The federal stimulus package will fund some additional highway projects across Kentucky, and the state Transportation Cabinet is taking steps to protect the extra workers.
“Traditionally construction starts in April when the weather starts warming up again and a lot of projects get going. But we will have many more projects this summer due to the stimulus funding,” says cabinet spokeperson Andrea Clifford. “We have several projects that are being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
The cabinet is putting up additional signs on the highways and launching a media campaign to encourage safe driving in construction zones.
Three road workers were killed last year Kentucky, but highway crews are not the only ones at risk.
“85% of those that are injured or killed are motorists,” says Clifford. “They’re not the workers in the workzones.”
Clifford says there will be about fifteen construction projects in Jefferson County in April, with more projects starting in the following months.