CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With work zone activity increasing across the state, West Virginia transportation leaders, contractors and law enforcement are urging drivers to stay alert and avoid distractions after 800 work‑zone crashes in 2025 left 301 people injured and five dead.
State Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh joined federal and state highway officials, the Contractors Association of West Virginia, the West Virginia State Police, and dozens of orange‑clad WVDOT workers Wednesday to mark National Go Orange Day, part of National Work Zone Awareness Week. The event highlighted the dangers workers face every day on the job.
“Work zone safety isn’t just a department initiative,” Rumbaugh said. “It’s a driver’s responsibility.”
Five people were killed in West Virginia work zones last year, including both motorists and highway workers. Among them was 24‑year‑old James Dean Harper, who was patching potholes on the West Virginia Turnpike on April 14, 2025, when a distracted tractor‑trailer driver struck and killed him. Harper left behind a wife and infant child.
Another worker, employed by Triton Construction Inc., was killed on September 13, 2025, in a work zone on Interstate 64 near Huntington.
“Last summer was a dangerous summer for our contractors and our work zone employees,” said First Sergeant Eric McClung of the West Virginia State Police. “On behalf of law enforcement, we ask the motoring public to take caution, put your phone down, and slow down.”
Contractors Association of West Virginia CEO Jason Pizatella said drivers must remember that work zones are active job sites.
“Whatever it is that can distract you behind the wheel or ask you to drive faster — trust me, it can wait,” Pizatella said. “It’s not worth taking someone’s life or jeopardizing your own.”
Amy Boggs of the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program said her agency works year‑round to promote safe driving, but the responsibility ultimately falls on every driver.
“Our responsibility is to keep each other safe so that we can spend the rest of our lives doing the things we want to do,” Boggs said.
Over the years, 58 WVDOT workers have been killed in the line of duty.
Rumbaugh closed the event with three reminders for drivers traveling through work zones:
- Put the phone down. No text, playlist, or navigation adjustment is worth a life.
- Slow down. Speed limits are calculated to give drivers and workers enough reaction time.
- Expect the unexpected. Work zones change constantly, with shifting lanes, moving equipment and workers on foot.
