CHARLESTON, WV – Wednesday, April 19, 2023, is National Go Orange Day as designated by the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation. It’s a day set aside to remind transportation professionals and the general public about the importance of work zone safety.
As the West Virginia Department of Transportation embarks on its massive new construction season, Gov. Jim Justice and Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., are inviting our partners and members of the public to join us in wearing orange this Go Orange Day to share our commitment to driving safely in work zones.
“Today in West Virginia, on every street corner, we’ve got orange cones, workers everywhere, and the roads are improved,” Gov. Justice said. “Now, Is it too much to ask that workers deserve to be able to get their dinner bucket, go to work, and deserve to go home safely? It only takes one wrong turn, and we have a catastrophe. I’m 100% supportive of our Work Zone Safety campaign, because lives are on the line.”
In 2022, there were 800 crashes in West Virginia work zones, killing eight people and injuring 276. All crashes were avoidable. Wriston has vowed to do everything in his power to reduce the number of people killed in Mountain State work zones to zero.
Got a photo of your friends or coworkers decked out in orange for Go Orange Day? Send it to us and we’ll share it on the WVDOT Facebook page.
Photos can be sent to Jennifer.J.Dooley@wv.gov.