APPLETON (NBC 26) — Wisconsin transportation and law enforcement officials are urging drivers to slow down and pay attention as they kick off Work Zone Awareness Week.
Speakers from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Wisconsin State Patrol and construction companies gathered Monday to promote this year's theme: "Safe actions save lives."
To represent the seven lives lost in work zone crashes last year, officials displayed seven construction cones draped with black ribbons.
In Wisconsin last year, there were more than 2,000 crashes in work zones, resulting in over 600 injuries and seven deaths. Over the past five years, the state has seen more than 10,000 work zone crashes, leading to thousands of injuries and nearly 50 fatalities.
The main factors in these accidents are speeding, distracted driving and following too close.
Issac Maisonet is an FST supervisor for WisDOT.
"Our job is very risky, so I don’t feel safe every time I step out of my truck. Give us room to work. Move over, slow down. We got a family waiting for us at home. We all want to make it home just like you want to get home, just like you want to get home we want to get home," Maisonet said.
In 2025, the Wisconsin State Patrol issued over 1,000 citations and warnings for traffic violations in work zones.
Officials remind drivers that work zones are not limited to construction sites. They also include maintenance, emergency vehicle stops, utility work and garbage pickup.
When drivers see flashing emergency response lights, construction crews, orange barrels or cones, they are urged to pay attention, slow down and give workers and other motorists plenty of space.
Currently, crews are working on more than 400 highway projects throughout Wisconsin.
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