West Virginia roadside workers are on the front lines, exposed to dangerous risks on our Mountain State roads and bridges. So it is important to always consider their safety when driving through work zones.
AAA reports the need for stronger protective measures on our nation’s highways after a Beckley, West Virginia Turnpike employee, James Harper (23) doing asphalt work was struck and killed at mile-marker 92.5 on Interstate 77 in Kanawha County.
According to the Department of Highways, the Beckley Z-Way, a 5.5-mile long stretch of new Raleigh County highway that will run from Shady Spring to Beaver into Beckley, will alleviate the area’s traffic congestion, commuter frustrations and create an all-around better connection.
“That is one of our high-volume areas in the county. It’s also one of the high traffic accident areas: people rear-end people trying to pull out, people trying to make turns and getting rear-ended,” said Raleigh County Sheriff’s Officer, Corp. Derek Eikost. “A lot of it’s because of distracted and impatient driving.”
Eikost says we all want to get to our destinations, but it takes a lot longer if you have a traffic accident or fatality to get where you’re going, if at all.
Devastated loved ones are left to pick up the pieces when someone is tragically lost on the job. While no one likes traffic or construction delays, it’s a part of life we have to accept and adhere to.
“I think we owe it to them as people who are operating heavy equipment and vehicles around them and in those kinds of traffic zones to pay attention, park the phone, and stop messing with the radios,” the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Officer said. “It’s become a society habit and I think people don’t appreciate the danger they put others in, whether it be pedestrians or road workers.”
Slow down behind the wheel and think about those workers putting their lives on the line every day so we can have better roads to travel. The Shady Spring/Beaver project is expected to cause delays for a while.
“It’s prone to traffic accidents without any road construction going on,” said Eikost. “Couple that with the fact now there’s more congestion because of the construction, and it’s very important to stay on top of your game and pay attention to what’s going on around you.”
The orange traffic cones, work-zone signs, and flaggers are there to keep everyone safe.
“People on that side of the county are just going to have to be patient, relax and understand that eventually it will get better,” Eikost said.
