DOT Kicks Off 2019 National Work Zone Awareness Week
Federal, state, and local agencies across the country are taking part in the week's activities. The kickoff press event is taking place at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge project site in Washington, D.C.
Federal, state, and local agencies across the country, including OSHA and the Federal Highway Administration, and a number of non-governmental organizations are all taking part in the 2019 National Work Zone Awareness Week during April 8-12.
The kickoff press event is taking place April 9 at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge project site in Washington, D.C. The $441 million project is replacing the 70-year-old bridge and reconstructing the Suitland Parkway/I-295 interchange.
The week's theme is "Drive Like You Work Here." The week is held each year in the spring to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones. Since 1999, FHWA has worked with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) to coordinate and sponsor the event.
The first-ever work zone safety week was held in 1997 by a district of the Virginia Department of Transportation, according to an article about the week's first decade that was published in an FHWA magazine. The first national event was held at a work zone in Springfield, Va., in April 2000. Many states also host their own events as part of the week.