Archives for April 2024

“It takes a village”: WTBA launches Work Zone Safe Wisconsin with statewide media sweep

April 26, 2024 by Lane Kimble

LODI, Wis. — If you or your company has an active highway project anywhere between Eau Claire and Green Bay, chances are a WTBA staff member drove through it this week.

Covering more than 600 miles round trip to hold three news conferences in three days, WTBA and its supporters launched a crucial new education program, Work Zone Safe Wisconsin (workzonesafe.com).

WZSW is a free online platform that teaches teens (and all drivers, for that matter) the latest laws and rules to follow when driving through a work zone. Its launch comes the week after WisDOT released 2023’s work zone crash statistics: nine deaths, more than 700 injuries, and more than 2,100 accidents.

“We decided we were going to do something more than complain about it. We were going to put our money where our mouth is,” WTBA Executive Director Steve Baas said.

LAUNCHING IN LODI (TUESDAY)

There was an emotional heaviness during the first stop of the tour, just west of the I-39/90/94 and Highway 60 interchange project Tuesday in Lodi.

Becki Slater made sure everyone there – reporters, photographers, and supporters – walked away knowing a little bit about her son, Zane Reilly.

“I knew my son was a good person. I knew he was an empathetic person and a good friend to all,” Slater said, speaking in the past-tense.

Reilly was working along a Sauk County highway in 2022 when a driver fell asleep, smashed through Zane’s work site, and hit and killed him. He was just 25.

“It wasn’t just a loss for our family, it was a loss for so many people. No families, no communities, no companies should have to go through this,” Slater said.

Hoping to prevent at least one family from experiencing what she did, Slater sees Work Zone Safe Wisconsin as an important tool in teaching drivers about the real people behind the barrels.

In addition to reading up on rules, regulations, and signage, students must watch 14 videos about real-life people in Wisconsin impacted by work zone crashes before taking quizzes that ask specific questions about those people.

“(Work Zone Safe) lets them get acquainted with the faces and names behind the stories so that this becomes, not a theoretical exercise for our drivers, but something very personal for them,” WTBA Executive Director Steve Baas told reporters.

OSSEO (WEDNESDAY)

Jim Hoffman plans to hear some of those personal stories himself.

The Hoffman Construction Company CEO smiled as he saluted the WZSW program during Wednesday’s news conference in Osseo, telling the crowd he would take the course, too.

Hoffman has a worksite nearby on I-94.

“Certain things are in your control, certain things you can do: you can put your phone down, you can respect the speed,” Hoffman said. “But when you’re a construction worker, there’s certain things that are out of your control. What’s out of your control is what happens on the other side of those barrels.”

CLICK TO VIEW A PHOTO GALLERY FROM ALL 3 NEWS CONFERENCES

The platform’s flexibility is one of its standout features: anyone can take the course anywhere at any time. It’s free (thanks to WTBA and a host of incredible sponsors) and simply requires you to login and get started.

“This happens every day in Wisconsin,” Eau Claire County Highway Commissioner Jon Johnson said of work zone incidents. “We’re very happy for the education to get to the root cause of some of the teen driving challenges we’re seeing. That’s a great leap forward.”

GREEN BAY (THURSDAY)

It’s hard for Grant Klumb to look ahead without looking back. Back to that fateful day Zane Reilly died.

“We all remember exactly where we were. It resonates with us still every day,” Klumb said. “We have our weekly safety meetings and every weekly safety meeting we go through what happened that day.”

Klumb owns Five Star Energy Services, the company Reilly worked for. Now, his crews have black sweatshirts with Zane’s name on them: “Zone Awareness is Not Enough.”

“You can do everything right. You can control how deep that hole is, you can control putting a shore box in, you can control your cones, your barricades, you can control your locates… But you can’t control that driver. Your head, unfortunately, has to be on a swivel,” Klumb said.

It’s too early to know how much Work Zone Safe Wisconsin will help, but chances are good it’ll reach a lot of people. Thousands of teens in Oklahoma, which is the only other state in the country to adopt the program, take a similar course every month. A $500 scholarship, generously funded by the Wisconsin County Highway Association, should generate even more interest, too.

Ultimately, though, it’s on all of us to learn, think, and change.

“Keep your eyes up, keep your phones down, buckle up and slow down and let’s bring everyone home safe from their work zones every day,” Baas said.

