Arkansas – The Arkansas Department of Transportation is marking the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week with a public event on Monday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville.
The campaign, held annually each spring, aims to remind motorists of the importance of safe driving through work zones, particularly as highway construction activity increases with warmer weather.
This year’s Work Zone Awareness Week runs from April 21 through April 25, and it arrives as Arkansas ramps up its efforts to combat a rising number of work zone-related crashes. In response to those growing concerns, the Arkansas Legislature recently passed three key pieces of legislation aimed at improving safety for both road crews and drivers.
The new measures include:
– Act 117, which mandates that information about driving safely through work zones be added to the state’s driver’s instruction manual and driver’s license exams;
– Act 209, which authorizes the use of green lights on construction and maintenance vehicles, helping them stand out and alert passing drivers to slow down;
– Act 327, which allows for the creation of mobile work zones and implements fines for moving violations that occur within them.
ARDOT Director Jared D. Wiley emphasized the importance of these changes, noting that roadway crews work under dangerous conditions that require greater public awareness and care.
“When you encounter a work zone, please slow down, be alert, and obey traffic laws,” Wiley said. “We owe this to the men and women working to improve our roads. They deserve to be protected on the job.”
Transportation and law enforcement leaders across the state are backing the legislative updates, expressing hope that they will lead to fewer preventable accidents. Arkansas State Highway Commission Chairman Philip Taldo pointed out that the new laws are tools to reinforce responsible driving.
“We see far too many close calls and tragedies in work zones,” Taldo said. “These changes give us the tools to better protect everyone on the road.”
National Work Zone Awareness Week is a joint initiative created by the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Federal Highway Administration. Arkansas’ kickoff event is open to the public and will take place at the base’s main parking lot located at 1490 Vandenberg Boulevard.