VANCOUVER, Wash. — Washington and Oregon transportation leaders say they've noticed a disturbing rise in the number of accidents involving road workers, such as drunk drivers hitting construction zones, and they're asking drivers to slow down and think about the lives behind the bright orange vests.
"It's very dangerous," said Valeria Bergmann, a maintenance worker with the Washington State Department of Transportation. "Each day is a new day not knowing what you are going to walk into."
Since the start of the year, seven road work crew members in Southwest Washington have been sent to the hospital by on-the-job traffic accidents — including six in one night when a suspected drunk driver plowed into the back of their work truck on Interstate 5 near Vancouver. Bergmann was among the injured.
"Not knowing what was going to happen, and it all happened so fast," she said. "It definitely makes you question a lot of things."
Washington road work zone deaths doubled in 2023, prompting leaders on both sides of the Columbia River to take action.
"We've asked our crews to continue to be aggressive at keeping it each other safe and keeping the public safe," said Oregon Department of Transportation director Kris Strickler. "If that means taking a lane to get more space so that they can do their work safely, then we are asking them to do that."
It's not just work crews being put at risk; according to transportation officials, nearly 95% of the people injured in work zone crashes are drivers, passengers, or nearby pedestrians.
Oregon and Washington impose doubled fines in work zones.
"We're people too, so we want to get home every single day to our families," said Bethany Blankenship, another WSDOT worker struck on the job. "Thankfully, the six injured that night in January got to go home — 30 seconds later, it could have been a different story."