Dodge County Officials Urge Safety During Construction Season

(Dodge County)  Construction season is upon us again, and Dodge County Highway Commissioner, Brian Field, is urging drives to use caution when traveling through work zones.  National Work Zone Awareness Week takes place April 8th through the 12th and this year’s theme is “Drive like you work here.”

 

Field says that “Thousands of men and women are proud to work hard improving our roads, highways and bridges, and we owe it to them to stay alert and be careful when behind the wheel.  Just like you and me, road workers want to make it home to their family.”

 

Road construction in Wisconsin can take the form of major highway construction and rehabilitation, maintenance, emergency response and road way repair, utility work, municipal projects, and more, and is accompanied by flashing lights, signs, barrels, and workers to warn drivers.

 

Preliminary numbers show that there were more than 3100 work zone crashes throughout Wisconsin in 2018, of which Dodge County had 5 incidents, Columbia County having 36 incidents including 9 with injuries sustained, Jefferson County having 8 incidents one of which included a fatality,  Green Lake County with one incident including injury, Fond du Lac County with 15 incidents 5 including injuries, and Washington County with 22 total incidents 6 of which included injuries.

 

“It’s very important to eliminate distractions and slow down – especially in work zones,” said Field. “Even at reduced speeds, tragedies can happen quickly.”  Residents are being asked to take part in this years National Work Zone Awareness Week, by observing “Go Orange Day” on Wednesday April 10th.  Residents should wear something orange in support of highway safety and share pictures and posts on social media with the hastag #OrangeForSafety.