October 14, 2004
Tifton-- Imagine sitting at your desk at work and a semi truck barrels into your office, barely missing you. That may sound absurd, but that's what construction workers go through every day.
You're now entering a work zone. Driving straight into someone else's office. "This is our office here, this is where we come to work everyday," said Area Engineer Scott Chambers.
And this isn't something you see everyday-- a desk in a construction work zone. "It's a little louder than my normal office, normally I don't have trucks going by," said GA DOT Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl.
Trucks and cars whiz by Commissioner Linnenkohl on busy Interstate 75. He wants you to, "Slow down and pay attention."
Highway workers rely on you to keep them alive. "Right," said Chambers. "We rely on the driver's awareness."
Work zones also warn drivers for their own safety. Georgia is near the top for work zone fatalities. "Amazingly most of these are not the people working in the work zone, they are the motorists coming through," said Linnenkohl.
So, next time you drive through a construction area think of an office on the side of a major highway. "This is a lot better view than in my office," said the commissioner.
A view of orange barrels and cars flying by at 80 miles an hour. A work zone unlike any other. An average of 100 people die in Georgia work zones every year, mostly motorists.
posted at 3:15PM by dave.miller@walb.com
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