(MERIDEN, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto, state and local police officers, and safety advocates gathered today at an active work zone in Meriden to recognize the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week, which is observed from April 21 to 25, 2025, and urge motorists in Connecticut to take an active role in protecting roadway workers and drivers.
The event included remarks from local, state, and federal officials, as well as the family of Andrew DiDomenico, a Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) worker who was tragically killed on the job last year. A representative from the Meriden project spoke about the growing number of weekly work zone crashes.
National Work Zone Awareness Week honors the workers and professionals who help keep construction zones safe, including highway crews, public works, utility companies, contractors, and law enforcement. The theme of this year’s awareness week, “Respect the Zone So We All Get Home,” reinforces the importance of safe driving in active work zone areas. Governor Lamont has also signed a proclamation declaring Work Zone Awareness Week in Connecticut.
“Every person working on our roads deserves to make it home safely at the end of the day,” Governor Lamont said. “This week is a reminder that behind every cone and barrier are our neighbors doing essential work to keep our infrastructure safe and strong. Together, we can prevent tragedies and make Connecticut’s roads safer for everyone.”
For more than 25 years, CTDOT’s volunteer-led Work Zone Safety Awareness Committee has worked to eliminate work zone fatalities through education and outreach initiatives.
Work zone crashes remain a major safety issue in Connecticut and nationwide. According to data from the Connecticut Crash Data Repository at UConn, between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024, there were more than 2,000 crashes and six fatalities in Connecticut work zones. Nationally in 2022, the most recent year of verifiable data, there were 891 work zone fatalities.
“Roads are not racetracks,” Commissioner Eucalitto said. “This past year has been especially difficult for us at CTDOT as we lost one of our own, Andrew DiDomenico, in a tragic work zone crash. We need drivers to slow down, stay alert, and Obey the Orange because their choices behind the wheel impact real people, real families, and entire communities.”
“Completing work on the highway is a challenge when vehicles are driving by at high speeds,” Colonel Daniel Loughman, commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police, said. “Please remember that our first responders and CTDOT crews work on the roads at all hours of the day, and we count on drivers to slow down in work zones. At the end of their shifts, they want to return home.”
In 2023, during Connecticut’s one-year pilot program for work zone speed safety cameras, nearly 25,000 motorists received written warnings for exceeding speed limits by 15 miles per hour or more in designated work zones. A permanent work zone camera program is expected to launch again in 2025.
How the public can support Work Zone Awareness Week
There are several ways people can raise awareness about work zone safety.
Wednesday, April 23, is Go Orange Day, and CTDOT is inviting the public to wear orange and post photos on social media with the hashtags #NWZAW, #ObeyTheOrange, and #Orange4Safety to promote work zone safety awareness.
On Friday, April 25, at 12:00 p.m., CTDOT is encouraging everyone to pause for a moment of silence to honor the 39 CTDOT employees and all people who have tragically lost their lives in work zone crashes.
For up-to-date information, safety tips, and news regarding work zone safety, visit ObeyTheOrange.com.
