Southern Illinois Builders Association and Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program Encourage You to Slow Down and Pay Attention in Work Zones as National Work Zone Awareness Week Approaches

By JOHN HOLT and DONNA RICHTER

As spring weather has begun, increased work on highway and interstate road construction sites has also.

With an increase in work, more work zones come and more exposure for workers in those areas and motorists passing through. Each year construction companies across the country as well as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, along with state departments of transportation, have campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of traveling through road construction zones.

The initial campaign was launched back in 2000 and has been an annual event every year since, with 2025 being the 26^th National Work Zone Awareness Week campaign. This initiative targets the importance of work zone safety for not just the workers, but also those traveling through them. According to the Illinois Dept. of Transportation, from 2019 to 2023 there were 148 work zone fatalities in Illinois. Of these fatalities, only six were workers; the rest were road users. This further illustrates how important this issue is, not just for the workers but those traveling on these roads.

One thing that many motorists may not even realize is the fact that work zone speed limits are enforceable in both Illinois and Missouri, even if workers are not present. Judging by the speed of people driving through these areas when workers are not present, it’s evident that this is not widely known or just ignored. It is these kinds of decisions that can lead to motorists’ crashes and ultimately a severe injury or even a fatality.

Many of the crashes are caused by unsafe speeds, but other contributing factors commonly seen are distractions, such as a cell phone, changing radio stations or taking eyes off the road to look at another accident that has already occurred.

If we all take the time to allow extra time to reach our destination, be a courteous driver, travel at safe speeds, follow work zone speed limits and put down our phones, we can help to reduce the accidents.

This year’s theme is “Respect the Zone, So We All Get Home.” That is everyone’s responsibility.

We ask that you join us in observing this week and making sure you are encouraging your family and fellow employees at your companies to be more alert, aware, slow down and avoid distractions on the road. Help us protect our road construction workers, ourselves, family and friends.

John Holt is director of safety and education for the Southern Illinois Builders Association and Donna Richter is CEO for the Southern Illinois Builders Association.