation season puts more drivers on the road, and more maintenance workers take advantage of warm weather to complete projects.
Eight people were killed and 234 were injured in Virginia highway work zone accidents in 1993. And work zone accidents account for more than $2 million in property damage in Virginia each year.
``Any time something like that happens it raises our own awareness,'' Bullock said.
A team of workers from the area office asked Bullock to show the public the dangers to both workers and drivers at highway work zones.
To keep down the number of accidents and deaths, VDOT has aggressive employee training as well as a public education campaign to encourage drivers to keep an eye open for construction sites.
In 1992, state legislators increased the maximum fine for speeding through work zones to $250.
``People are in a hurry to get where they're going,'' one traffic signal technician said. ``We're out here to do our job and move on.''
Many drivers see highway workers standing around at work sites, but the idea that the workers are wasting taxpayers' money is a myth, Bullock said.
``Everyone has a specific task and for safety reasons they can't all be doing it at the same time,'' she said.
Some workers are there just to watch out for the safety of drivers.
In fact, certain work zones such as the one at the Chaparral Drive intersection have time limits for a job to be completed. Lanes can be closed for only 25 minutes.
Stephen Mitchell, a sign maintenance worker on the area interstates, often must do his work on Sunday mornings when traffic is light.
He and Bullock urged drivers to follow the three C's - caution, common sense and concentration.
VDOT urges drivers to look out for the orange signs that signal work zones, drive at the posted speed, watch out for workers and avoid changing lanes or passing in work zones.
by CNB