The West Virginia State Police, representatives from the state Public Service Commission, and other law enforcement agencies will be running radar and issuing tickets in the Interstate 64 work zone from the Nitro-St. Albans Bridge to the intersection of I-64 and US 35 on Friday, May 13, 2022.
The operation is part of a cooperative effort between the West Virginia Department of Transportation and state law enforcement agencies to crack down on speeding in highway work zones during the summer and fall construction season. Last year, there were 889 crashes in West Virginia work zones, killing five people and injuring more than 300.
"We would much rather write you that speeding citation for speeding in a work zone than to deliver the death message that somebody has lost their life," said Lt. Chris Zerkle of the West Virginia State Police. "We do not want to deliver that message."
West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., is committed to zero deaths on the state’s highways. That's why State Police and other law enforcement agencies will be targeting work zones on all West Virginia interstates and on secondary roads throughout the construction season.
The WVDOT urges drivers to pay attention to speed limits in work zones, stay off their phones and pay attention to warning signs. Penalties for speeding and other violations are doubled in West Virginia work zones.
Sixty-one WVDOT workers have been killed in work zone accidents over the years. Zerkle speaks for all law enforcement officers when he says no officer wants to inform a family member that a loved one has been killed in a work zone accident, whether it's a driver, passenger, law enforcement officer, bystander or construction worker.