KUAR | By David Monteith
Published January 24, 2022 at 7:38 PM CST

A rise in accidents in road construction work zones over the past four years is prompting a new safety campaign being launched by the Arkansas Department of Transportation next week. Ellen Coulter, spokesperson for the department, said two recent fatal accidents in construction zones emphasized the need for more precautions.

“We’ve known that we wanted to launch a campaign early on in this year, and then with this two most recent ARDOT employee deaths, it’s become even more timely and more necessary for us to get this going and to really raise awareness around the issues,” Coulter said.

Accidents and injuries in work zones have increased about 70% since 2018, Coulter said. A strategic plan developed by the department in 2017 listed construction work zone fatalities as an area of concern.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2022-01-24/arkansas-to-launch-safety-campaign-following-the-deaths-in-construction-zones