Highways officials, contractors and law enforcement urge the public to pay attention in work zones

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There were 800 crashes in West Virginia work zones in 2025, leading to 301 injuries and five deaths.

State Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh joined federal and state highways officials, contractors, and law enforcement on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, to stress the importance of paying attention in work zones. They were joined by local media and dozens of West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) workers decked out in orange to draw attention to work zone safety.

April 22 was National Go Orange Day, a part of National Work Zone Awareness Week.

"Work zone safety isn't just a department initiative," Rumbaugh said. "It's a driver's responsibility."

Five people were killed in state work zones last year. Rumbaugh said victims are not only drivers, but state highways workers and contractors.

On Monday, April 14, 2025, James Dean Harper was patching potholes on the West Virginia Turnpike when a distracted tractor-trailer driver hit Harper in the work zone, killing him. Harper was 24.

He left behind a wife and infant child.

On Saturday, September 13, 2025, a contractor working for Triton Construction Inc. was killed in a work zone on Interstate 64 near Huntington.

"Last summer was a dangerous summer for our contractors and our work zone employees as there were several deaths and tragic accidents that happened in these work zones," said First Sergeant Eric McClung of the West Virginia State Police. "On behalf of the State Police and all law enforcement we ask the general motoring public to please when you see these signs take caution, put your phone down, slow down."

"We hope that motorists who are tempted to speed or drive distracted remember that those work zones are someone's job site," said Jason Pizatella, CEO of the Contractors Association of West Virginia. "That's where they make a living. Whatever it is that can distract you behind the wheel or ask you to drive faster, trust me, it can wait until later.

"It's not worth taking someone's life or jeopardizing your own," Pizatella said.

Amy Boggs, of the West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program, said her agency is tasked with getting the word out about safe driving year-round. But she said it's everybody's job to make sure people are safe on the road.

"Everything that we in this room do is so that every single one of us can live a longer fuller life," Boggs said. "Our responsibility is to keep each other safe so that we can spend the rest of our lives doing the things that we want to do."

Fifty-eight WVDOT workers have been killed in the line of duty over the years.

"I have three simple asks for every motorist passing through our state and on the roads across the country," Rumbaugh said. "First, put the phone down. No text, no playlist, no Snapchat, no TikTok, and even no navigation adjustment is worth a life.

"Second, slow down. Those speed limits aren't suggestions. They are calculated to give you and the workers enough reaction time needed to get through the work zone when things are tight.

"And lastly, expect the unexpected. Work zones are dynamic. They are constantly changing.
"Lanes shift, equipment moves, and people are running around. So be alert."