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LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - With sunny days and spring, orange barrels and road construction work zones are all over the metro area. These work zones can be dangerous, even deadly, for motorists and workers. This is why Missouri Department of Transportation goes orange to bring awareness during Work Zone Awareness Week, April 19-23.
Busiest Construction Season Ever
This is the busiest construction season in the history of the Kansas City district. This means that motorists will see many more work zones this year, and need to be aware of the dangers to drivers and workers.
With a packed summer of work on the highways, the message of this week is even more important, "Don't barrel through work zones," reminds drivers to give yourself and others the best chance to stay safe. Slow down, pay attention and eliminate distractions.
In 2009, 13 people were killed in work zones, an increase from 2008 when 12 people were killed. In the past decade, 15 MoDOT employees lost their lives on the job. Speed, inattention and tailgating are cited as the cause of most crashes in areas where roadwork is under way.
There are dozens of work zones to travel through this construction season. Some of the major work zones drivers will experience in the in the Kansas City area:
•· In Jackson County, interchange projects on I-470 at Route 50 and at Strother Road, on Route 50 at Bynum Road in Lone Jack, on I-70 at I-435, I-70 bridges from Downtown to Van Brunt Boulevard, and in the Route 71 corridor from Grandview to Peculiar; Route 150 widening in Jackson County;
•· In Clay County, the improvements at the I-35 and the new Bond Bridge, Heart of America Bridge, and I-35 improvements near Kearney.
•· In Platte County improvements to Routes 9 and widening Route 45.
•· Route 13 projects near Warrensburg and Lexington in Johnson and Lafayette counties.
•· The Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program, will improve 800 bridges over the next five years, including more than 140 in the Kansas City District.
As drivers travel through the many work zones ,MoDOT wants you to rate work zones , as part of the department's efforts to improve work zones. To fill out a Work Zone Customer Survey and help improve MoDOT work zones, visit www.modot.org/workzones/comments.htm.
Going Orange
To bring awareness to work zone safety and honor the 128 fallen workers, MoDOT and its partners are going orange for the fourth time with Operation Orange, which lights state landmarks orange during the week. In addition to MoDOT buildings statewide, other facilities in the greater Kansas City area that will be lit orange include:
- Belton Water Tower
- Harrisonville City Hall
- Memorial Fountain in front of Grandview City Hall
- Unity Village Tower
- Wornall Road Bridge over Brush Creek in Kansas City
- Riverside Municipal Campus buildings
- North Kansas City's City Hall
- Lee's Summit's Police Station
- A Country Club Plaza fountain
- Hampton Inn in Clinton,
- Cass County Sheriff's Office
- Burns and McDonnell offices
- HNTB Corporation,
- Mid-America Regional Council, and
Missouri Tourism and Visitor's offices near Truman Sports Complex
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