The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is leveraging innovations in technology and equipment to reduce the risk of crashes in work zones as a record-setting 2021 road construction season begins in Indiana.
INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness joined law enforcement and road construction contractor partners for a work zone safety showcase on Monday on the Robert D. Orr Plaza near the Indiana Statehouse to highlight efforts being made to make work zones safer as INDOT continues to deliver Governor Eric J. Holcomb’s Next Level Roads plan, which invests $60 billion in improving existing roads and finishing major projects over 20 years.
INDOT will deliver nearly 1,300 construction projects in 2021, a record for a single construction season. When combined with preventative maintenance activities, the state is investing more than $2 billion in road construction in 2021.
“Hoosiers will once again see more orange barrels than ever before across Indiana this construction season,” McGuinness said in a statement. “Those barrels are a sign of the progress we’re making to build and maintain our transportation system so that communities continue to grow and prosper and people can travel safely and conveniently across the state. Those orange barrels are also a reminder to slow down and pay extra attention in work zones to make sure people who work in and drive through our work zones stay safe.”
In 2019, Governor Holcomb’s legislative and administrative agenda directed INDOT and the Indiana State Police to research and implement equipment and technology solutions to reduce the risk of work zone crashes. A multi-agency task force was formed in late 2019 and several innovative solutions were tested during the 2020 construction. Following positive results from research conducted in partnership with the Joint Transportation Research Program, INDOT will be deploying back of queue warning trucks, automated queue warning systems, and the Haas alert system in work zones this season.
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SOURCE: Indiana DOT
