However, while officials are glad of the additional money, jobs, boost to Oklahoma’s economy and opportunity to improve the local and statewide roads of commerce, they also see potential hazards in what could be a mixed blessing.
In Oklahoma City, for example, an average of 200 street lanes will close each month as city street crews work to repair and upgrade road surfaces.
As the lanes narrow and temperatures rise, especially with most local schools out for the summer, drivers may become impatient, or even worse, inattentive: following too close, texting or talking on their cell phone, or even drinking alcohol.
“It’s imperative that drivers stay alert and expect the unexpected while travelling through Oklahoma City’s road construction,” said Public Works Director Dennis Clower recently. “Drivers should pay attention to daily changes in road alignment, construction equipment and work crews.”
Cole Hackett, Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesman, echoed those sentiments, adding “In 2009, we had 17 people – all motorists -- killed in state work zone accidents. That’s about a 50 percent increase over the previous year.”
In all, Hackett said 767 people were injured in 1278 work zone collisions in 2009. Incredibly, he said this represents the third highest number of fatalities, plus the largest number of injuries and work zone collisions in a decade.
“Overall, the most common causes of accidents that we see are due to driving too fast, following too close and driver inattention,” he said.
Some of the most common distractions, he said, include using a cell phone, eating or drinking, grooming, reading maps, using PDAs or navigation systems and, wow, watching videos.
Research conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds while texting. This means that at 55 miles per hour the driver is travelling the length of a football field without looking at the road.
Statewide, ODOT officials say that federal stimulus funds have made it possible to replace or repair 76 bridges on the state highway system, plus another 53 county bridges and 337 center line miles of state highway are being resurfaced or reconstructed.
One requirement of getting those funds was that states had to put at least 50 percent of the stimulus funds to work within four months of the bill being signed.
ODOT’s aggressive charge on highway construction projects has placed the state among the top five in meeting the stimulus bill’s requirements.
While the state will long benefit from improved roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure – which has been long overdue – in the short term, motorists who want to enjoy it, officials say, should really focus when driving through highway work zones.
