ARTBA Offers Congressional Panel Recommendations to Combat Roadway Work Zone Accidents

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) told a congresional panel today that: all state and local government contracts for highway and bridge work using federal dollars should include earmarked funding for products and activities that protect the safety of motorists and workers in construction zones. This recommendation was one of several the association offered at a hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit looking at the tragedy of the nearly 900 fatalities and 37,000 injuries occurring in roadway work zones each year. The ARTBA chairman, John Wight, also urged the federal government to conduct research on the health and safety implications of night roadway construction work. “State and local governments are increasingly requiring night work in an attempt to minimize inconvenience to motorists,” Wight said. “Let’s make sure we are not compromising motorist and worker safety in doing that.” At the hearing, Wight detailed what the transportation construction industry is doing to minimize work zone accidents and offered recommendations for action generated at a conference and symposium the association held on the topic in the past year. The association’s foundation manages the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, which is housed at the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station, Texas. The facility has the most comprehensive collection of data base searchable information on the topic in the world.