Wisconsin media coverage of WTBA news conferences

Channel 15 Madison: New Wisconsin driver’s ed course highlights construction workers

WKOW: Nonprofit group launches online test geared at teaching work zone safety to students

Channel 3000: WTBA launches work zone safety course

Channel 8000: New online course teaches work zone driving safety

ABC News 18: WTBA launches new drivers ed work zone safety program

NBC 26: A new approach to try and cut down on distracted drivers

FOX 11: ‘Work Zone Safe Wisconsin’ revs up road safety

WBAY: WTBA launches instructional guide to educate drivers on work zone safety

WFDL-AM: Work Zone Safe Wisconsin radio interview

Seeking Support: WisDOT asking for letters to submit I-94 East-West for federal grant

April 24, 2024 by Lane Kimble

WisDOT predicts better travel times and a boosted economy when the I-94 East-West Corridor Project actually happens and is complete.

However, the safety benefits may be the greatest benefit of all.

In a public document aimed at encouraging support for 3.5-mile expansion along the crowded interstate running past American Family Field, WisDOT says its research found the project would reduce crashes while offering 150 million more vehicle miles over 10 years compared to the six-lane alternative. The preferred alternative expands the freeway to eight lanes and converts the Stadium Interchange to a diverging diamond.

WisDOT is encouraging people to submit letters of support for the I-94 East-West project to obtain a federal grant. Click to view

That’s a welcome change along a stretch of road that sometimes sees more than four times the number of crashes compared to other urban freeways.

The document also shows other major projects, such as the Marquette Interchange, the Zoo Interchange, and I-94 North-South, reduced crashes anywhere from 29 to 48%.

In March, the Federal Highway Administration signed a Record of Decision for I-94 East-West, marking the final big hurdle WisDOT needed to clear to begin final design and preliminary construction work.

Meanwhile, this week the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the project would also improve and expand on bike lanes on the grade-level streets surrounding the freeway. WisDOT is seeking a federal Multimodal Discretionary grant to help pay for the nearly $1.8-billion project.

Letters of support are due by May 1, 2024.

Utility claims training video now available on HCCI website

April 22, 2024 by Lane Kimble

The law is changed, now it’s time to iron out the wrinkles.

The utility compensable delay legislation WTBA helped pass late last year ensures contractors are fairly and promptly paid when they encounter such a delay in the field. It also means WisDOT will work even more closely with utilities both before and during a project to avoid conflicts in the first place.

This month, WisDOT published its Utility Relocation Claims Training video on its HCCI website. The 30-minute video is intended for staff, contractors, consultants, and utility companies, walking viewers through the basics of how the system now works.

During the WTBA Board of Directors meeting earlier this month, WisDOT leadership promised to release the training sometime this spring, encouraging all stakeholders to maintain open minds and lines of communication.

You can find more information and a link to the video HERE.

‘Enough is enough’: Sheriff pledges strict enforcement as state kicks off Work Zone Awareness Week

April 19, 2024 by Lane Kimble

WYOCENA, Wis. — You could sense Columbia County Sheriff Roger Brandner’s frustration even as he walked up to the podium Monday morning.

“Enough is enough,” Brandner said, with some exasperation in his voice. “This is the year we’re going to make a difference.”

Brandner pledged a no-nonsense, no-exceptions approach for anyone who breaks the law in work zones in his county. He was one of several speakers during WisDOT’s National Work Zone Awareness Week kickoff press conference in Wyocena, joining Gov. Tony Evers, WisDOT Deputy Secretary Kristina Boardman, and several other state and local leaders.

“It is our responsibility, each and every one of us that get behind that wheel, it is our duty, our responsibility to make sure (road crews are) safe. They deserve to go home every single night after they’ve worked so hard on our roads,” Brandner said.

The latest data shows why Brandner – and highway crews in general – are fed up. There were more than 2,100 crashes in Wisconsin work zones in 2023, leading to more than 700 injuries and nine deaths.

Click to view WisDOT’s 2023 Work Zone fact sheet HERE

“It’s never been more important that we help reduce these preventable injuries and accidents, encourage safe driving in work zones and keep our roadside workers safe,” Evers said.

Columbia County has had its fair share of unfortunate and preventable work zone incidents. In the past five years, there were 14 of them, affecting 32 of Highway Commissioner Chris Hardy’s 80 employees.

Hardy listed off each and every incident during his remarks.

“We do our part. We have clear, concise signage. We’re well-lit… our personnel are highly trained. We’re asking that the public does your part,” Hardy said.

“Slow down, move over, find alternate routes, plan ahead, be prepared. We have a lot of slogans for what you can do. Remember: work zones are temporary, but actions can last forever.”