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National Work Zone Awareness Week April 3-7

MoDOT and St. Louis County employees, their families, and partners will take to the streets Saturday, April 1 to honor individuals who have been injured or lost their lives in work zones and to keep others safe.

Participants will walk, jog, and even run in the annual Work Zone Awareness 5K and 1 Mile Run/Walk in Chesterfield. Races begin at 8 a.m. at the Transportation Management Center located at 14301 South Outer Forty in Chesterfield.

All participants will receive a race T-shirt and medal. Awards will be presented to male and female overall winners, and age category winners. The cost is $15 until the day of the race.

They hope to help motorists remember that construction season is underway and to watch out for workers in those highway construction and maintenance work zones.

Less than a year ago, MoDOT maintenance worker Lyndon Ebker, was killed in a work zone. Ebker was a 30-year employee and was part of a bridge flushing operation when a vehicle in Franklin County struck him.

Workers like Mark Fresen, also know what it’s like to be the victim of a work zone crash. Fresen was a St. Louis maintenance worker in 2009, when he was struck in a work zone on Interstate 70 in St. Louis County. He suffered disabling injuries. Fresen attends the run/walk each year and his presence along with that of other fallen workers’ families is testimony to what can happen if motorists are distracted in work zones. Since 1946, 27 St. Louis area MoDOT workers have lost their lives while performing their work on area roadways.

Private partners, along with MoDOT-St. Louis volunteers, organized the event to bring attention to the increasing number of workers who will be on the roadways this spring.

They will also memorialize workers and others who have been injured or killed in work zones. April is considered the start of construction season across most of the country. The race will kick off  National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 3- 7.

“April is the time when you start to see a dramatic increase in the number of construction and maintenance crews out on the roadways and we do our best to mark our work zones and be visible.  This is the fourth year we’ve included the run as part of our efforts to educate the public about work zone safety, and we need motorists to help us.

“The recent loss of Lyndon and other fallen workers over the years is the starkest reminder of what’s at stake. This is about saving lives and if we all work together, everyone can go home safely,” said Tom Blair, MoDOT’s assistant district engineer.

Register for the annual Work Zone Awareness 5 K or 1 Mile Run/Walk at www.athlinks.com/event/work-zone-5k-132863

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